The Lost Lights of St Kilda

Tell me a story... about an island cut off from the world 

 The Lost Lights of St Kilda by Elizabeth Gifford

Publication date: March 5, 2020

Date read: April 17, 2022

When Fred Lawson takes a research position on the isolated island of St Kilda for the summer of 1927, he doesn’t know that he will be joining the last community to ever live there; the island will be evacuated only three years later. When Fred is later captured by the Germans during the Second World War, he looks back on his time on the island, thinking about the girl he left behind. 

I listened to the audiobook, read by Fiona McNeill, Geoffrey Newland, and Diane Brooks.

This story was so sweet. I loved the main characters of Fred and Chrissy and hearing about their lives on the island. I had never heard of St Kilda before reading this, and I really liked the decision to have one main character be an island native and one be an outsider. It gave great perspective to the story. 

I also really liked that, while this was a love story between two people, it was even more a story about the place. It read like a love letter to this island and its way of life. The writing was beautiful but not overdone. I’ll definitely be checking out more from this author in the future. 

The audiobook was very well put together, and I thought the voice actors did incredible jobs. I really felt like I was there with them. 

This is not a plot-heavy book, but if you like learning about a place and people from a historical fiction novel, I highly recommend this one. A beautiful story that made me want to learn more about this island and the people who called it home. 

Rating: 4.5/5 stars

Trigger warning: imprisonment, war, torture (mentioned), sexual assault, death, violence

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book