My Heart's in the Lowlands
Ten Days in Bonny Scotland
by Liz Curtis Higgs
Overview
From the Publisher
Best-selling novelist Liz Curtis Higgs invites you to take an entertaining journey through the South West of Scotland, known as Dumfries and Galloway. Without crossing the pond, changing time zones, or driving on the left side of the road, you’ll explore quaint villages and crumbling castles, old bookshops and charming tearooms in the delightful company of a guide whose love for this quiet nook of Scotland illuminates every page.
The verdant hills and glens of the Lowlands are awash in history, rich with culture, and peopled with engaging characters. The setting for Higgs’s acclaimed series of historical novels, Dumfries and Galloway also serves as her home away from home. Her decade-long love affair with this unique area of the world, combined with her award-winning storytelling skills, makes her the ideal armchair travel companion.
My thoughts
I gave this book three stars because it is an enjoyable read. The book is relaxing, pleasurable, pleasing and entertaining. I felt as though I were the author's travel partner, driving down a narrow Scottish road with her, looking out across the landscape at the rolling green hills and a crumbling castle in the background. I feel like I've traveled down a lot of small roadways (often muddy and nearly always narrow) to experience the backcountry. But at the end of the book, I don't remember a specific thing about what I've read. The journey was enjoyable, but at the same time it was unremarkable. There are very few characters we met along the way that made a lasting impression; no one castle that jumps out as one I want to go back and read about all over again; no incredible meal or shopping excursion that makes the trip to Scotland a must! Overall it was a quite pleasant book to read, but I've already forgotten it. I find that odd.
Still, I enjoyed the book! No one can dispute the success of this author that has written well over 20 books. I will probably read one of her other books in the near future just out of curiosity to compare writing styles between genres. Three stars, but if you ask me a month from now about this book, I may not remember that I gave it three stars! :)
Favorite Passage
SCOTLAND. I parked on the shoulder of the road, hands trembling as I photographed the sign, and then I wept with joy.
Home, home, home.
A good friend of mine feels the same way about Italy, and another adores a certain island in the Caribbean. For me, it will always be Scotland - Galloway in particular. the musical lilt of a Lowland accent never fails to boost my spirits. I'm simply deliriously happy there.
