ISSN 1754-1514 The Book of Strange New Things by Michel Faber Hogarth, 2014 —chosen by Stuart Kelly, freelance critic and The writer James Robertson’s experimental collection 365 – 365 stories of 365 words each, from January Bottle 1 to December 31 – is a joy of possibilities. Fable, satire, epiphany, folk-tale, meditation and denunciation are all encompassed in these Imp restricted little wonders. Ali Smith’s How To Be Both is a study in how not to be both – two novellas spliced together, half the copies of Issue 16, November 2014 which begin with the contemporary and move Best Scottish Books of 2014 on to the Renaissance, and half vice versa (or should that be vice verso?) – meaning the as 2014 a good year for Scottish writ- reader is left both choosing and choiceless. ing? And – more importantly – have Michel Faber’s The Book Of Strange New Things Wyou missed anything? There’s still is an absolute wonder, featuring Earth’s first time to catch up! ASLS has asked seventeen Christian missionary to an alien planet, whose authors, critics, academics, and members of wife sends increasingly worrying interstellar the literary sector to tell us about their favour- emails about how alien the Earth is becoming. ite Scottish book from this past year. The book It’s plangent, beautiful, sincere and strange. could be in English, Scots, or Gaelic, it could be published for the first time in 2014 or re- Byssus by Jen Hadfield issued this year, and could be a work of fiction, Picador, 2014 poetry, or academic research. And what a —chosen by David Borthwick, Lecturer in wonderful list it is. We’ve got some well-kent Interdisciplinary Studies at the University of faces here and exciting new ones, and it all Glasgow shows the variation and vibrance of Scotland’s Jen Hadfield’s Byssus – named for the tough writing culture. There is something for every- fibred ‘beard’ of the mussel, which anchors one, so get comfy, and have a browse through it to the seabed – is her third collection. Jen the Best Scottish Books from 2014. The list is Hadfield is surely one of Scotland’s most origi- organised by title. If your favourite isn’t here, nal contemporary poets, unafraid to be playful, let us know about it! the detail of her fine observations of places What was your favourite book of 2014? and creatures so often humorous and illumi- nating at the same time. The cockle’s ‘smile’ is The Bees by Carol Ann Duffy ‘a stuck-in-the-mud smile’, a ‘spit-in-your-eye Faber & Faber US, 2014 (2013) smile.’ Jen Hadfield’s accuracy of image is often —chosen by Evan Gottlieb, Associate Professor astonishing. A group of adolescents use mobile of English, Oregon State University phones in the dark and we’re told: ‘they’ve The first new collection of poems by Duffy cracked open / their phones like geodes.’ Like after becoming Poet Laureate of Britain is Hadfield’s previous collections, belonging and now available in paperback. And what better home are vital here: ‘this place / these folk way to move forward after the Referendum, // what was on your doorstep / all along’. no matter one’s feelings in its aftermath, than Nevertheless, the people and landscapes of by reading it (again)? Like her titular sub- Shetland are brought out in vivid lyrics that jects – who buzz around and through many of show them anew, illuminated and vivid. this volume’s verses – Duffy is equal measure sweetness and business. Whether extending Doubling Back by Linda Cracknell the Romantics’ tradition of meditations on the Freight Books, 2014 human-environment continuum, or focusing —chosen by Gillian Beattie-Smith, lecturer and on urban phenomena like charity shops, her researcher at The Open University, and man- love of language and depth of feeling encour- ager of online Scottish Women Writers age us to enjoy every word, line, and stanza. My research is concerned with women’s travel writing, so perhaps I would have been naturally drawn to Doubling Back, but actually, I just

