Take Me Home
Reviewed By Janet Mawdesley May 8, 2021
Author Karly Lane
Distributor: Allen & Unwin
ISBN: 9781760878498
Publisher: Allen & Unwin
Release Date: May 2021
Website: https://www.allenandunwin.com
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When life decides to hand out unlooked for change, it often comes with hidden benefits which at the time are very hard to discover. It is this theme, along with the beauty of Scotland, that captured the imagination of Karly Lane as she follows the story of Elle Kinnaird and her beloved grandmother ‘Gran’, as they travel to Scotland, the birthplace of her Gran, to complete a journey that lasted a lifetime.
Take Me Home is a rich and gloriously heartfelt story of Gran’s final journey back to her beloved Scotland and concurrently, Elle’s journey of learning to believe in herself, to have courage to leave the small country town of Jessup’s Creek in the New England area of New South Wales, to discover who she is and what she really wants to do with the rest of her life.
She and Gran had always discussed taking a journey to Scotland but as Gran was now dead, Elle was having to face up to not just the loss of her Gran, but that real poignancy of never having done what they had planned so many times over the years. But once the Will is read, the house, also Elle’s home, is to be sold and just to make life a little more distressing, losing her job at the supermarket, she was having to seriously make the decision, pushed by Gran, to take Grans ashes to Scotland; Stormeil Castle to be exact.
Karly Lane has captured the ancient mystical ambience of Scotland perfectly as she travels from Edinburgh through the stunning Glens and Lochs of Scotland to the beautiful, mysterious Isle of Skye to complete the last request of her beloved Gran. The problem is Gran has decided to come along as well as very distinct voice in Elle’s head, a voice that comments on just about everything, including that rather handsome Scot that Elle meets on her quest to find the illusive Stormeil Castle.
As the days pass Elle gets to meet and is accepted into her Scottish relatives lives, in a manner that makes her feel comfortable for the first time in a long time and the story as to why Gran and her father were the only two of a close family to migrate to Australia, never to return, is uncovered.
Take Me Home is set far away from Karly Lane’s beloved Australia, in the land of ancient history and culture. It is also built around the love of family and how they can influence your life, but always there is the thread of home is where you choose to make it, regardless of whether that be Jessup’s Creek or the romantic and mystical countryside of Scotland.
Take Me Home could more than very easily be considered as Karly Lane’s finest work to date.