The Gathering Night - Margaret Elphinstone

Canongate Books, 2009.

 

Four Stars

 

I have to admit that I snooped through the afterword before beginning this book – and I’m happy I did. Elphinstone’s perspective and motivation were very helpful in understanding the context of the novel. I found out that the story is set in Mesolithic Scotland, not the Pacific Northwest as I would have assumed from the coastal setting. I highly suggest reading the afterword first, it will certainly enhance the story.

 

The characters of The Gathering Night are focused on hunting and gathering for survival in 400 BCE, and as such, there is no written literature. Elphinstone narrates her novel with many voices, as each family member tells stories around the fire. The verbal storytelling feels very authentic to the time period, as their historical account of events changes with each new voice. My only complaint was that the voices were perhaps not distinct enough.

 

The general outline of The Gathering Night seems plausible to me – there is no anachronistic romance or other contemporary influences. The tsunami that sets all following events into motion is the only true historical event in the novel, but it is completely believable that this could have been a story passed down through generations, retold around the campfire at the gathering. There is no modern omniscient narrator telling us how the characters would have thought or felt, so all we have is their seemingly authentic story.

 

The mystery of the tsunami and its influence, whether direct or subtle, is slowly built up throughout the novel, and the development of characters is advanced at a similarly plodding pace. Part of this is due to the repetition of scenes, shown through the different perspectives of each storyteller. This device is a little tedious, yet it does illustrates how the individual voices merge into a collective voice of the community.

 

The group’s interactions with nature could be a commentary on our present disconnect with wildlife. There is a concept of agreement between hunters and animals that is not a sacrifice but a compromise between the two: the animals were not afraid because “they knew [none] had agreed to give itself that day.” This phrasing is repeated throughout the book, and I think it is a beautiful way of describing the fact that the hunters only took what they needed, and nothing more.

 

I was expecting that the tsunami would have a bigger role in the novel, and I felt my interest in all of the minor conflicts dragging in the middle of the novel. However, everything picked up as the loose ends began to tie together in an unexpected way. The concept of life continuing on after death was so important to these people living just to survive, and this is why storytelling is so important for the community. Whether the deceased are truly reincarnated or not, they live on through their stories. The ending justified the means of telling this story, and pulled it all together.