According to the Acknowledgements (3 pages) many of these pieces began in workshops run by well-known tutors (Jackie Kay, Sean O'Brien, Pete Mortimer, Bill Herbert, David Almond, Carys Davies, etc). The pieces (that range from a paragraph to pages) come from Cadenza, New Writing Scotland, etc. I'm struggling with them. The short ones don't have the compensation of intensity or significance. I guess they're meant to be read as an episodic sequence. Many of the early pieces are set in a tough world - "Runaways" begins with "The night before my geography exam I get back to my mam's and find our Cara gone. She's left a note and nicked off with the housekeeping. The note says London. My mam's away and I'm back supposed to be in charge. I stuff the note in my pocket and go round to my nan's. She's washing up after the boarders' tea.".
"Dolores and the Slick Men" is the first story to impress me. It's the first of a sequence of magical realism pieces, and pieces that are more experimental with language - e.g. "The man keeps on talking, talk, talk, talking: They can (will) Section you (Section: divide you in sections, cut you up in pieces). If you don't agree/won't agree, agree agree." (p.86)
I like "The memory box". "The damned old cart shed" uses a different dialect - "Stepney Bank is steep and Billy cannit have that auld cart running away with itsel'. Imagine, if he let go of it, imagine it gannin clankin' over them cobbles, all the way doon, tipping all the stuff off, bumping and dunching, imagine it, that auld hand-cart finishing up, wheels a-spinning, upside doon in the stinkin' river". "Swimming for the Country" is a long, straight piece featuring "Cara" and her sister again. There's a sudden, not entirely convincing final twist.
I like "A brief biography" too.
Other reviews
- Ewa Sherman (My favourite tale must be Svarverkjær)
- Goodreads
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