Scottish contemporary fiction - my latest favourites




I wanted to share a few books that I really enjoyed lately, all set in Scotland, written by Scottish authors. I do love it when books are set in places that I know. I have that strange idea that one day maybe I'll bump into one of the characters in a book that I really loved. You know, when queuing for a tuna crunch at Greggs for example. I know, bonkers but there you go. These are the books I would like to share with you today:

"Sunlight pilgrims" by Jenni Fagan
"The Panopticon" by Jenni Fagan
"Mrs Oliphant is completely fine" by Gail Honeyman
"House of spines" by Michael J Malone

Many of you will be familiar with "Mrs Oliphant is completely fine" so I'll start with this. It is set in Glasgow and the Glasgow portrayed in the book is a Glasgow I recognise. I am not going to give you a blurb, it is such a well known book now and a quick Google search will tell you all you need to know. I was very quickly fascinated by Eleanor's character, a youngish woman full of surprises, softness and kindness buried under a pile of learned and carefully executed mannerisms. If there ever was a book character with serious attachment issues, it is Eleanor. It is frightening how prolonged childhood trauma affects a person's life. Her life, her mannerisms and her relationships are an ugly monument to a difficult childhood and a not quite finished growing up phase. So much of her Eleanor's ways of life seem learned from books - the wrong kind of books set in a different time with the more obscure unlikeable characters as a model. It is also heartwarming to read how Eleanor gradually finds her way in this complicated world of of ours, with the help of Raymond. I must say, Raymond with his non judgmental big heart is a typical Glaswegian. I know a few blokes just like him, one in particular comes to mind. Laura, with her Next Home coordinated house and fancy hair salon is also a familiar character. I liked her. Finally, Sammy, the old man that holds them all together. They don't come much more Glaswegian than him. I am not attempting to give you a review here, just some thoughts.

"The Panopticon" by Jenni Fagan has at its core a deeply troubled character, Anais. It is not a heartwarming book but one that will leave you gasp for breath, feeling relieved the book is finished but at the same time wishing to find out what really happened Anais, Tash and all the other teens. The first time we meet Anais, she is handcuffed in a police car, school uniform soiled with blood, on her way to the Panopticon, an institution for the particularly troubled and troubling teens. I loved Anais Hendricks, I really did, a soft core in a very hard shell, damaged beyond repair and full of contradictions and good intentions. What I really wanted to do is pick her up and wrap her up in my big bosoms and give her warmth and love, which she so desperately needed. Not just her, all the children at the Panopticon. Gradually, we delve deeper into Anais life story, narrated by herself, sometimes lucid and full of clarity, sometimes acid tripping and disturbing.  I'll have to direct you to the Guardian review for this book, I am finding it difficult to give you a concise summary. One sentence in this review stayed with me: "What Fagan depicts in her debut novel, The Panopticon, is a society in which people don't just fall through the net – there is no net". I am worried that this view is true for some of the most vulnerable people in our society, children in care among them. The narrator of the books is quite amazing, she achieves a believable characterisation of Anais, although sometimes I think Anais is more poetic and informed that is strictly speaking likely. Jenni Fagan is fluent in the Scots of this part of Scotland. If you are unfamiliar with the vernacular, you may find it difficult at points, particularly that narrated version. The language is not for the faint hearted, nor is the content. There is sex, swearing, paranoia, acid trips, violence but there is also poetic love, beauty and wonder. 

Because I enjoyed Jenni Fagan's prose and her talent to bring to my attention pockets of our society that are so easily ignored I picked her second novel soon after finishing the Panopticon. It is called "The sunlight pilgrims". The story is set on a caravan park in Northern Scotland in the very near future, a few years after the Gulf Stream collapses. You may or may not know that the Gulf Stream is one of the strongest ocean currents in the world, it brings warmth the UK and north west Europe and is the reason why it is relatively mild here. To give you an idea of our latitude, we are 5 degrees further north than Winnipeg in Canada and 2 degrees further south than Juneau in Alaska. If it wasn't for the Gulf Stream, our winters would be considerably colder. I know, hard to believe. The Gulf Stram like all the other ocean currents are affected by global warming and the scenario in to book is not complete fiction. Anyway, the story is not about climate change but more about how communities cope with changing circumstances (extreme cold in this example). It is also a book about being different and how difficult life can be for a teenager that does not easily fits within the parameters of societal norm. We meet Dylan, grieving for his mother and grandmother, recently moved from London to a caravan he has inherited. For him, this is story of discovery. We also meet Stella, a strong young transgender teenage girl struggling with the thought of male puberty and how this is affecting her life. There is a poorly informed GP (no doubt doubt constrained by a failing NHS), bully school children and Stella's father, who rejects Stella the girl. We also meet Constance, Stella's mother. Constance is a kind of survivalist hero but not the kind you might encounter in a survivalist novel set in the U.S. There are no weapons, no withdrawal from society and clandestine undertakings, just a woman set to survive in a new frozen over Scotland. There are more marginal characters that add to the "outcast" crew of the caravan park, and there is a bit of a love story, too. As you can imagine, it is a complicated love story. Anyway, I have given away too much. For a more descriptive blurb, there is always Goodreads.


