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Indelible Ink: Sophie Cooke’s ‘The Glass House’
Sophie Cooke’s 2004 debut novel, ‘The Glass House’, fits comfortably into the fine Scottish literary tradition of portraying dysfunctional families, and uncovering the accompanying secrets and lies. It’s a painful coming of age novel juxtaposed against the beautiful Perthshire countryside, and it’s the terrible reality set against an apparent idyllic life that makes the novel […]
Alistair Braidwood
October 10, 2013
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Indelible Ink: Muriel Spark’s ‘The Driver’s Seat’
It could be argued that Muriel Spark was the greatest Scottish writer of the 20th century, and it’s an argument I would have sympathy for. Even if you only know her for the 1961 novel ‘The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie’ you’ll be aware that her writing is dark, playful and often wilfully obtuse. More […]
Alistair Braidwood
September 4, 2013
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Indelible Ink: Des Dillon’s ‘Me and Ma Gal’
Some people have said to me that they just don’t have time to read books these days. Personally, I would say that their priorities are a tad askew, but I do understand that there are many things vying for everyone’s time, and the thought of tackling a 600 page novel can seem like too much […]
Alistair Braidwood
August 7, 2013
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Indelible Ink: Karin Altenberg’s ‘Island of Wings’
Recently Scotland’s Highlands and Islands have been the setting for all sorts of interesting and diverse books, from Kevin MacNeil’s ‘The Stornoway Way’ and the fabulous collection of poetry which he edited, ‘These Islands We Sing’, through Robert Alan Jamieson’s ‘Da Happie Laand’ and Neil Butler’s ‘The Roost’ to the recently published ‘Orkney’ by Amy […]
Alistair Braidwood
July 9, 2013
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Indelible Ink: Laura Marney’s ‘No Wonder I Take A Drink’
It has to be said that there is not a great deal of humour in many of the books we have covered in Indelible Ink so far, and when there is, such as with Irvine Welsh’s ‘Trainspotting’, Alan Spence’s ‘Way To Go’ or John Niven’s ‘Kill Your Friends’ it is so dark that many will […]
Alistair Braidwood
June 5, 2013
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Indelible Ink: Archie Hind’s ‘The Dear Green Place’
There have been a few great Glasgow novels discussed on these pages; Alasdair Gray’s ‘Lanark’, Jeff Torrington’s ‘Swing Hammer Swing’ and James Kelman’s ‘Kieron Smith, boy’ are just three examples, but perhaps the most recognisable literary depictions of the city can be found in Archie Hind’s ‘The Dear Green Place’. Hind didn’t opt for the […]
Alistair Braidwood
May 7, 2013
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Indelible Ink: George Friel’s ‘Mr Alfred MA’
Nothing is completely original, but sometimes it is harder to discover some influences than it is others. This is partly because history, cultural or otherwise, is often sold to us in convenient packages of dates, people and places. If you were to read many an overview of Scottish writing in the 20th century you could […]
Alistair Braidwood
April 1, 2013
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Indelible Ink: Tom Morton’s ‘Red Guitars In Heaven’
Music and religion. Add in football and you’ve probably got the top three divisive topics in Scotland, even with the Yes/No vote on Independence approaching. In 1994 journalist and broadcaster Tom Morton wrote ‘Red Guitars In Heaven’ a novel which deals with the conflicting nature that a love of pop/rock music and a life devoted […]
Alistair Braidwood
March 5, 2013
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Indelible Ink: Frederic Lindsay’s ‘Brond’
Scottish writers have had an obsession with the nature of evil since they first placed quill to parchment. ‘Good’ is all very well, but the devil has all the best tunes, and the most charismatic representatives. Much of this interest is a result of culturally deep rooted religious belief clashing with a more folk tradition, […]
Alistair Braidwood
February 5, 2013