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chd7's review against another edition
2.0
Mmm....a bit difficult, good in parts but mostly extremely irritating.
azu_rikka's review
4.0
Although I am not particularly interested in the details of musical performances, this book was glued to my hands. It's a heartwarming, tender, inspiring coming of age story.
robm983's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
bleary's review against another edition
3.0
The first thing to happen to Murdo, the star of James Kelman's intimate first-person narrative, is that he realises that he's gone on holiday without his phone. As he and his dad catch the ferry to take them from their Scottish island home, Murdo checks his pockets and discovers that he's left his mobile back at the kitchen.
This may be Kelman dealing with the contemporary dramatic problem of mobile communication (how can you have mystery when characters are constantly calling and texting each other?) But it also sets up Murdo as a particular kind of teenager. He does have a phone, and he's part of the same world as the other 16-year olds on the island, but he's also not part of that world, not really. He's annoyed at himself for forgetting the phone, but if he could bring anything on this holiday, it would be his accordion.
Murdo and his father, Tom, are on their way to stay with relatives in Alabama for a fortnight, following the death in quick succession of Murdo's sister and mother. In their taciturn, Scottish way, these deaths are rarely discussed between the two men, and the missing women only break into Murdo's stream of conciousness when he's angry or depressed.
Most of Murdo's thoughts are about music and his desire to play. This is exacerbated by a chance encounter with a family of Zydeco musicians (one of whom is an attractive young girl) who like his accordion licks and want him to come play with them at a festival in Louisiana. Tom is against this, and against any kind of activity in general, and would rather spend the entire fortnight reading in the garden.
Dirt Road is, it must be said, something of a masterpiece in first-person narration. The novel genuinely feels like the transcript of a real teenager's inner monologue, rendered without any literary artifice or writerly tricks. He's a strange kid, Murdo, being basically kind, compassionate and decent, appalled at some of the racist chat he overhears, and willing to give everyone the benefit of the doubt, especially his dad. He's not a typical teenager, but he is a real, living teenager, described with photorealistic brilliance.
Is Murdo's story interesting though? Well, that's a whole other question.
The book I kept finding myself thinking of was David Peace's Red or Dead, a fictionalised account of the life of Bill Shankly. Red or Dead is comparable in terms of craft, a magnificent and bewildering tone poem. It's also boring as hell. But it really is brilliantly crafted. But it's also incredibly long. And it's boring as hell.
Dirt Road is not boring as hell, or at least most of it isn't. It's arranged in five novella-length chapters, and the first and fifth, which harmonise with each other on themes of music and family and travel, are both really engaging. The middle, however, is quite a slog. As Murdo spends two weeks in a basement in a house in the middle of nowhere in Alabama, wondering if he's going to get to the music festival, I found myself wondering if I'd actually make it to the last page.
I did, and had the same feeling I had at the end of Red or Dead: extremely glad to have read it, awed by the craft, and relived that it was finally finished.
This may be Kelman dealing with the contemporary dramatic problem of mobile communication (how can you have mystery when characters are constantly calling and texting each other?) But it also sets up Murdo as a particular kind of teenager. He does have a phone, and he's part of the same world as the other 16-year olds on the island, but he's also not part of that world, not really. He's annoyed at himself for forgetting the phone, but if he could bring anything on this holiday, it would be his accordion.
Murdo and his father, Tom, are on their way to stay with relatives in Alabama for a fortnight, following the death in quick succession of Murdo's sister and mother. In their taciturn, Scottish way, these deaths are rarely discussed between the two men, and the missing women only break into Murdo's stream of conciousness when he's angry or depressed.
Most of Murdo's thoughts are about music and his desire to play. This is exacerbated by a chance encounter with a family of Zydeco musicians (one of whom is an attractive young girl) who like his accordion licks and want him to come play with them at a festival in Louisiana. Tom is against this, and against any kind of activity in general, and would rather spend the entire fortnight reading in the garden.
