Corrag: A Novel

One of the best novels I have read in a long long time. Normally, I am not one for intense descriptive passages, but this book took my breath away. I could not put it down. I was with Corrag, on her mare, riding through the forests. I was by her side, running through the highlands amongst the heather. And I stepped into the icey waters with her, as she cleansed herself.
Ms Fletcher is an outstanding writer, and the images she portrays, are vivid as well as ethereal. I wanted to be with Corrag, as she came upon Glencoe, and my heart wept for her as she she described her feelings for one of the clansmen, awed over her acceptance that her love for Alasdair will never be anymore that a touch, a kiss and a dream.
It is a book that needs a roaring fire, a glass of red wine and a comfortable chair; where one can curl up and be transported to a different time. A place where loyalites, superstition religion were more meaningful and life so difficult, yet more simple. It also paints a horrific picture of a brutal and barbaric massacre, where innocent women and children were guilty just be association or by being a MacDonald.
Buy it, read it and lose yourself in the pages. "Corrag" is definitely worth it.

If I could give this book 10 stars...20....I would! Corrag is a novel that transports you. It is full of beautifully styled language that carries you to places you imagine you can touch and experience first hand. It's just amazing to me. This novel has had me hooked from the first page and never let go!

Much of the novel takes place from a dark, dank prison cell, but as Corrag spins her tale, we are transported to the beautiful, dangerous highlands of Scotland, to the Clan she came to be a part of. It is full of everything you might expect from a novel of this nature, love, betrayal, prejudice, fear and redemption.

I lingered over every word, savored it like a fine wine and will definitely read this again.

This is a bittersweet book. Corrag had a difficult childhood and an even more difficult adulthood, but she appreciates all the little things in nature that many of us (myself included) miss because we are so busy and in such a hurry. A condemned Corrag tells her story in a dirty, lonely, cold tollbooth to a Mr. Charles Leslie who is looking for information regarding the Massacre of Glencoe. Mr. Leslie, in turn, digests the information and writes it to his wife in his letters.

The way it is written takes some getting used to. I read a little slower at the beginning and had to backtrack a few times to figure it out. The extra work is worth it. For example (from the ARC):

"So yes, the heart has its scars. It has its spaces, so that I wondered if it whistled when the wind was strong. I wondered if it leaked, on rainy days. A heart with holes in it."

I was completely immersed in the parts where Corrag was telling her story and didn't appreciate the breaks in the story where Mr. Leslie had to go to bed and rest (the nerve!!). =) If it had just been Corrag narrating the story, I would have read right through to the end. I forgive Mr. Leslie at the end though.

I know this a random comment, but with all the seriousness and sadness in the book, I appreciated Corrag's gassy horse. It helped to lighten things up a bit...at least for a little while.

Corrag's optimistic enjoyment of nature and people did get a little tiresome for a little while. Not only did Corrag describe how beautiful and wonderful it was, Mr. Leslie repeated it again and again in his letters to his wife.

I think this book was different and I lost myself again and again in it. Be kind. Listen to your heart. Be what you are meant to be. =)

Being one of Clan Donald, I love this wee book. I have turned on many of my friends, but they don't understand the significance of it, for the most part. This is the beginning of the bitter, longstanding feud between the MacDonalds and the Campbells. I love this book, and I hope that things went down much as was described in it. Kudos, Ms. Fletcher! I've not found another book so worth reading!

Corrag is the highly anticipated novel of Susan Fletcher, author of the 2007 Oystercatchers and her award winning 2005 debut Eve Green. She does not disappoint in this novel of love, prejudice, warfare, and beauty.

The background of the novel is the 1692 Glencoe Massacre in Scotland. The chief of clan MacDonald was a Jacobite, a supporter of James, as opposed to William of Orange who had ascended the English throne in 1688. After numerous Jacobite uprisings, William offered a pardon to all clans who swore an oath to him before 1 January 1692. Knowing he could not win the fight, the Laird of the MacDonalds agreed to swear allegiance, but when he arrived at Fort William, on 31 December 1691, he was informed by a Colonel Hill that he, Hill, was not authorized to accept the oath. Colonel Hill assured the clan leader that his people would not suffer for a late oath, and he provided a letter stating that the clan had arrived within the proscribed time to swear allegiance. The laird then set out for Inveraray, where he needed to go to swear the oath, arriving three days later he was forced to wait another three days for the Sheriff of Argyll, to whom he then swore allegiance. Despite Colonel Hill's assurances, the clan would pay dearly for his tardiness.

Corrag, the central character in the novel, is a woman accused of both witchcraft and treason, as she had a vision and tried to warn the MacDonald clan members, who were allowing her to live on their land, that the British soldiers whom they had been hosting as guests for two weeks were planning a massacre.

The novel definitely gives a great deal of background with regards to the history of the Glencoe Massacre, but that is certainly not the focus of the book. Chapters alternate between Corrag's voice as she tells her story to Charles Leslie, an Irish propagandist supporter of the Jacobites, and the voice of Charles as he writes letters to his wife regarding his experiences documenting Corrag's story. In the beginning, Charles views Corrag as a witch and agrees that she should burn at the stake, but as he spends time with her, she changes not only his mind but the very way he views the world around him. Author Fletcher takes on a very challenging task in her choice to tell the story through two person's viewpoints, but she pulls it off to perfection.

