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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 →