Land of the Seal People

 

Author: Duncan Williamson
ISBN: 1841588806/9781841588803

I read "The Land of the Seal People" having just finished David Thomson's excellent "The People Of The Sea: Celtic Legends And Myths: Celtic Tales of the Seal-folk". I was hoping it would match it for warmth and wonder, but I was to be slightly disappointed. Although each tale comes with a paragraph explaining where it was heard and a description of the teller is included, names not always included for obvious reasons, the atmosphere in which the tales were told is missing and the attachment gained from learning more about the teller is lost. To that end, I could not warm to these tales as much as I could to those told by Thomson.

"The Land of the Seal People" doesn't just focus on the selkie, but includes encounters with others of the supernatural kind and, as much as I enjoy these, I was a little disappointed as I was hoping to learn more about the seal people and/or selkies. I was also put off by the overuse of the character name Jack, which featured heavily about 3/4 of the way through the book. It seemed to me that in every tale, Jack has lost his father young and was left an only child supporting his mother. True, each of Jack's adventures was different, but I started to become disinterested the moment I saw the name Jack.

Because I did not get the same feeling reading "The Land of the Seal People" as I did "The People Of The Sea: Celtic Legends And Myths: Celtic Tales of the Seal-folk", I doubt I will be re-reading it and I am unsure as to whether I should read Duncan Williamson's other books on a similar topic. I did enjoy reading both books and seeing the connection to the film "The Secret Of Roan Inish" though I did learn that the book on which the movie is based was originally set in Scotland. Overall, I enjoyed the book but I think it might have endeared itself to me more had I read it first, and then Thomson's book.  

Rating: 3½/5.

The People of the Sea

Author:  David Thomson
ISBN:  1841951072

I bought this book some time ago, but it seemed destined to remain on my "to be read" shelf.  Earlier this year, while on holiday in Scotland with a small tour group, I noticed one of my fellow passengers was reading this book and when I enquired about it, she was unable to tell me much, which of course peaked my interest.  This was just one of a series of co-incidences in which the legend of the selkie were brought to my attention: just before, during and after the tour of Scotland.

As well as watching a few selkie-related movies when I returned from my trip, I resolved to read the book; however, being a member of a book club, I found myself reading other books, all the while "The People of the Sea: Celtic Legends And Myths", though taken down from the shelf, remained in my satchel (unread) just waiting to be started.  So last Friday I picked up this book and I only put it down three times: once to drive home, the next because I wanted to savour the last tale and then, finally, when I finished it on Saturday night.  The book was so enchanting I didn't want it to end. 

I knew "The People of the Sea: Celtic Legends And Myths" would be different when I read Seamus Heaney's introduction and I was not to be disappointed.

"The People of the Sea: Celtic Legends And Myths" is somewhat of a memoir as the author, David Thomson, travels the western islands and coasts of Scotland and Ireland, in search of those who can tell the tales of the selchie (selkie) or sea-folk.  First, Mr Thomson introduces the storyteller, he then sets the scene and atmosphere in which the story is being told and, finally, he recalls the conversation that illustrates the tale, bringing it fully to the light.  There is not always a straight line from beginning to end with these stories, as someone will interject with their own version of events, and then another, but the main speaker provides a continuous thread weaving all the information together.   I must admit that I felt myself sitting there in the closeness of that store/pub in County Mayo along with Michael the Ferry and his passengers as they gave up their hidden stories; just as I felt right there, with the author, as he (we) paid keen attention to every storyteller in the book.

As Mr Thomson travels through the lands from which these stories emanate, he clearly illustrates the loss of the (Seanchaí) storytellers along with their myths, tales, lore and legends as modernisation takes hold*, so that I was made to keenly feel the loss of the culture where once people lived between reality and the otherworld.  Like all things celtic (what a loaded term), the tone is slightly melancholic, but the stories are so full of wonder I was loathe to read the last tale, for I knew I would be sad indeed to reach the end with no more tales to be told and my journey of wonder into the past over.

I must admit that despite the way some of the stories are delivered, oft times in conversational form, they do lend themselves to be performed at storytelling nights, where both adults and children can appreciate and enjoy them.

I cannot recommend this book enough: it is simply warming even if some of the stories are meant as warnings.   I think I shall always treasure "The People of the Sea: Celtic Legends And Myths" and re-read regularly, more particularly when it's cold, wet and the wind is lashing at the windows.  If you have any interest in folk tales, fairy tales, the legend of the selkie, or the transformative powers of magic, you will probably enjoy this book.

Read it!

Rating: 5/5.




* In the time the author is writing and recording, radio as much as television is taking hold of the minds of the young, causing the decline.

Review: The Secret of Roan Inish

Just before, during and since my trip to Scotland the Selkie myth has been brought to my attention on several occasions. There was a book, mention of them by various people and while searching for a film to watch, having viewed "Ondine", I stumbled across "The Secret of Roan Inish" on Amazon.

I perused the description of the movie at Amazon, a single line that offered little in the way of what to expect. One Australian reviewer, Brian Barratt, revealed the whole movie without offering a spoiler alert, though he did proffer further information on the myths and legends associated with selkies and seals. Despite knowing the complete storyline, I ordered the DVD; it was going cheap.

Arriving home from work in the early hours of the morning, with nothing on the box, I began to watch the movie. I must say the beginning was a little confusing, but I soon caught on. The movie isn't fast paced and is probably aimed at children, nonetheless I enjoyed it. Even though I knew "the secret", I was still entranced by the tale and found myself becoming anxious as to how the story would resolve; I was glued to the screen.

The story centres on a girl called Fiona, who is sent to her grandparents' house in Donnegal to escape the city in which her father now lives. The proximity of her grandparents' house to the island of her family's origin, Roan Inish, causes the girl to ponder the fate of her infant brother, Jimmy, now mourned by his family. With the help of her sympathetic cousin, Eamon and some more distant, dark relatives, Fiona uncovers the truth about her island origins; and the truth is stranger than myth.

A fantastical, magical tale which slowly unwinds.

I recommend this DVD/film to anyone interested in selkies and celtic tales of wonder.

Rating: 4/5.