Martin Macaulay Archives

304 pages

Doug Johnstone’s The Ossians is his second novel recently reissued as an e-Book by Faber and Faber. The Ossians of the title are a twenty-something indie guitar band on the verge of securing a major record deal. All they need to do is see through a two week mini-tour of Scotland, culminating in what should be a deal-clinching successful final gig in Glasgow’s King Tut’s. It would be easy to slip into cliché whilst tackling a novel about rock’n’roll, but while Johnstone places the band on the narrative’s main stage, it’s what lies in the periphery that lends the novel its real depth and swagger. This is ultimately a tour of the country’s landscape, culture and mythology.

The Ossians are fronted by the self-assured and gloriously arrogant Connor. Other band members include Kate, his slightly older twin sister on bass, Danny on drums and Hannah on guitar and keyboard. Connor, the archetypal front man, loves to spout off during interviews, passing comment on music, literature and being Scottish:

‘Ossian was a third-century Scots Gaelic poet,’ said Connor rubbing his hands as if about to give a lecture…’A bunch of his work was discovered by a guy called James Macpherson in the eighteenth century, and published to great acclaim’…’Most folk thought Macpherson made it all up, and he was discredited as a fake. It’s typical of Scotland that our oldest history and literature might not even exist.’

The cultural landscape of this novel is littered with landmarks, mostly real, some imagined. Genuine pubs and places co-exist alongside fictional counterparts, moulding the myth and blurring the sightlines of reality. Enough bands to stock a small record store are name-checked throughout, though not always favourably. ‘Do we fuck sound like Big Country!’ Lyrics from The Ossians;’ fictional back-catalogue preface each chapter: ‘If I had a boat, I’d scuttle it for you. If I had your love, I’d try to sink that too.’ An Ossians CD was released in 2008, distorting the perception of what is fictional and real. Art imitates life imitates art. Continue reading →

Agate Bolden

272 pgs/$10

O H Bennett’s Creatures Here Below is an accomplished and compelling novel. Structured around character-titled sections, the author pushes us into the lives of Mason and his mother Gail. They share top billing in terms of the number of sections dedicated to them, but not at the expense of an impressive supporting cast whose fears and dreams are as central to the plot as they are to the human condition. Mason is seemingly about to go off the rails. His higher-achieving brother Tyler has had the benefit of growing up alongside his father Dan, even if his parents no longer live together.

By breaking the novel into sections titled ‘Mason’, ‘Gail’ etc, Bennett greatly increases the scope of authorial control, skilfully using it to shift theÂ time frame, introduce and develop narrative strands, and heighten tension. It is subtly controlled and never invasive or contrived. At the end of the book’s (and Mason’s) first section we learn Mason has issues, a gun and a need to resolve these with someone called Pony. Pony, it turns out, is his father.

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Martin Macaulay

The Ossians, by Doug Johnstone (A Review by Martin Macaulay)

Creatures Here Below by O. H. Bennett (A Review by Martin Macaulay)