Product Description

Deep in the wilderness of Scotland, Aaron and Hugh have been friends for as long as they can remember. When a woman moves into the area, she drives an emotional wedge between the two. They turn against their world and vent their frustration, anger and despair in the only way they know how.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1217205 in Books
• Published on: 2001-06-04
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 336 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
Ruaridh Nicoll’s raw and lyrical first novel White Male Heart is about masculine angst and romantic treachery and has all the saturnine beauty of the Scottish Highlands, which provide the narrative’s backdrop.

The plot is simple enough. Two old friends, Aaron and Hugh, have grown up together amid the ruggedly lovely world of fishfarms and gillies, whippets and shepherds. But this rural idyll, if such it is, doesn’t last long. When Rebecca, a sculptress from the big city, arrives her urbanity and sophistication seem to underscore the limitations of Hugh and Aaron’s world. And her capricious beauty is even more destructive as it turns the two Highland boys into bitter love-rivals. The struggles between the pair provide the motive force for the book’s melancholy and brutal denouement.

White Male Heart is not flawless: the carefully crafted prose sometimes seems a little self-conscious and the dialogue, particularly between the sexes, occasionally comes across as stilted. But long after any such weaknesses are forgotten, the dark beauty of the book’s remarkably realised Scottish scenery still lingers. This is a seriously impressive debut.--Sean Thomas

From the Back Cover
In the sublime wilderness of the Scottish Highlands, Aaron and Hugh have been friends for as long as they can remember, bound by an affinity for their natural surroundings and a shared alienation from the remote community in which they live.

Then a stranger - a woman escaping a broken love affair - moves to the area, driving an emotional wedge between the two young men. As the strain on their friendship builds, so the violence that is endemic in the land begins to infect them. Turning on their world, Aaron and Hugh vent their frustration, anger and despair in the only way they know...

Dark, visceral, beautifully written and with an irresistible, brooding sense of place, White Male Heart delves deep into the male psyche and heralds the arrival of an exceptional new literary voice.

About the Author
Ruaridh Nicoll was Born in Arbroath, Angus and raised in the Highland county of Sutherland. An award-winning journalist, he has served as the Observer's US correspondent and the Guardian's Southern Africa correspondent. He lives in Scotland.

Customer Reviews

Atmospheric, but unsatisfying.
As a lover of the Scottish Highlands, Nicoll's vivid descriptions of the landscape struck a particular chord with me, and his ability to put across the barren beauty of the area made this a particularly atmospheric read. At times, though, his writing style jarred - many of his anologies seemed rather forced. Although I enjoyed the read, it ultimately left me feeling unsatisfied. If Nicoll had been as adept at bringing characters to life as he was the with the landscape, and if he had concentrated more on the psychology and motivations behind the increasinly barbaric behaviour of some of the characters, then the book would have got 4 or 5 stars from me.

absolutly fanatstic
From the first chapter I was instantly lost in the book. The more it continued the more difficult it became to put the book down. The beauty of the Scottish Highlands and its people really do come alive. Absolutly brilliant!! Highly recommended to everybody.

A great find
Purchased for my flight to Hong Kong - I liked the cover - this was an unexpected gem. Wonderfully evocative descriptions of the splendour and changing moods of the highlands interwoven with moments of great comedy and high violence make this a thoroughly entertaining story that maintains a lurking sense of dread until its well constructed end. A very good read and highly recommended.