Whisky Galore

By: Sir Compton Mackenzie

Narrated by: David Rintoul

Length: 9 hrs and 30 mins

Publisher's summary

It's 1943, and the war has brought rationing to the Hebridean Islands of Great and Little Todday. When food is in short supply, it is bad enough, but when the whisky runs out, it looks like the end of the world.

Morale is at rock bottom. George Campbell needs a wee dram to give him the courage to stand up to his mother and marry Catriona. The priest, the doctor and, of course, the landlord at the inn are all having a very thin time of it. There's no conversation, no jollity, no fun - until a shipwreck off the coast brings a piece of extraordinary good fortune....

©1947 Compton Mackenzie (P)2018 Hachette Audio UK

What chatacters

Saint Mini saves the day! Now I think I'll go pour myself a wee dram.

I love David Rintoul

Please have David read "Keep the Home Guard Turning"
by Compton MacKenzie
another great book!

Humour Galore, the narrator MAKES this audiobook, a performance

whiskey Galore is a cultural baptismal dowsing the reader in Scotch whiskey, a story that starts w the lack thereof . If i could give this narrator 10 stars i would. A peaty, earthy voice with hints of burnt caramel and wood smoke. I laughed out loud often, occasionally to point of joyful tears, talented author

An Awesome Narration of a lovely, quirky book

Whoever chose David Rintoul as narrator, was a sheer genius! He was simply awesome!

Uisge Beatha - is that a sneeze and a yawn in "Garlic"?

I am in two minds about this book, for I am sure that had I read it in print or on kindle, I would have given it 3 stars only, but the awesome narration of David Rintoul, whom I just cannot praise highly enough!!, rendered it much more enjoyable. His style and Scottish accents delighted my Scotland-loving ears and soul and I could have gone on listening for an ever longer period.

The novel is based on a real story: during WW2 a cargo ship ran aground off the coast of one of the Hebridean Islands, carrying tens of thousands of whisky intended for the US market. The locals set out to salvage as much of this precious cargo as they could, risking prosecution from Customs and Excise authorities.

In the book there are 2 fictional islands of the Outer Hebrides called Great Todday (Protestant) and Little Todday (Catholic) in the year of 1943. While the islanders may have their mild religious clashes (in the book this takes the form of rivalry of which island's people settled there earlier and what their origins are as well as about the observation of Sabbath), they are united on one front: when the provision of whisky starts thinning out and then cut off, the "Drought" affects morale very badly on both Islands, much to the consternation of the snobbish British Home Guard officer, Captain Waggett (who is in mortal fear of losing the war because of the locals' callous behaviour).
Any possible dispute on religion or anthropogeny is forgotten in the brethrenly and spiritual union over the saving, drinking and selling of the salvaged crates of whisky they all refer to as Minnie or St. Minnie to honour the grounded ship which was called The Cabinet Minister. (Obviously with the exception of the local Hotel & Pub owner, with whom this is a sore point as the shipwreck of the Minnie comes at the worst possible time: regular provisions & distribution of whisky is just being restored.)

The book takes its own sweet and long time to build up and gather steam (or is that Whisky fumes?) and at the beginning reads more like a collection of loosely tide storylines about quirky, Scottish Islanders than an organic whole, but then the parts starts to fit together nicely and in retrospect, I did not mind about the really slow and seemingly disjointed beginning.

We are introduced to a great cast of quirky characters on both islands with their side stories, including 2 "romances". And David Rintoul did full justice to the different voices and accents as well as to the Gaelic phrases (not that I am any expert on that!).

I would not say that the book is choke full of laugh-out-loud moments or would cause "unbridled mirth"; it is more of what I'd call gentle humour and it made me smile and chuckle quite a few times.