My Scottish bookshelf – We are now beginning our descent
Posted February 13, 2009 10:15 am by Andrew Martin
James Meek has come up with a very different book from his previous success The people’s act of love – this one is a contemporary story, following Adam a Scottish journalist from the war zones of Afghanistan to Iraq, via America’s rural South. Meek is a sharp and intelligent writer, although those looking for the haunting quality of his last book may be disappointed. Books from Scotland calls it ” a timeless tale of folly and the pursuit of love, set against the incendiary politics of our time” which sums it up neatly. I rather liked the hero’s romantic tryst under the Afghan skies, the chaotic nightmare of a dinner party, his drunken first class flight to New York, and the confrontations over the kitchen table in Dumfries. And I dont recall another novel where the familiar – to me – train journey from Carlisle to Dumfries features! The French translation passed over my desk last week, so I suspect he – and Canongate- may have another international success on their hands.