Beautiful and sad, Fletcher has us experience the life and experiences of Corrag, during the times of the Jacobite uprisings in Scotland. The words are like poetry and I will not do them justice. ( )

I liked the language and the descriptions of the Scottish landscape, but overall I could not get into it like as I hoped. I borrowed an audio version from the library, and a few times, I just wanted to return it, but I continue to listen, just in case something would change. Like many reviews, I was lost a few times on what was going on. It’s repetitive and mundane. Just could not get into the story or into the characters in this story. ( )

Based on a historical event, the 1692 massacre at Glencoe in Scotland, Corrag is a remarkable book, emotional and poetic and stirring. The breathtaking physical world of the Scottish highlands comes into sharp focus, as we travel with Corrag, a persecuted woman who flees the lowlands where she is labeled as a witch, as were her mother and grandmother before her. She takes up living in the wilds of Glencoe, and her life becomes entwined with the McDonald clan who live there.

We all have our stories, and we speak of them, and weave them into other people’s stories--that's how it goes, does it not?

Indeed, Corrag’s story becomes woven into the story of the McDonald clan, but also with the story of an Irish pastor who comes to visit her as she awaits execution. At the outset of the book, Charles Leslie comes to gather information about the massacre, and he meets with Corrag, hoping for her death as a witch and the destruction of her body and soul. How the telling of her story affects him is part of what makes this book so effective. For he is a religious man who does not expect to learn from a “witch”, but he does.

That we may fear the manner of death. We may fear the pain, and I do--so much. But the word death is like elsewhere--it is some other place, where others are.

I’ve heard fate talked of. It’s not a word I use. I think we make our own choices. I think how we live our lives is our own doing, and we cannot fully hope on dreams and stars. But dreams and stars can guide as well perhaps. And the heart’s voice is a strong one. Always is.

What we all learn from Corrag is that pre-judging people is a risky business. It might cause us to miss the most beautiful soul we could ever encounter, it might cheat us of the good things God has on offer. We might find not just how like us the different people are, but how superior to us they can be.

I would be remiss if I did not offer a special thanks to my friend, Candi, for pointing me toward this novel. She told me more than once to read it. I wish I had done it sooner. But, it is never too late to come to such a meaningful and beautifully written story. ( )

4.5 stars rounded up. (As a heads up, the majority of the book is about a young woman's life, with only a small portion near the end directly about the massacre). I read it quite slowly, just a chapter or two and then I'd put it down and come back to it a day or two later. Not because the writing was poor or the subject was boring, but because it felt kind of heavy, both in an emotionally taxing sort of way and in kind of a profound one. I would roll it around in my head and sort of process it, and then bite off another portion. Each chapter is basically a monologue, that alternates between the young woman recounting her tale and the man there to interview her. I haven't read any other like it. The man's chapters are in the form of letters home, but hers are told very similarly only spoken directly to him. I wasn't going to give it 5 stars because I didn't feel like 'this is great I'm really enjoying myself!' while reading it, =D But the heroine especially has such a unique and poetic way of seeing the world, there where so many interesting and beautiful lines. And I believe I will think back on this for a long time going forward, and consider things from this new perspective. Also, I was caught up emotionally by the end. It feels like everything we learned of the characters' lives all led up beautifully to that ending. ( )

I'm not sure I have the words to even begin to describe how much I adored this book. Part way through I was actually resisting the urge to read because I was dreading finishing it. I just wanted to be reading it forever. I'm not going to talk about the book because I won't even come close to capturing how extraordinarily magnificent this is. Just read it please. ( )