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Heart of Darkness: A Review Of Liam McIlvanney’s The Quaker…
The city of Glasgow has a complex relationship with real crime, one which probably explains the popularity of crime fiction not only in...
Oct 31, 20183 min read
Begin Again: A Review Of Douglas Skelton’s The Janus Run…
As regulars to SWH! will know, crime-writer Douglas Skelton is one of our favourite novelists. He has been a guest on our podcast, and...
Oct 23, 20183 min read
Growing Pains: A Review Of Daniel Shand’s Crocodile…
There are few more difficult aspects for an adult writer to get right than the voice of a child. Often they are given speech patterns...
Oct 15, 20183 min read
Old Morality: A Review Of Charles E. McGarry’s The Shadow Of The Black Earl…
One of the most welcome literary surprises of last year was Charles E. McGarry’s novel The Ghost Of Helen Addison. It introduced the...
Sep 26, 20184 min read
Holiday From Hell: A Review Of Jonathan Whitelaw’s Hellcorp…
If it’s true that the Devil has all the best tunes, He (and it’s almost always a He) tends to get all the best films, plays and books as...
Sep 19, 20183 min read
An Indelible Event: A Review Of Donald S. Murray’s As The Women Lay Dreaming…
It’s a well-worn argument, but the lack of Scottish history taught in schools has undoubtedly had a negative affect on the Scottish...
Sep 14, 20184 min read
Take Two: A Review Of Kirstin Innes’ Fishnet…
If ever a novel deserved a long life it is Kirstin Innes‘ Fishnet. A winner of The Guardian’s Not The Booker Prize, and one of The...
Aug 27, 20184 min read
Paint It Black: A Review Of Helen Taylor’s The Backstreets Of Purgatory…
I recently attended the Glasgow launch of Helen Taylor’s debut novel The Backstreets Of Purgatory. It was a fascinating and refreshingly...
Aug 20, 20183 min read
The Write Stuff: Scots Whay Hae!’s Top 10 (+1) Picks Of The Edinburgh International Book Festival…
From the 11th – 27th August in Edinburgh’s Charlotte Square Gardens (and George Street) once again becomes the place for book lovers to...
Aug 9, 20185 min read
Black Magic: A Review Of Robin Robertson’s The Long Take…
There are regularly heated discussions about the worth of prizes in art and culture. Recently announced, the Scottish Album of the Year...
Aug 8, 20184 min read
Fine & Dandy: The Scots Whay Hae! Podcast Visits Aberdeen…
Charley, Jon, Shane, Ali, & a hawk After our recent Dundee podcast Ali moves up the coast to Aberdeen to talk to Charley Buchan from...
Aug 2, 20182 min read
This Is The Story: A Review Of Vic Galloway’s Rip It Up: The Story Of Scottish Pop…
Currently running at The National Museum of Scotland is Rip It Up: The Story Of Scottish Pop exhibition, on till the 25th November this...
Jul 23, 20184 min read
Great Scott!: A Review Of Allan Massie’s The Ragged Lion…
The first book of Allan Massie’s I read was his historical novel Augustus (I think in the late ’80s) and it made a deep impression on me....
Jul 12, 20183 min read
Words & Music: A Review Of Stephen Thom’s Beachcomber…
Back in March we included Dante’s excellent album I Wear Your Weight With Mine (below) in our monthly musical roundup. At the time we...
Jul 2, 20182 min read
Read All About It!: A Review Of M.J. Nicholls’ The 1002nd Book To Read Before You Die…
M.J. Nicholls’ previous novel The House Of Writers was, as the title suggests, a book on and about writers and writing, but it was so...
Jun 25, 20184 min read
Fantastic Voyage: A Review Of Mandy Haggith’s The Walrus Mutterer…
Perhaps more than any other medium fiction is able to transport you to other times and places – placing you in the company of strangers...
Jun 8, 20183 min read
Back To The Old School: A Review Of J.V. Baptie’s The Forgotten…
1977. The year the Sex Pistols released Never Mind The Bollocks, Elvis died, Star Wars broke box-office records, Bowie told us “We could...
May 31, 20184 min read
Translated Accounts: A Review Of Alison Moore’s Missing…
In our recent podcast with Helen McClory the subject of literary fiction, and what makes it so special, arose. You can still hear the...
May 29, 20183 min read
Pyroclastic Fantastic: A Review Of Doug Johnstone’s Fault Lines…
Let’s lay our cards on the table before we begin – Doug Johnstone is not only one of SWH!’s favourite writers, but among our favourite...
May 17, 20183 min read
Listen Closely: Ron Butlin’s The Sound Of My Voice (Revisited)…
Back in 2011 I wrote a post for the much missed Dear Scotland website on Ron Butlin’s 1987 novel The Sound Of My Voice as part of the...
May 1, 20184 min read
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