The Monarch of the Glen

It's a great book. While it's a very different Glenbogle from the TV shows, it captures a lot of the spirit of the same place. It's not too hard to fill in the intervening years and feel a continuity of life at the Castle. I also enjoyed the fact that the whiny angst of some of the TV characters is pretty much absent, while the power of the laird hellbent on following his idiosyncratic notion of life as a laird with his sidekicks (including a Killwillie) is all there. It's easy to imagine the Ben Nevis as the father of Hector, who seems to be a chip off the old block. If you have a fetish for the TV characters, you might be disappointed, but if you let yourself get involved, you'll get a sense of Glenbogle of ages past, before the internet, cellphones, globalization and rock and roll. I can't wait to read the next one! Highly recommended!

I started with the TV version (BBC America) and found the book different -- and funnier.

I had never heard of Compton Mackenzie until a few years ago when I rescued a copy of "Hunting the Fairies" from a newspaper recycling bin (a guy in our town died and his idiot family dumped his book collection---I rescued hundreds for our library book sale.) "Hunting the Fairies" was that rare book which made me laugh out loud and also feel warm and uplifted. The Monarch of the Glen continues with some of the same characters and has the same humanity and wit. The humor is gentle but not sappy, satirical but not mean, and the characters are keenly observed from real life. This book is a very entertaining read, plus you'll learn a thing or two about Scottish history and culture.

For anyone familiar with the very popular BBC series Monarch of the Glen, much in this audio book will ring familiar. And, for those unfortunate not to be familiar with the series, the book will be an entree into the world of a Scottish Highland Chieftan of the 20th Century.The tale takes place in Scotland in the early 1940's at the castle Glenbogle, the ancestral estate of the Clan MacDonald. The patriarch is a stodgy old Highlander trying to make the best of the 20th century, but with his values firmly planted 400 years earlier. There's a bit of everything in here, a love story, a battle, some history as to kilts and clans and highland lore. Quite of lot of Gaelic is spoken and by the end of the story some of it actually starts to sound familiar.The narrator does an excellent job with the wide cast of characters ranging from Americans, to Brits and Scots. I found myself laughing out loud many times. It was a great "read" on my way to and from work.A note of caution though for those who have seen the series: There is only a hint of similarity to the series, but don't let the name changes etc turn you off, the story in total could easily have taken place in the Glenbogle we've seen on film.