The Book of I - by David Greig (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

"A dazzlingly fresh take on early medieval life, as funny as it's moving, The Book of I is a wild trip."-Emma Donoghue, author of Room

Scotland, 825: On the shores of the remote isle of Iona, a horde of Norsemen is preparing to make landfall and raid the resident monastery. Inside the church walls, a bevy of ecstatic monks begin to dance, all celebrating their glorious, impending martyrdom. All, that is, except for young Brother Martin, who at the last moment finds a less than desirable place to hide.

When the massacre ends, Brother Martin discovers he is one of three survivors. The others include Una, a beekeeper and mead maker who finds herself now happily widowed, and Grimur, an aging Viking who has clawed his way to the surface of the hasty grave he was left in. As the seasons pass in this feral and lonely setting, their inherent distrust of each other and differing ideologies melt into a complex meditation on the bonds and love between them.

Wildly humorous, poignant, and alive with sharply exquisite truths, The Book of I is an entirely unique novel in which David Greig deftly snaps the barrier between our own time and the past.

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