Review of "Emotional Geology"

If there is anything inevitable in life apart from death and taxes then it is change, and Emotional Geology, the debut novel from Linda Gillard, deals with the trauma of dramatic change.

The uncontrollable effect of relationships is reflected strongly in Gillard's attention to the Scottish island landscape of the novel's North Uist setting, and the effect of nature's forces upon it, whether they may be internal (volcanic), or external (centuries worth of weathering).

Individual struggle runs in parallel with this theme, firmly displaying the influence of extreme surroundings on the fractured psychology of Gillard's protagonist, Rose Leonard, a textile artist who has bipolar disorder and has moved to North Uist in an attempt to distance herself from past pain.

Rose's work with textiles features firmly throughout, creating an almost tactile literary manifestation of her inner turmoil, the effect of the barren landscape upon it, and the inspiration she derives from her growing, stalling relationship with schoolteacher, Calum Morrison, and the power of his poetry. The couple's joint artistic work draws attention to emotional influences on the creative process, and this is inextricably bound throughout the novel with its own structural creation or 'geology'.

Creating captivation rather than confusion, Gillard's changing narrative devices create a multi-layered literary texture, which is reflected in content by description of Rose's art and Rose's own explanation of her motivation. The controlled chaos of this episodic approach to the novel's structure reflects the chaos of Rose's psychological state.

Emotional Geology proves to be a tightly woven literary fabric of many emotional threads, which result in an engrossing and satisfying read. It may hold particular appeal for anyone who has experienced extreme distress, but its lucid prose and powerful description - and a penultimate series of emotional bombshells that play like that crucial cinematic 'twist' we all increasingly expect in film - result in an un-put-downable page-turner that is likely to captivate readers across the board.

Helen Waddell