In 1986, Curtis Gillespie travelled from Canada to Scotland to do graduate work in Modern History at the University of St Andrews. When not studying (or rather, while avoiding his studies), Curtis played for the University Golf Team. This took him across the length and breadth of Scotland, and brought him for the first time to Gullane, a small village of two thousand people located on the south coast of the Firth of Forth, a dozen miles east of Edinburgh. 'There is no quainter or romantic spot than Gullane,' wrote the Reverend John Kerr is his titanic 1896 work 'The Golf Book of East Lothian'. 'And what with the hill and valley, fresh air and fine scenery, say if you can bring me anything to match my beloved Gullane.' Gullane was a place of such unmatched physical beauty and peace -– not to mention the home of both Gullane Golf Club and Muirfield, venue for the 2002 British Open -– that Curtis vowed to return. 'It’s stunning,' he wrote to his father early in 1987!
. 'We’ll come back together.'
When he did finally return to Gullane, however, thirteen years later, it was with his wife, Cathy, and their daughters, Jessica and Grace. Through village ceilidhs, Burns Night dinners and golfing with ageing locals, Curtis Gillespie fashions an affectionate yet unerring portrait of Scottish village life. And though his father was no longer alive to share in Gullane’s charms, the experience of moving to the village and coming to know its cast of gregarious and eccentric inhabitants helped lead Curtis through an unexpected passage of discovery about his father, and himself.
PLAYING THROUGH provides the reader with the rarest of experiences: a story rich with comedy, emotional truths and stunning evocations of a unique landscape. Written with warmth and elegance, PLAYING THROUGH transcends the boundaries of writing on travel and sport to show us the world contained in a village, a place filled to overflowing with life, character, memory and laughter. This is the story of one family’s journey, but it is also a story about the things we all share.
From the Back Cover
'This book by the well-respected author, Curtis Gillespie, offers an interesting and unique mix of golf and autobiography amid the game’s hallowed settings in Scotland -– the experiences of a golfing historian turned writer. The descriptions tickled fond memories for me.'
ARNOLD PALMER
'Curtis Gillespie is a beautiful writer, with an exquisite touch reminiscent of John Updike. He can describe the ephemera of the natural world and the fragility of human relationships with the same sure hand. PLAYING THROUGH is a book about golf, history, friendship and the love of family; it is compelling and evocative and memorable in the very best sense.'
ALISTAIR MACLEOD, author of NO GREAT MISCHIEF
'PLAYING THROUGH is one of those special books that comes along only about as often as your favourite links course appears on the Open Rota –- an elegiac tribute to life’s most wonderful and complex game and the enduring bonds it creates, a beautifully rendered meditation on what it means to be a good son, a loving father, and a lasting friend of the game. If I could recommend but one book this year, this would be it.'
JAMES DODSON, author of FINAL ROUNDS
About the Author
Curtis Gillespie is the author of two previous books, THE PROGRESS OF AN OBJECT IN MOTION and SOMEONE LIKE THAT. He has received numerous awards for his fiction, including the Danuta Gleed Literary Award from the Writer’s Union of Canada, and the Henry Kreisel Award from the Writer’s Guild of Alberta. Gillespie’s non-fiction has appeared in publications in Canada, the United States and Great Britain, and his writing on politics, sports, science and the arts has earned him three National Magazine Awards. He lives in Edmonton with his wife and two daughters.
