Preferred Lies: A Journey into the Heart of Scottish Golf

Greig, a novelist, mountaineer and poet, is not the first to view the vexing paradoxes of life through the lens of golf, but his gentle lyricism and distinctly Scottish outlook make this round a unique pleasure. After lifesaving surgery left the author with an uncooperative memory, he called upon the game he'd given up long before to help him regain his grip. Greig brings the reader along to 18 Scottish golf courses as he relearns golf and life. An accomplished poet, he lends lyrical depth to blades of grass and existential musings alike and manages to cast new light on a lot of life's oldest questions. Greig understands the limits of his metaphors, acknowledging that “life is not golf, and love for an ageing parent isn't trying to play a tricky shot out of the rough.” Laundry lists of maxims and aphorisms, central to the golf experience, are occasionally impossible to avoid, but Greig approaches each life lesson with inspiring passion and humility. (Dec.)