Exploring Scotland: 10 books from the land of Nessie

A list of books to read from Scotland

Sunset Song has been regarded as one of the most important novels ever written in Scotland and it has retained its power to shock and to inspire ever since. Its heroine, Chris Guthrie, endures much hardship and tragedy, yet her desire to learn, her powerful spirit, and her passionate love of the land have made her a beloved favourite with generations of readers. 

The book provides a powerful description of the first two decades of the century and it is hard to find any other Scottish novel of the last century which has received wider acclaim. Sunset Song is the first part of a trilogy, so it might be a dangerous choice for me …

“Give me a girl at an impressionable age and she is mine for life.”

Another Scottish timeless classic is this sharp and witty novel set in 1930s Edinburgh, where a teacher at a girl’s school comes into conflict with school authorities because of her unorthodox teaching methods.

So I’m thinking this is something like Dead Poet’s society but for girls? I’m not familiar with this author at all, but she was shortlisted for the Booker Prize more than once, and several of her novels look interesting to me.

Expect Buckfast. Expect bravado. Expect street philosophy. Expect rave culture. Expect anxiety. Expect addiction. Expect a serious facial injury every six hours. Expect murder. Hope for a way out.

The young team is written in the Scottish dialect and has been called “Trainspotting for a new generation” (Trainspotting is another modern Scottish classic, following a group of heroin addicts in Edinburgh, which I did not find space for on this list. Maybe you have seen the film?). Inspired by the experiences of its author, Graeme Armstrong, the novel is energetic, full of the loyalty, laughs, mischief, boredom, violence and threat of life amongst the violent territorial gang and knife culture on the streets of Glasgow.

Sounds interesting, and I see that there is an audio verion read by the author himself.

Part dystopian fantasy, part social realism, Lanark is a deeply ambitious and surreal novel that redefined Scottish literature. This work has been hailed as the most influential Scottish novel of the second half of the 20th century. Its playful narrative techniques convey a profound message, personal and political, about humankind’s inability to love and yet our compulsion to go on trying.

I generally enjoy dystopia novels, and have read many of that genre. But I had never heard of this one. The blurbs do not tell me much of what the story actually entails, but Scottish dystopia has me intrigued.

Meet Eleanor Oliphant: She struggles with appropriate social skills and tends to say exactly what she’s thinking. Nothing is missing in her carefully timetabled life of avoiding social interactions, where weekends are punctuated by frozen pizza, vodka, and phone chats with Mummy. But everything changes when Eleanor meets Raymond, the bumbling and deeply unhygienic IT guy from her office. When she and Raymond together save Sammy, an elderly gentleman who has fallen on the sidewalk, the three become the kinds of friends who rescue one another from the lives of isolation they have each been living.

I read this some years ago and i push it on everyone when I get the chance. It is a marvellous book.

The unforgettable story of young Hugh “Shuggie” Bain, a sweet and lonely boy who spends his 1980s childhood in run-down public housing in Glasgow, Scotland with his alcoholic mother. A tender yet harrowing exploration of love and resilience. A heartbreaking story of addiction, sexuality, and love, Shuggie Bain is an epic portrayal of a working-class family that is rarely seen in fiction.

The book won the Booker Prize in 2020, plus a very long list of other awards. But can I handle this level of heartbreak? I’m not sure.

Iain MacGillivray was left for dead on Drumossie Moor. He survived by pretending to be dead as the Redcoats patrolled the corpses of his Jacobite comrades. Six years later, with the clan chiefs routed and the Highlands subsumed into the British state, Iain lives a quiet life, working as a bookseller in Inverness. One day, after helping several of his regular customers, he notices a stranger lurking in the upper gallery of his shop. The next morning Iain opens up shop and finds the stranger dead, his throat cut, and the murder weapon laid out in front of him – a sword with a white cockade on its hilt, the emblem of the Jacobites.

The Jacobite rebellion is something I had never heard of before I started this research. Though the crime mysteries are not always my cup of tea, this one might be interesting?

Funny, poignant, and brimming with Scottish slang, Duck Feet is a coming-of-age story set in the working-class town of Renfrew and Paisley, Scotland. Told through the voice of Kirsty, a teenager navigating friendships, family, and school life, it’s a warm and authentic snapshot of modern Scottish adolescence. This book is a celebration of working-class life and youth in an ever-changing world. It uses humour to tackle hard-hitting subjects such as drugs, bullying, sexuality, and teenage pregnancy. But moreover, it is a relatable and accessible portrait of figuring out who you are, plunging into the currents of life, and most of all, finding hope. 

Sounds cute and funny. Maybe I would like this.

Hear no evil is a gripping historical novel inspired by Scotland’s last public execution.

In the burgeoning industrial city of Glasgow in 1817 Jean Campbell – a young, deaf woman – is witnessed throwing a child into the River Clyde from the Old Bridge. No evidence is yielded from the river. Unable to communicate with their silent prisoner, the authorities move Jean to the decaying Edinburgh Tolbooth in order to prise the story from her. The High Court calls in Robert Kinniburgh, a talented teacher from the Deaf & Dumb Institution, in the hope that he will interpret for them and determine if Jean is fit for trial. If found guilty she faces one of two fates; death by hanging or incarceration in an insane asylum.

The author of this one is not from Scotland, but since it explores an actual Scottish event, it deserves a spot on my list.

And the Land Lay Still is nothing less than the story of a nation. James Robertson’s breathtaking novel is a portrait of modern Scotland as seen through the eyes of natives and immigrants, journalists and politicians, drop-outs and spooks, all trying to make their way through a country in the throes of great and rapid change. It is a moving, sweeping story of family, friendship, struggle and hope – epic in every sense.

Do I need a Scottish epic? Maybe I do.