Author taps into Russia connection as he explores Hebridean roots

Award-winning author, Donald S Murray, right, has taken inspiration from his childhood in Lewis for his new book, revealing unlikely connections between the Hebrides and old Soviet Union.

Despite growing up on the edge of Lewis, the vastness of Russia never felt too distant for Donald. Its great literary traditions were often discussed in his home village, while the political unrest and religious fervour that marked its past and present were occasionally reflected in his life on the island.

In perhaps his most personal book to date, Donald’s Red Star Over Hebrides (published in June by Taproot Press) reflects on this childhood in Nell, to reveal the Isle of Lewis’s unlikely cultural and imaginative links to the old Soviet Union.

Inspired by the Russian canon, the songs, verse and stories contained within the book draw upon the experiences of his youth, shifting continually between myth and history, the absurd and moving, the satirical and everyday, confirming the truth of the book's opening line: “I can see these islands mirror Russia.”

In this collection of poems and short stories written over a period of more than 20 years, Murray has crafted a revealing portrait of post-war Hebridean life, including a first-ever written account of the life of Soviet spy, Donald Maclean.

Commenting on his latest literary venture, Donald said: “I’m delighted to be working with Taproot Press on this collection of short stories, poems and – even – songs, especially as I know the publisher has strong island connections and an awareness of what makes these communities distinctive and unusual.”

Explaining the background to the book, Donald said much of Red Star Over Hebrides draws from his personal inspirations, including an awareness of Eastern European history and literature, and Gaelic song. He said: “Both go back to my youth. My childhood was full of tales about the creation of hydro dams around the Highlands in which both my father and uncles were involved. There they met many Eastern Europeans – from Poland and Ukraine especially. My interest in the history and literature of these parts goes back to those days.”

Other important inputs are his school days and the Ness Hall of his youth.

“Gaelic songs from the likes of Donald MacRae, Hoddan and Fergie MacDonald, Murdo John Morrison, Ishbel Macaskill and early Runrig often echoed round the walls there, prompting my feet to tap and lips to move – even if the latter was rarely in tune,” confessed Donald.

Red Star Over Hebrides draws upon all these disparate elements and other aspects of Hebridean life, such as the fishing industry, crofting land raids and the stories of Dostoevsky, Gogol, Tolstoy and others.

Its extraordinary and diverse narratives reveal the unlikely historic and imaginative connections between the far-east of Europe and Scotland’s most remote islands.