Every so often a book comes along that is so intriguing and original that it simply blows you away. Callum and the Mountain is just such a novel. It is a beautiful and poetic piece of storytelling about our relationship with the spiritual and natural world with a mythical feel to it. It is told in such a way that it genuinely feels unlike anything I have read before.

Callum Maxwell lives in the small peaceful village of Skerrils in Scotland. It is a lovely wee place where not much happens. That is until the school unexpectantly explodes and Callum finds his life beginning to change forever as he meets various spirits and starts to see the world in a completely new way.  Throughout the book we see the development of the fascinating relationship between Callum and his Papa, a real connection between young and old. It always feels like we are inside Callum’s head and we live the story with him and even when I wasn’t reading it I still felt I was with him.

One of the things that I really love is how Alan McClure has included lots of Scots vocabulary, giving the characters a real authentic, believable feel. It has lots of wonderful examples of this beautiful language.

Callum and the Mountain is a beautifully crafted novel that has a magical, mysterious and almost ethereal feel to it. It is intriguing, mystifying and absolutely exquisite. It is one of the most interesting books I have read for a long time and I would absolutely recommend it!

Thanks to Alan McClure for the advance copy.

Callum and the Mountain is published by Beaten Track Publishing on 15th August.