oting still to run '
Modern Scottish literature burst into life with the 1981 publication of Alasdair Gray's Lanark. the novel that inspired many contemporary authors to write. For Ron Butlin it is ‘one of the finest novels written in English with a unique blend of realism and wild surrealism' and Anthony Burgess acclaimed it as 'a shattering work of fiction in the modern idiom'.
The Game of Kings
‘We have
reached the DI
open sea. with some charts. and the firmament
'/,'i». (rill/fr 0/ A1744“
Dorothy Dunnett is one of Scotland's bestsemng and most internationally renowned authors. Yet. she has never become a household name. unlike some other writers of historical fiction such as Nigel Tranter. The Game of Kings was her first published work and is. indeed. a fictional chess game. the hero Francis Crawford. Master of Lymond. moving back and forth across 16th century Scotland in pursuit of political power. The novel weaves real-life events. based on months of meticulous research. with a compelling. fast-paced stOry.
Born Free .. . ‘You maybe .. i ' u m think this Is a Laura .Hird bit mundane.
but you know. it '8 good to talk, sort of
Laura Hird first came to the attention of Scottish book lovers in the mid-90s. when her short stories were published in the groundbreaking Rebel Inc magazine. Her subsequent blackly funny depictions of Edinburgh life. most notably that of the dispirited family in her novel Born Free. have tended to be overshadowed by Irvine Welsh's work. Yet. Hird's novel was shortlisted for the Orange and Whitbread awards. became a bestseller and is clearly considered one of the best Scottish books of all time.
An Oidhche Mus Do Sheol Sinn
‘Ge brith de 'n taobh a choimheadadh e, chitheadh e fada siorraidh air faire. ' (No matter which way he looked. the view stretched into an infinite horizon.) The presence of Aonghas Padraig
D ' Caimbeul's
rare novel (whose title translates as The Night Before We Sailedl in Scottish Gaelic in the upper reaches
of this poll is
reason to celebrate. Gaeldom has been thrilled by the book's rich language and VlVld evocation of place since its publication in 2003. The novel blows away the myth that northern hemisphere fiction is couthy and quaint. with its sweeping depiction of the mixed fortunes of a family from South Uist. from 1913 to 2013.
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Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
.. .. .. , ‘Scars can come in usenfl.lhave one myself above my left knee which is a perfect map of the London Underground. ' Forget the hype and the film adaptations. The original instalment of JK Rowling's saga about the boy wizard with the penny-round specs and the interesting scar on his forehead spawned a magical world that has captured the imaginations of children and adults the world over. It has also made JK Rowling the hottest property in the history of literature. and has transformed the fortunes of her publisher. Bloomsbury. Fan Stephen Fry. who recorded the voiceover for the audio book version of the novel. described the process as being like 'swimming in chocolate. Harry‘s legions of aficionados could hardly fail to agree that a night in with Rowling's latest instalment is a delicious prospect.
1984
P "l i-
and (h WMr) Stunt
'. . . to do anything that suggested a taste for solitude. even to go for a walk by yourself, was always slight/y dangerous. There was a word for it in Newspeak: own/ife . . . ' The peOple of the Isle of Jura are proud of their association With George Orwell, who constructed his masterly satire of totalitarianism within
sight of the dramatic. treacherous Paps of Jura. As author Denise Mina says: “The book was. and is. about the present and universal dangers inherent in authority.‘ It is a work that has struck a chord with every generation since it was written in 1948. but it has perhaps never been more relevant than in today's world of surveillance through CCTV and the global ‘War on Terror“, in which we are told that politicrans and countries. which were our allies a couple of decades ago. are now our enemies.
The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner
‘He saw, delineated in the cloud. the shoulders. arms, and features of a human being of the most dreadful aspect. . .' James Hogg. whose nickname ‘Ettrick Shepherd‘ sums up the myth. is in the great Scottish tradition of untutored. ‘natural' geniuses. This extraordinary precursor to Jekyll and Hyde is a tale in which reason and unreason meet and where the inconsistency and duality of human nature is explored. Author Ron Butlin hails it as ‘gruesome. gripping. witty. salacious and candid. Not just a Scots classic. it's a universal masterpiece. And at a recent List debate about the Best Scottish Books of all Time. novelist Zoe Strachan and broadcaster James Naughtie agreed.
Ttit l’ttixvx'u; MEMOIRS \\'l‘ (‘kwt‘bfilt‘ms ()F A it»! lHED SINNISR
James Hog
The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie
“'For those who like that sort of thing, ' said Miss Brodie in her best Edinburgh voice, ‘thaf is the sort of thing they like.
° Muriel Spark‘s
only novel set
in Edinburgh provides an astute insight into the character of the Scottish capital through her complex. intriguing archetypal heroine. schoolteacher Miss Jean Brodie and her progressive but inconsistent views. The book continues to resonate for its critique of Scottish insularity. While Miss Brodie is ultimately a tragic figure. the book is frequently laugh-out-loud funny. Easily among the ‘creme de la creme' of Scottish fiction.
Black and Blue Ian Rankin
The Golden Dagger Award-winning novel finds Rankin really hitting his stride in balancing plot strands and diversions. No writer has chronicled the changing face of Edinburgh so vividly or in such minute detail. From Russia, With Love
Ian Fleming
Widely regarded as the best of Fleming‘s novels (JFK rated it among his top ten favourite books). There are few characters of the 20th century that can boast the kind of global renown of 007. Greenvoe George Mackay Brown Elegiac social realism in which the islands of Orkney are transformed into a mythological landscape worthy of the ancient Norse sagas that influenced Brown's work. Kidnapped Robert Louis Stevenson
David Balfour's adventures continue to captivate new generations of readers and set the heather on fire. The Hound of the Baskervilles Arthur Conan Doyle In this story. nothing is quite as simple as the light of reason makes it seem. Nothing can make Baskerville Hall a homely spot. or tame the wild corners of Dartmoor. No Wonder I Take a Drink Laura Marney
A witty tale of boozer Trisha. who hasn't been further north than Loch Lomond until she unexpectedly inherits a house in the Highlands. Rob Roy Walter Scott
The most popular of the phenomenal Waverley novels which dominated the literary landscape of the early 19th century.
The Thirty-Nine Steps John Buchan
The taut. Superbly written thriller retains much of its original verve through the sheer perspicacity of the mind that created it.
The Wasp Factory lain Banks An astonishingly accomplished debut: a novel which brought Gothic horror bang up to date. and unleashed an astounding authorial imagination on the world.
The Wind in the Willows Kenneth Grahame
Toad. Mole. Rat and Badger have long left their mark on the Scottish literary scene and retain their appeal to this day.
25 Aug—8 Set) 2005 me LIST 9