Island of Wings by Karin Altenberg

Karin Altenberg's story of a newly-wed minister and his pregnant wife is a leap of faith. For the couple it's a chance to set up stall on a remote island. For their new congregation it's one of only maybe three visits they get a year, the others being from the landlord and the taxman. There’s clearly a difference in priorities - a nineteenth-century big society, they look after their own and exchange their harvest for goods. Maybe the UK government have read this.

When the weather is bad they can't go outside and sleep dug into the ground and can talk to their neighbours from their beds because the houses are so close together. It's a shame that the intimacy of their existence is not mirrored by an attempt to empathise with them. It ‘s difficult to feel who these characters really are. Anyone looking for details about life in St Kilda is advised to stick to the history books. Though characterisation is thin on the ground, this is an easy enough read and it’s about a fascinating bit of Scottish history that’s not as widely known as it could be – but it’s just not fascinating enough in this telling. [Sue Lawrenson]