Published: Feb. 09, 2013
Words: 60,070 (approximate)
Language: English (Scottish dialect)
ISBN: 9781301505487

Short description

the sea before breakfast, set on an orkney island, based on the author’s first teaching post, as headteacher of an eight children school. Put a naïve, enthusiastic, clueless, idealistic 25 year old, determined to have a go at everything, into a small community, for a line-up of humorous disasters, in which teacher is the one on the steepest learning curve.

Extended description

set in the nineteen seventies, the sea before breakfast is set on an orkney island, three miles long, one mile wide, with the fictional name of edensay. as 'say' means island, this translates as island of eden. a humorous take the author’s experiences of her first teaching post, with eight children, seven boys and one girl. a beckwithian style indicates the humour, but not lillian beckwith's attitude towards her new culture, recalled by the author with deep affection. teacher is portrayed as the one on the steepest learning curve.
the book has a completely anecdotal structure, james herriot style. it is composed of little stories, laced with orcadian dialect, easy to follow, of life in this isolated community.
the first-person narrative is devoid of any tendency towards egotism. just throw a naive enthusiastic clueless 25 year old with a streak of idealism, a gung-ho attitude and a determination to have a go at everything into a small community eager to welcome young.. (Read more) set in the nineteen seventies, the sea before breakfast is set on an orkney island, three miles long, one mile wide, with the fictional name of edensay. as 'say' means island, this translates as island of eden. a humorous take the author’s experiences of her first teaching post, with eight children, seven boys and one girl. a beckwithian style indicates the humour, but not lillian beckwith's attitude towards her new culture, recalled by the author with deep affection. teacher is portrayed as the one on the steepest learning curve.
the book has a completely anecdotal structure, james herriot style. it is composed of little stories, laced with orcadian dialect, easy to follow, of life in this isolated community.
the first-person narrative is devoid of any tendency towards egotism. just throw a naive enthusiastic clueless 25 year old with a streak of idealism, a gung-ho attitude and a determination to have a go at everything into a small community eager to welcome young people. such a mix courts a line-up of disasters.
a dramatic content is given to this book by an encounter with the largest shark in the world, a near-rape scene, and a near-wrecking of a fishing boat when the rudder line snaps. but the tone retains its humour.
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Tags

children, teaching, humour, unity, outdoor, lobster fishing, horses and ponies, orkney community, orkney island

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Reviews

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Review by: Cherime MacFarlane on March 09, 2013 :
Excellent. Thanks for a really good look at life in the iles.
(reviewed within a month of purchase)

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