Orkney Books – The Outrun & An Orkney A to Z

◄  Having been to the Orkney Islands and definitely liked that strange collection of windy Scottish outposts I read two Orkney books. I really enjoyed Amy Liptrot’s The Outrun – Orkney girl abandons dull island life, moves to London, gets into partying, clubbing and alcohol. Far too much alcohol, booze simply screws up her life

The amazing thing, amongst so many bad decisions, is she doesn’t get into real drugs, she doesn’t get too badly beaten up, she doesn’t get raped, but she could have done so easily. Then she swears off the drink and returns to Orkney, including a long spell on Papa Westray, and really it’s a love song to the Orkneys, the islands, the island life, the birds, the seals, and an uncomfortable amount of swimming in that cold cold water.

As someone who is an absolute wimp when it comes to getting into water, even not so cold water, contemplating warm 13℃ days and not so warm 4℃ ones, well it’s hard even reading about it.

At times it’s hard reading her ‘drunk in London’ account as well, it’s one of those books where you identify with the character and keep saying ‘don’t do it, don’t be so stupid.’ But she does. Foolishly, as you do when you’re drunk, she gets in a car with a complete stranger and soon finds herself attacked:

• … I remember him saying … ‘Be quiet.’ I was not quiet. I was terrified, drunk, on drugs, and had been hit hard on the head twice, but somehow I quickly sized up the situation. He was not a big man and didn’t have a weapon. … I screamed for help and shouted, ‘I am stronger than you, I am stronger than you,’ kicking and struggling as he tore at my tights.

She is indeed stronger than him, later in the book she mentions that she is six feet tall. Her attacker ran from the scene, abandoning his car, not a good idea, he’s picked up by the police the next day.

The Outrun was published in 2016 and in 2024 was released as a film directed by Nora Fingscheidt and starring Saoirse Ronan. My copy of the book included a fascinating afterword by Amy Liptrot about the film and the curious effect of seeing your life by somebody else. Or check The Guardian for this good review of the movie, I must watch it!

◄ In  my second Orkney blog I’ve already mentioned my other Orkney book, Jerry Wood’s An Orkney A to Z, another love letter to the islands. Westray in particular, one island over from Papa Westray where Amy Liptrot made a lengthy retreat. Jerry’s book touches on many aspects of Westray and Orkney life – well it’s an A to Z so there are 26 chapters of them.

◄  That includes his expertise as a drystone dyker, an Orkney skill which Amy Liptrot also touches on. You can admire Jerry Wood’s drystone expertise around Westray where he has built the plinths which tourist information signs are mounted on. This one is by the waterfront at Pierowall, the main settlement on Westray. The spherical stone in the centre is a Jerry Wood signature and in the top right corner of the picture you can see No 1 Broughton, his bed & breakfast where I stayed on Westray. That’s a bit unusual as well, Orkney houses almost all seem to be uniformly grey. A white house is quite out of the ordinary.