Starting on my literary journey to Scotland, I realized I have read some of the bestselling authors according to the newspaper the Scotsman..
I didn’t realize that Arthur Conan Doyle and J.M. Barrie were Scottish. I’ve read all the Sherlock Holmes series and Peter Pan. I also read books by Alexander McCall Smith set in Botswana and I hadn’t connected him to Scotland.
My first intentional reading was “The Library of the Dead” by TL Huchu. It is a supernatural fantasy set in a dystopian Edinburgh. The city is a part of the story, with secrets under Calton Hill and wild chases through Old Town. It’s part of the “Edinburgh Nights” series. The young protagonist Ropa speaks for the dead, bringing messages to the living for a fee. When she learns of a malevolent being draining children of their essence, she has to step up because no one else will. The author Tendai Huchu grew up in Zimbabwe and moved to Scotland, bringing both experiences into his story.
Here’s my list of possible reads:
- Rob Roy- Sir Walter Scott
- Poor Things- Alasdair Gray
- Knots and Crosses- Ian Rankin
- Treasure Island- Robert Stevenson
- Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine- Gail Honeyman
- The Cracked Spine- Paige Shelton
- Consider Phlebas -Iain Banks
- The Mermaids Singing – Val McDermid
Nonfiction Titles:
- How the Scots Invented the Modern World
- Clanlands- Sam Huegan
- Scottish History for Dummies
Any suggestions?