In a few places the story seems to bog down a bit, but there is a constant thread of tension as the reader begins to question whether Charles Leslie's growing sympathy for Corrag will result in his somehow aiding her in getting released from captivity. There is also a strong element of passion woven into the story. Corrag is in love with the second, married, son of the Laird of the Clan MacDonald, and readers will be carried along in their desire to see how that aspect of the story resolves. Evident too, is the powerful love of Charles Leslie for his bride, Jane, which shines through in his letters to her.

Susan Fletcher has an unparalleled gift for descriptive prose and uses it to create in Corrag a character for whom the reader feels great empathy. Like Charles, the reader can not fail but come away wanting to embrace the natural world, to live simply, more deliberately-Corrag made me think of Henry David Theroux. She notices every detail of life and the lives around her and embraces them for their uniqueness and beauty. I came away from this book more observant-changed, and I do not think any reader could help but do likewise. In is ironic that a book whose background is a massacre could leave one feeling so intensely alive.

I recommend this well researched work of historical fiction to anyone who is interested in historical fiction dealing with Scotland of the time period and those who love descriptive, evocative prose.

Sometimes you start reading a book, and while you know it's good, suddenly it will dawn on you that it's so much more than that; you can't turn the pages fast enough but you're also forcing yourself to slow down because you want to luxuriate in the beauty of the words and the flow of the story. Corrag is that sort of book.

Set against the background of the Glencoe Massacre of 1692, Corrag weaves fact and myth around the betrayal of King William's troops against the Jacobite Scots who signed the Oath of Allegiance six days too late. Corrag's spent her young life running from the stigma of being branded a witch, but when she arrives in Glencoe, she finds acceptance and peace among the clan. Her healing knowledge and her innocent connection to nature endear her to the chieftain and his people, and it's there that she finds love, albeit forbidden, with the MacIain's younger son. When the danger of impending massacre is revealed to Corrag, she desperately tries to warn clanmembers; her subsequent capture finds her condemned to burn in retribution. Thus her tale comes to light as a Jacobite preacher, Charles Leslie, arrives to learn about the massacre; alone in her cell, Corrag shares her memories, her dreams, and her soul as her death draws nigh.

This beautifully written story is told through flashbacks by Corrag herself and through letters written by Leslie as he comes to know the details of what occurred. As the story progresses, you can feel Leslie's perspective changing, and Corrag's desperate longing for someone to acknowledge her existence after her death is gut-wrenching. Vivid, well-researched and gripping, Corrag is simply an assault for the senses. Highly recommended.

Well written as if the character was speaking to you telling her tale. Sad ending but also not expected.
Recommended.

I first read Corrag on recommendation of a friend; we later read it as a book club selection. This book is beautifully concepted, and elequently written; five stars are just not enough. The story line, the character development, the setting - all first rate. I have been a voracious reader my entire life, and this novel has made such an impact on me. I'm sure I will read it over and over again to experience the prose again and relive the characters' dilemmas and thoughts. Fabulous book. I recommend to all I know and only wish it was also a Kindle book so I could share it more readily.

Susan Fletcher's historical novel Corrag tells the story of the massacre of Glencoe in 1692 through the eyes of a Corrag, a young woman who is a survivor and accused of being a witch. She is being held in a prison pending her planned execution by fire and during this time she is interviewed by Jacobite Anglican Priest, Charles Leslie who iis a historical figure.

Truly Corrag is the type of novel which I fall in love with. I appreciate the historical setting, the struggle for survival, and the growth and changing relationships among characters.

The story shifts between Corrag's telling of her story to Charles Leslie and his letters to his wife which provide an analysis and give detail to his changing perspective.

Life was difficult for Corrag, 17th century England and Scotland were difficult times for a woman alone and one who was seen as different in anyway as Corrag was with her tiny body was. As Susan Fletcher details in her afterword to the book:

"The Witchcraft Act of 1735 put an end to the generations of fear and persecution. Over the previous three hundred years it is estimated that over 100,00 women --mostly knowledgeable, independent , old or outspoken women--stood trial, accused of witchcraft. Torture was widespread, as means for confession. Across Europe as many as 40,000 were put to death."

But the heart of Corrag is Corrag herself. She is a tiny, wee thing who has struggled to survive, she has an odd way of talking in a high pitched manner with her hands moving in front of her mouth and she admittedly prattles on and on. Yet despite her hard life she finds wonder in the world all around and vouches for the goodness of people. She says early in the novel:

"Lives mean far more than deaths ever do. It is what we remember --the life. Not how they died, but how warm and bright-eyed they were, and how they lived their lives."

It is really the readers ability to deal with Corrag and her prattling which will make or break the novel for them. I loved the telling the rambling stream of consciousness story which was Corrag's own. I found it endearing and wanted to know more and more about her life.

Corrag was not at all what I expected it to be. Told from Corrag's point of view, it gave a very interesting perspective on her life at the time, but a rambling one. Her stream of conciousness way of speaking sometimes drove me to skim several pages. I understand that it was meant to be her way of seeing the world, and expressing how she felt, but I feel that it could have been cut in half. Some details were repeated so many times that I sighed with boredom. However, despite her ramblings, there was a great story underneath it all. I would have enjoyed this book more if it were written in a less rambling manner, and some quotation marks would have helped too.