“I have read many books on the Hebridean islands of Lewis and Harris over the years but this volume by Marius Kociejowski is the freshest and most stimulating of all. It is a rich kaleidoscope survey written from time to time in almost poetic prose which combines travelogue, history, culture, religion, sociology, folk beliefs and much more besides. Throughout the author blends memorable conversations with islanders to his own sympathetic and penetrating insights into two fascinating communities on the northerly Atlantic margins of the British archipelago. I strongly recommend it to those both familiar and unfamiliar with the Outer Hebrides’ of Scotland.”
——T.M Devine

★Winding through the mist that shrouds Lewis and South Uist in the Outer Hebrides, Kociejowski illuminates an archipelago, a people, and a unique culture, and distils the elements of joy that exist here. Is happiness truly measurable, or does it move at such speed that we don’t notice its passing?

On a trip through the Scottish highlands, Marius Kociejowski stumbles upon the scattered remains of the Clearance village of Badbea on the east coast of Caithness. Intrigued by the fate of those settlers, forcefully evicted from their homes in 1793, and by those who today live their lives on the extreme edge of existence, Kociejowski takes as his subject the major isles of the Outer Hebrides – Lewis and South Uist – and the people who call them home.

His story has heroes – the poets of Upper Bayble, perhaps, or Father Colin MacInnes, whose promotion of Gaelic culture led to the founding of the annual Fèis Bharraigh festival; and villains – like the brutal Donald Munro, who delighted in evicting tenant farmers during the Clearances. Winding through the heavy mist that shrouds the islands and obfuscates their past, Kociejowski weaves the threads of place, personhood, and history into an honest and poignant tapestry illuminating an archipelago, a people, and an intricate and unique culture.

Encompassing anthropology, travelogue, philosophy, ornithology, and many things besides, and brought together in Kociejowski’s distinctive poetic style, The Quantum of Happiness distils the elements of joy that exist in this north-westerly corner of Europe – the pampering of a beloved cow; a calm evening on the loch with a fishing rod; or the spotting of a corncrake in the reeds – and wonders if it is truly measurable: or if it moves at such speed through our lives that we don’t even notice its passing.

Marius Kociejowski is a poet, essayist and travel writer. Among the books he has written are The Street Philosopher and the Holy Fool – A Syrian Journey (Eland) and a sequel, The Pigeon Wars of Damascus (Biblioasis). His first collection of poetry, Coast (Greville Press, 1990) was awarded the Cheltenham Prize. He recently published the acclaimed travel book The Serpent Coiled in Naples (Haus Publishing) which was The Economist and The New Yorker Best Books of 2022. The same year he completed another book, A Factotum in the Book Trade (Biblioasis). He lives in London, England where he worked as an antiquarian bookseller.