www.thebottleimp.org.uk The Bottle Imp is the ezine of the Scottish Writing Exhibition www.scottishwriting.org.uk and is published by the Association for Scottish Literary Studies www.asls.org.uk 1 like Linda Cracknell’s writing. Her 2014 book is revealed through the filter of dementia, is is New Nature Writing which has been defined incredibly well written and hugely moving. as experimental in its forms. Cracknell’s book experimentally combines essay, reflection, Gone Are the Leaves by Anne Donovan travelogue and memoir. She walks in her own Canongate Books, 2014 childhood as well as in the footsteps of others, —chosen by Linden Bicket, who teaches in where she makes ‘peace with the contradic- Scottish Literature at the University of Glasgow, tory impulses of familiarity and ‘otherness’‘ and in Divinity at the University of Edinburgh. and confronts the unreliability of memory. She is also co-director of Scottish Universities’ That gothic internal strangeness in her writing International Summer School has struck me in much of her work and has at Anne Donovan’s medieval romance, Gone are times unsettled my students. And yet, there is the Leaves, might at first seem a world away a wonderful humour in her reflections; it is the from the world of Buddha Da (2003), in which honest, personal integrity in her writing that I a Glaswegian painter and decorator develops find engaging, and the unfamiliar treatment of an interest in Buddhism. But though Gone are the familiar which is haunting. I am delighted the Leaves is set in the sixteenth century, there that Doubling Back has been declared an out- is much to unite these two novels. In this new standing success in New Nature Writing by such tale, Donovan again explores faithfulness. Her weighties in the genre as Robert Macfarlane. I narrator, Deirdre, the young apprentice to her fully agree. seamstress mother, is a clear-sighted, imagi- native and tender little artist, who falls in love From the Line: Scottish War Poetry with Feilamort – an orphaned choirboy with 1914–1945 edited by David Goldie an angelic voice. Deirdre is absorbed by the and Roderick Watson beauty of creation, and her luminous observa- ASLS, 2014 tions of the sacramental universe are woven —chosen by Lesley Duncan, journalist, poetry like a trail of silver thread throughout: ‘Autumn editor for The Herald, and poet is the season of death yet tae me it is mair From the Line: Scottish War Poetry 1914–1945 alive than any. Leaf fall, tomber, is death, but could not be more timely. Editors David Goldie whit a bleeze of glory precedes it: brichtness and Roderick Watson have drawn on the work like a pain through the heart.’ Donovan’s love of more than fifty writers. Familiar pieces from of and feel for the cadences of Middle Scots is the First World War include Charles Hamilton keenly felt in this text, which by the end is an Sorley’s nihilistic sonnet ‘When you see mil- absorbing, lyrical fairy tale. lions of the mouthless dead’ and Neil Munro’s darkly ironic ‘Hey, Jock, are ye glad ye ’listed?’ How to Be Both by Ali Smith The Second World War highlights range from Hamish Hamilton, 2014 the intellectual gunnery of Hamish Henderson’s —chosen by Alistair Braidwood, who runs the ‘Elegies for the Dead in Cyrenaica’ to Alexander website Scots Whay Hae! and is Senior Editor Scott’s paean to ordinary ‘Sodgers’. Less famil- at Cargo Publishing iar material adds to the cumulative power of My book of the year has to be Ali Smith’s How this testament to bravery and resilience in the to Be Both. In 2012 Smith published a collec- most extreme situations. tion of essays called Artful, and that’s exactly what this novel is. Smith takes the idea that Ghost Moon by Ron Butlin there are two sides to every story and explores Salt Publishing, 2014 it in the most wonderfully life-affirming and —chosen by Sarah Morrison, Communications unexpected manner. She touches upon favour- Executive for Edinburgh UNESCO City of ite themes of art, sexuality, death and religion, Literature Trust and plays with them in a manner which is vivid, When he’s not writing wonderful poetry, former vibrant and complex, with a style so elegant it Edinburgh Makar Ron Butlin is writing amazing takes the breath away. Ali Smith reminds us of novels and Ghost Moon is no exception. It’s what fiction can do at its very best. probably one of the most uncomfortable books I’ve ever read, but that is testament to the truth of his writing and the raw emotion of the story. The complexity and difficulty of Tom’s adult relation with his mother, as the story of her life as an unmarried mother in the 1950s

