A Son of the Rock

Luath Press, 2004, 128 p. One of the 100 best Scottish books. Borrowed from a threatened library.

This story of a day in the life of two boys aged eight and nine, told informally in normal text, italics and with CAPITALS for shouting and emphasis is narrated by (as he puts it) Derruck Daniel Riley and features his friendship and adventures with Steven – withaVnotaPH – Gallacher, the Gal of the title.

Dillon occupies the mind of his narrator brilliantly. I especially enjoyed Daniel’s denunciations of being told off for playing near the burn, physically chastised and verbally berated I TOLD YOU THAT WOULD HAPPEN despite such warnings never having been issued. And when Gal asks Daniel his oldest memory his question degenerates very quickly into Can you ever member sookin yer Maws diddies?

That Dillon manages to encapsulate many aspects of working class (Catholic) Scottish life while using the voice of a child and also incorporates more than a hint of existential danger with the looming presence of serial Killer Strangler Joe is a testament to his skill. Yet the focus of the child’s viewpoint never wavers. Impressive stuff, if a little on the short side.

Pedant’s corner:- The writing is in a West of Scotland dialect with the accompanying spellings (abyuse for example,) but there are some inconsistencies. Span is frequent but spun also appears. I also noted though (thought,) that we we’re movin ahead (that we’re movin,) and “You could see the wall were the nest was from where we were” (that first “were” should be “where”.)