Sun Dancing

I read this book very quickly - I think it was the quirkiness.
I am a bit of a Geoffrey Moorhouse fan, and would probably not have picked up a book on Irish Monastic history had it been another author.

So the quirkiness - The book is split into two parts. Part One, titled The Tradition consists of seven chapters of narrative, stand alone, but inter-related as they plot a history over the years AD588 to AD1222. The history they plot is of the creation, operation and ultimately withdrawal from Skellig Michael, a rocky crag some 12 kilometres offshore from County Kerry on the west coast of Ireland.

Moorhouse is quick to point out that his narrative chapters are based on evidence gathered, but have been woven into short stories to present that evidence. The chapters are are set one per decade approximately, and between them cover out practically all aspects of life as a monk on a remote outcrop, from their chores and rituals, the coming of the vikings, the visits from pilgrims, to reinforcing their numbers and maintaining their way of life.

Part Two, titled The Evidence consists of many (almost 40) short chapters on specific topics. These are non-fiction, cite references and sources and explain in more detail the events occurring in the narrative chapters of part one. Titles include people (characters and other influencers in the narrative) - the Desert Fathers, the Irish Kings and Tara, Cu Chulainn, Brian Boru; history of certain fragments - Irish Monasticism, Three Martyrdoms, the Vikings ; rituals and elements of life - fasting, penance, soul-friends, the buildings, Celtic metalwork.

Each chapter is numbered by the page number in the narrative where it is raised. The quirkiness is such that by the time you get to page 10 in the narrative, you have read 51 pages of ‘evidence'.

So running two bookmarks, and flicking from front to back every few pages was how I started with the book, but it did disrupt the narrative chapter. After a couple of chapters, I found it preferable to read the narrative chapter, then go to read all the evidence related to that before progressing to the next narrative chapter.

Moorhouse says in his introduction that this book is 30 years in the making, and the meticulous research and detail bears that out. All the intricacies in the narrative is backed up with evidence - for example the careful description of the rocky path to their place of safety when the vikings arrive, or the Hermitage constructed just under the peak of the island - all real and not embellished.

Very good, and the quirkiness was worth another star bringing this to 4 stars from me.