A Portable Shelter

In their tiny, sea-beaten cottage on the north coast of Scotland, Liska and Ruth await the birth of their first child.

Each passes the time by telling the baby stories, trying to pass on the lessons they’ve learned: tales of circuses and stargazing, selkie fishermen and domestic werewolves, child-eating witches and broken-toothed dragons.

But they must keep their storytelling a secret from one another, as they’ve agreed to only ever tell the plain truth. So to cloak their tales, Ruth tells her stories when Liska is at work, to a background of shrieking seabirds; Liska tells hers when Ruth is asleep, with the lighthouse sweeping its steady beam through the window.

A collection of skilfully written short stories in which the beauty of imagination meets the inevitable harshness of life… Undeniable literary merit. -- Vanessa Piras ― List

What’s important is that it works, and that Logan’s lyrical, dreamlike storytelling reminds us why folk tales exist. -- Alastair Mabbott ― Herald

A fascinating and original book, Kirsty Logan is a writer to watch. ― Diva