My final Scottish book of this post is "House of spines" by Michael J Malone. This is a ghost story set in Bearsden, an affluent suburb of Glasgow. Ran McGhiee is the main protagonist in this story. We meet him at his lowest, or so we think. He is a lonely, frustrated writer, troubled by mental illness. Unbelievable as it may seem, Ran is the sole heir of Newton Hall, a vast mansion in the countryside near Bearsden. As it transpires, his long dead mother was from money. The mansion belonged to Fitzpatrick, Ran's great uncle, who has been watching Ran grow up from a distance. The heart of Newton Hall is the library with a collection so astonishingly large it would take several life times to read all the books. It is a perfect place for Ran. Alas, not all is as it seems, as the weeks pass and Ran continues to explore the mansion, he begins to loose his grip on reality. This is not helped by Ran stopping his medication but is largely due to the intoxicating effect of the house. It is a well crafted ghost story, chilling and scary but not so much that I couldn't continue. I did take a break or two though to relax my clenched yaws. The narration is superb, should you choose audio over print.

If you like crime fiction, you might enjoy Caro Ramsay's series of novels, all set in and around Glasgow. The narration of all is great. If you love the Scottish accent like I do, you'll enjoy it very much. Caro and I did the Diploma in Forensic Medicine and Science course together, many moons ago when my academic career took an accidental detour into forensic biology. Some of the characters in her books are modelled on people I know and I can tell you in confidence, that they are rendered very accurately indeed. We didn't get to know each other well enough for me to be turned into a character and for that I am grateful.

This should keep you busy! Let me know if you enjoyed any of the books, and if you hated one or the other, too.

Thanks for stopping by. Have an amazing weekend. xx

Comments

  1. Thank you for the great recommendations, love books that give a sense of place. I’ll be on the look out for them. I already have Mrs Oliphant on hold as an e book. I’m about 55th in the queue I think! Hope the weekend goes well. B x

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  2. Always looking for good book recommendations. May I suggest The Dry by Jane Harper. Set in Australia it kept me guessing till the end.

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  3. Well that looks a trully good selection of books. I would like to read them all as they all sound very interesting. The first one had been on my list for quite some time.

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  4. Thank you for the suggestions my friend. I am currently reading Eleanor Oliphant Is Just Fine and I am warming up to it. I think it is much lie A Man Called Ove, at first you are wondering why everyone is raging about it, then you get into it and you can't believe how wonderful it is. Have a wonderful weekend.

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  5. I love that you've found some great Scottish books, it's always good to read things with a local flavour. I really enjoyed Eleanor Oliphant, haven't see the others. There's a good tradition of crime fiction in Scotland though I think. Perfect weather for hunkering down with a book right now, although I fear I shall fall asleep if I move to the sofa. Have a lovely Sunday Christina. CJ xx

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  6. Hi Christina - will give the Jenni Fagan books a try - sound like my kind of thing. Many of the books I have read recently are set in Ireland- I'm drawn to them I think because I'm a bit homesick. Not having visited since last August. 'Bernard McLaverty's Midwinter Break also uses Glasgow as one of its settings. Have you read it yet?

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  7. OOh I didn't know Eleanor Oliphant was Scottish! My favourite thing when travelling is buying a pile of fiction books of a few authors from whatever country I'm in! I'll add the others to my TBR *one day* pile!

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  8. Thanks for sharing.. Eleanor Oliphant is on my TBR list.. may be adding a few more of these to my list.
    I read some Ian Rankin crime novels they are all Scotland based.

    http://www.henatayeb.blogspot.com

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  9. Like everyone at the moment, I've read Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine. I've not read the others you mentioned but enjoyed reading your reviews on them. Have a good week. Cathy x

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  10. Lots of fabulous recommendations Christina. I think I loved Eleanor Oliphant so much because of the wonderful likeable characters just as much as the excellent story.

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Thank you for visiting and leaving a comment, I love to hear from you, I really do. I sometimes reply by email but I am not all that reliable... Christina xx

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