www.thebottleimp.org.uk The Bottle Imp is the ezine of the Scottish Writing Exhibition www.scottishwriting.org.uk and is published by the Association for Scottish Literary Studies www.asls.org.uk 2 How to Be Both by Ali Smith sure the combination of ingredients will result Hamish Hamilton, 2014 in an unexpected and unforgettable blend —chosen by Carla Sassi, Professor of Foreign of flavours. With Prince Otto, the novel first Languages and Literature at the University of published on 1 November 1885, and which Verona has recently appeared in the New Edinburgh Which copy of the novel will you pick up and Edition of Stevenson’s Complete Works, the read? One that opens in Renaissance Ferrara impression of being in a folk tale with a twist is and recounts the imaginary life of painter already in the title of the first chapter ‘In which Francesco del Cossa? Or one where the story the prince departs on an adventure’ – a prince of a contemporary teenage girl – George – and an adventure are almost inseparable, but struggling to make sense of the world after her ‘the’ prince? We are assumed to know Prince mother’s death comes first? Arguably, order Otto already, but where are we? And though is an accident in this visual-lyrical two-part the setting sounds like that of an operetta by novel. What matters – the structuring princi- Franz Lehár, the narration takes unexpected ple of the narrative – is connectedness, across turns in the best Stevensonian tradition. As geographical, language and chronological bor- we approach RLS Day (13th November), this ders. The outcome is a breathlessly beautiful new edition will certainly provide several good encircling vision which, in del Cossa’s mother’s nights’ entertainment. words, ‘will never stop travelling till the edge of the world and then when it reaches the edge Prince Otto by Robert Louis Stevenson, it’ll go beyond that too …’ edited by Robert Irvine Edinburgh University Press, 2014 Moss Witch and Other Stories by —chosen by Graham Tulloch, Professor of Sara Maitland English, Flinders University, Adelaide Comma Press, 2014 (2013) Prince Otto may not be Stevenson’s greatest —chosen by Gwen Enstam, International novel – it is hard to compete with The Master Project Developer for ASLS of Ballantrae, Kidnapped and Treasure Island Moss Witch is a collection of stories inspired – but this study of the conflict between pri- by discussions with scientists in several dif- vate and public life is well worth returning to, ferent fields, from Geology and Anthropology like just about everything Stevenson wrote. to Physics, Genetics, and Astronomy … and I have always had a fondness for it and it is of course, Bryology. Maitland chooses her great to see a new edition appear in 2014. genre for each so that fairy tales and crea- What is more, it is the first volume of the New tion myths rub shoulders with folktales and Edinburgh Edition of Stevenson’s works which flat-out horror. And it all works like a charm. promises to be a source of renewed pleasure The stories are enchanting, illuminating, and and new insight over the coming years. sometimes frightening (as you expect from an author known for her deep understand- Private Island: Why Britain Now Belongs ing of fairy tales). Each one is followed by a to Someone Else by James Meek brief commentary by the scientist whose work Verso Books, 2014 inspired it – these are fascinating and the —chosen by Sophie Cooke, novelist, poet, concept works well. Moss Witch is a ground- short-story writer, and photographer breaking collection that shows us how much James Meek’s non-fiction bookPrivate Island is value – and magic – there is in looking at the the result of several years of research – which world from different perspectives. shows. It’s like someone has waded through all the complexities of the Great British Sell-Off Prince Otto by Robert Louis Stevenson, (the privatisation of our public assets and utili- edited by Robert Irvine ties) and turned it into something anyone can Edinburgh University Press, 2014 understand. Meek is a great writer and a lucid —chosen by Marina Dossena, Professor of interpreter of recent history. He explains why, Foreign Languages and Literatures, University post-Thatcher, the project went on regardless of Bergamo of which political leader was in Downing Street. Drama, politics, love, misunderstandings and His image of the captive British public as the what might be happy endings. It sounds like real asset being sold to huge far-off investment the perfect recipe for much fiction, both in funds, recasts the debate as something very Scotland and elsewhere, but if Robert Louis different from the one we were told to have. Stevenson is in the kitchen, then you may be This is a vital, generous, view-changing book.

