The testament of Gideon Mack - James Robertson

I spent much of this book trying to discern if this was indeed fiction, or a memoir. As a work of fiction this book is an interesting premise, and very unusual. However as a memoir it would present as the ramblings of a sad, Godless minister who spent his life never living up to his own expectations. A man who wanted to be special, and never came to terms with his own mortality, which in the end drove him to delusions. Gideon's search to be extraordinary ultimately leads him to The Stone. The Stone draws close parallels with an imaginary friend. The fact that a minister should jump so quickly to associating this stone with the Devil, and befriending it even, ...  Read the complete review

This is one of those odd reads that doesn't seem to make sense, but intrigues you all the same. This tells the tale of the Minister Gideon Mack, who is never quite happy with his life which is never great, but he simply gets on with it. This is until he falls into a gorge and is saved by the Devil. Oddly enough the part with the Devil is near the end of the book, and the rest is telling the story of Gideon's life. This works well as by the time the major event happens, you feel like you have a connection with the character. The story is set in Scotland which i believe to be a great setting for such a story. Its all rather bleak, and reflects real ...  Read the complete review

The beginning of the end of Gideon Mack's life starts when he notices a huge, ancient-looking standing stone in his local woods during one of his frequent cross country runs. Gideon Mack is convinced it wasn't there before. He tells his friends about this stone, but they are slightly sceptical. Giant stones don't simply appear out of thin air! However, he's not dismissed out of hand. You see, Gideon Mack is not your run of the mill church minister. For starters, he doesn't believe in God, so he's a faithless minister. He was in a loveless marriage that ended early (due to an accidental fatality) and he's even coveted thy neighbour's ass, quite literally. Oh, ...  Read the complete review

The paperback cover littered with plaudits was enough to persuade me to part with £7.99 from Waterstones. By the end of the first page of the superb prologue, I was hooked. The prologue is an exchange between the Edinburgh publisher Peter Walker and the finder of the testament Harry Caithness. It introduces us to the testament itself and the life story of the eponymous Gideon Mack, a minister of the Church of Scotland from the fictional town of Monimaskit where memoirs turn up following his mysterious disappearance and death on a mountain. (No I haven't spoilt the plot; this information is given in the blurb.) Having tasted the bait, the testament itself reels ...  Read the complete review