Cargo Publishing and McSweeney’s

£5.99

The curiously-named collection of short stories, Somewhere, is part of Elsewhere, a four-book series of fiction, poetry and essays from Scottish and Scotland-affiliated writers. What endeared me to the series was that it was a collaboration between an American and a Scottish publisher, something I hadn’t seen before. Often it can feel as if Scottish writing has had in the last few years a marginal presence on the world literary stage – in terms of awards, and the visibility of our small presses – this kind of partnership speaks of good health, future hopefulness.

I was immediately drawn to the four small hardbacks. They are both tactilely and visually appealing – if the illustrator, Jack Teagle, and the design team at McSweeneys read this, I’d like to say, fantastic work. I’m so glad you lured me, covetous, in. I chose Somewhere over the other three titles, Here, There and Everywhere purely on the whim of liking its cover best: a gold embossed shadow reaches up to touch the man who cast it. Several other menacing golden figures line the road ahead. I knew I was in for something liminal, imaginative, traveling from legend to dreamscape.

How did this sense of promise play out? Well, unfortunately, Somewhere does contain quite a few forgettable, lacklustre pieces. Worse still, two of these such stories open the book. “A Flash of Blue Light” by Michel Faber was workmanlike against my expectations of excellence from the author of The Crimson Petal and the White, and I wasn’t taken by Jackie Kay’s bland view of the afterlife in “Kindred”. But there are a few pieces that really shine, brittle and fine-boned, and I think more than make up the slack. Continue reading →