The Dark Stuff: Stories from the Peatlands

"Donald S Murray is a fantastic author who specialises in stories from the north of Scotland. This – published earlier this year – is a beguiling mix of nature writing, history and memoir taking in his childhood in bleak and beautiful Lewis, but moving further afield too, to peatland cultures in Ireland, Holland and Germany where he unearths dark stories from the past. It’s an unusual book, but a beautiful one. This was such a wonderful discovery: a page-turning post-apocalyptic novel that is beautifully written and constructed. It reminded me a little of Jennifer Egan’s wonderful A Visit From the Goon Squad in how it tells the stories of a number of interlinked characters, flashing back and forward in time. I’ve been pressing it into other people’s hands since the moment I finished it."