The Book of I - by David Greig (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

A Fall 2025 Indies Introduce and Indie Next Pick

★ "A small treasure... A bloody and beautiful sojourn in the distant past."--Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

A brilliant Scottish debut, shortlisted for the Highland Book Prize and the Bookmark Book Festival Book of the Year.

The year is 825 CE. In the aftermath of a vicious attack by raiders from the north, an unlikely trio finds themselves the lone survivors on a remote Scottish isle. Still breathing are young Brother Martin, the only resident of the local monastery to escape martyrdom; Una, a beekeeper and mead maker who has been relieved of her violent husband during the slaughter; and Grimur, an aging Norseman who claws his way out of the hasty grave his fellow raiders left him in, thinking him dead.

As the seasons pass in this wild and lonely setting, their inherent distrust of each other melts into a complex meditation on the distances and bonds between them. Told with humor and alive with sharply exquisite dialogue, David Greig deftly lifts the curtain between our world and the past. The Book of I is an entirely unique novel that serves as a philosophical commentary on guilt and redemption, but also humanity, love, and the things we choose to believe in.

"Gruesome, exciting... I haven't read many books that are at once so murderous and so breezily cheerful."--Sam Sacks, Wall Street Journal

Review Quotes

★ "A small treasure... messy in the ways that being human is always messy. And it's messy in ways that make the 9th-century Hebrides feel real. A bloody and beautiful sojourn in the distant past."--Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

"Is it historical fiction or delirious fantasy? David Greig's shimmering, blood-spattered The Book of I begins in beautiful weather with a Viking killing spree. The year is 825 and the Northmen, led by Helgi Cleanshirt, have sailed to I, a remote island modeled on Iona in Scotland's Inner Hebrides... Mr. Greig deftly develops this unusual sanctuary, where paganism and Christianity coexist in harmony--where the wolf lives in peace with the lamb... gruesome, exciting... I haven't read many books that are at once so murderous and so breezily cheerful."--Sam Sacks, Wall Street Journal

"[The Book of I] is written with a vividness that reduces the distance between AD825 and our time to what feels like a thin curtain - a curtain not unlike the one David Greig's characters are tugging at, hoping to get a glimpse of the mysteries."--Times Literary Supplement

"This is a jewel of a book, sparkling like the seas around the island. Each word vivifies the island, its natural life, and the inner lives of its inhabitants... The humor renders characters relatable, highlighting issues we all recognize."--Historical Novels Society

"Seldom does such a short book deliver such surprising delights... it is as fresh and charming as any contemporary work this critic has read in ages... A gem of a novel."--The Arts Fuse

"Greig debuts with a unique tale that alternates between brutal and comic and is exceptionally rich in language."--Library Journal

"A compelling narrative of survival, faith, and redemption... Beautiful!!!"--The Southern Bookseller Review

"This small but potent volume, told with a wry sense of dark humor paints a vivid picture of a turbulent 9th century Scotland... A delightful read."--Reading the West

"An utterly unique and thrilling read."--Books from Scotland

"A brilliantly funny and visceral first novel... There are distinct echoes of George Mackay Brown but Greig has always been an original. '[The Book of I]' is a brilliant start to his career in prose."--Cameron Wyllie, Author of Is There a Pigeon in the Room

"A surprisingly humorous take on a Viking massacre on the island [of Iona], the birthplace of Christianity in Scotland... spans themes of love, death and faith while unpacking the brutality of the mythologised Norsemen with comedy and romance."--Scotland on Sunday