Dirt Road is, it must be said, something of a masterpiece in first-person narration. The novel genuinely feels like the transcript of a real teenager's inner monologue, rendered without any literary artifice or writerly tricks. He's a strange kid, Murdo, being basically kind, compassionate and decent, appalled at some of the racist chat he overhears, and willing to give everyone the benefit of the doubt, especially his dad. He's not a typical teenager, but he is a real, living teenager, described with photorealistic brilliance.
Is Murdo's story interesting though? Well, that's a whole other question.
The book I kept finding myself thinking of was David Peace's Red or Dead, a fictionalised account of the life of Bill Shankly. Red or Dead is comparable in terms of craft, a magnificent and bewildering tone poem. It's also boring as hell. But it really is brilliantly crafted. But it's also incredibly long. And it's boring as hell.
Dirt Road is not boring as hell, or at least most of it isn't. It's arranged in five novella-length chapters, and the first and fifth, which harmonise with each other on themes of music and family and travel, are both really engaging. The middle, however, is quite a slog. As Murdo spends two weeks in a basement in a house in the middle of nowhere in Alabama, wondering if he's going to get to the music festival, I found myself wondering if I'd actually make it to the last page.
I did, and had the same feeling I had at the end of Red or Dead: extremely glad to have read it, awed by the craft, and relived that it was finally finished.
feebles640's review
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.25
stacysevcik's review
challenging
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
4.5
laurenla's review against another edition
5.0
Dirt Road by James Kelman
A clear book about grief, music, and a passage through the American South by a Scots boy, Murdo, and his father. Written as Murdo plays music, entirely caught up in the minute. Fast passages, slow passages, space given to each moment, all linked by breath. A masterpiece of writing, nothing jarred me from the narrative flow and I read this book in several days. Mr. Kelman, who is new to me, is in full control and I relaxed.
Writing as Murdo Mr. Kelman has shifted one of the most loving characters ever out into the world. Murdo is innocent and normal and damaged and brilliant and spacey and sixteen. Living his story you worry about his Dad, you see America and you learn to hear. I can’t remember reading descriptions of sound and music in other books and caring so.
In this time, as the Zydeco Queen says, we are not willing to be given presents others wish to give us. We grab only what we want, while refusing the tender offer. If Dirt Road profers a boy dangerously loving and perceptive, I accept. An excellent read for anyone who wants to be lost in the interior monologue of an exceptional person – authors such as Salinger, Haddon come to mind as well as many fine YA writers.
A clear book about grief, music, and a passage through the American South by a Scots boy, Murdo, and his father. Written as Murdo plays music, entirely caught up in the minute. Fast passages, slow passages, space given to each moment, all linked by breath. A masterpiece of writing, nothing jarred me from the narrative flow and I read this book in several days. Mr. Kelman, who is new to me, is in full control and I relaxed.
Writing as Murdo Mr. Kelman has shifted one of the most loving characters ever out into the world. Murdo is innocent and normal and damaged and brilliant and spacey and sixteen. Living his story you worry about his Dad, you see America and you learn to hear. I can’t remember reading descriptions of sound and music in other books and caring so.
In this time, as the Zydeco Queen says, we are not willing to be given presents others wish to give us. We grab only what we want, while refusing the tender offer. If Dirt Road profers a boy dangerously loving and perceptive, I accept. An excellent read for anyone who wants to be lost in the interior monologue of an exceptional person – authors such as Salinger, Haddon come to mind as well as many fine YA writers.
penelopesodyssey's review against another edition
5.0
Loved, loved, loved this book! Poignant and funny in equal measure, it is told in the voice of a 16 year old boy who has just lost his mother. He and his father travel from Scotland to stay with some relatives in the USA. They spend most of their 2 week stay with these kind, well-meaning and excruciatingly dull folks, while the boy thinks of nothing but music, playing, listening, watching.....The father made him leave his accordion at home - but on the bus journey to their relatives, he meets a band of musicians who invite him to a festival in Louisiana. Will he get there, will he find them and will he play? Lovely, stream of consciousness thoughts and impressions fo the states and meditations on music from the boy, so beautifully written you could dwell on them, were it not for the suspense.