www.thebottleimp.org.uk The Bottle Imp is the ezine of the Scottish Writing Exhibition www.scottishwriting.org.uk and is published by the Association for Scottish Literary Studies www.asls.org.uk 3 The Rental Heart and Other Fairytales A Scots-Polish Lexicon / Leksykon by Kirsty Logan szkocko-polski compiled by Kasia Salt Publishing, 2014 Michalska Something Like Happy by John Burnside Steve Savage Publishers, 2014 Vintage, 2014 —chosen by James Robertson, a poet, writer —chosen by Duncan Jones, Director, ASLS of fiction, editor, and co-founder of the Scots In the end, I couldn’t separate them, so – language imprint Itchy Coo check my privilege – I chose two, both of them This delightful volume is aimed at the large collections of short stories. First comes The number of Poles who have made Scotland Rental Heart and Other Fairytales by Kirsty their home in recent years. Its purpose is ‘to Logan, twenty compelling tales where often make them aware of the existence of Scots, the literal becomes literature: broken hearts give them an idea of what this language is are things of clockwork, a light eater snacks and how it functions in their everyday sur- on lightbulbs, and things are strange and side- roundings’. In this it succeeds admirably, but ways and told in tastes and tangs and tactile you don’t have to be Polish to enjoy and learn touches, as the prose trip-traps along and pulls from it. It is informative, accurate and enter- you under. And then there’s John Burnside’s taining. As it uses English as an intermediary/ Something Like Happy, thirteen windows onto explanatory language, it is not only a bridge little lives picked out both stark and sympa- between Scots and Polish but a handbook to thetic. Burnside’s unreality runs more slowly understanding Scotland past and present for than Logan’s, the sense of an otherworld more anyone who can understand one or more of deeply buried, for the most part, but the under- these three languages. Next to the entry for tow is there, and suddenly a long, swooping ‘toun’, for example, is a panel with notes on sentence grabs you and drags you off and the Lang Toun (Kirkcaldy) and the Honest Toun down, into some splash of colour so vivid it can (Musselburgh). Similar articles cover subjects take your breath away. These two titles bristle as diverse as the Reekie Linn, Tolbooths and with power. Hold on with both hands. Windaes (with explanations of ‘windae-hingin’ and ‘Pick a windae, ye’re leavin’!) A great Robert the Bruce: King of the Scots resource for teachers, bairns, visitors and resi- by Michael Penman dents regardless of origin. Yale University Press, 2014 —chosen by Rosemary Goring, Literary Editor, Tools of the Trade: poems for new The Herald and Sunday Herald doctors eds. Morrison, Gillies, Newell The outstanding book this year was Michael and Fraser Penman’s Robert the Bruce: King of the Scots. Scottish Poetry Library, 2014 A brilliant and scholarly account that focuses —chosen by Lilias Fraser, Projects Manager at particularly on the years following the Battle of the Scottish Poetry Library Bannockburn, when Bruce became ruler of an This pocket-sized anthology is a special book independent nation, this is history of the finest for me this year. It was given free, via all four kind. Though complex and closely written, it medical schools in Scotland, to new doctors is not just readable but covers old ground in a graduating in 2014, and will be in 2015 too. fresh and revelatory way. Penman’s painstak- The response to fundraising and publication ing research allows him to describe the politics, has been steady and heartwarming: doctors, society and economy of the country Bruce their families, and people who just think doc- found himself governing. It was not an envi- tors have a tough job, have all been buying able task, but in exploring the ways in which the small number of sales copies, and donating the king confronted the challenge – sometimes towards the costs of the book, so the produc- mishandling matters, but more often showing tion costs are being paid entirely by sales and great guile – the historian offers a glimpse of donations (and generosity of copyright hold- the personality behind the often-told myth. ers). And I love the poems! Combined with original analysis, this makes for a magisterial work. ASLS ASLS is a registered charity no. SC006535 ASLS is supported by Creative Scotland

www.thebottleimp.org.uk The Bottle Imp is the ezine of the Scottish Writing Exhibition www.scottishwriting.org.uk and is published by the Association for Scottish Literary Studies www.asls.org.uk 4