Chapman and Hall, 1964, 216 p. One of the 100 best Scottish Books.

This is the tale of the childhood, adolescence and early adult life of Jericho Broch and a depiction of the experience of being a middle class Jew in Glasgow in the mid-twentieth century. Not that the narrative confines itself to Scotland. There are forays to London, to Lincolnshire for training in kibbutz life, and an excursion to Israel, all of which provide opportunities to show us how much the world bewilders Jericho, but it is always Glasgow to which he and we return.

Keen not to follow the expectations of his family but at the same time not to disappoint them, Jericho is something of a klutz. He makes a hugely embarrassing error at his barmitzvah – such mishaps befall him with recurring ease – his understanding of women is sketchy, and, achieving a second-class University degree aside, he more or less muddles through life. This is summed up quite early in the book when he is told by a friend, “‘You, poor bastard, are one of nature’s own gentlemen, and you might as well get used to being let down because, if you ask me, you’re never going to be let up.’” Even the one potentially abiding attachment he has, to Ninna, a beguiling medical student, is never on a solid footing, always slipping off to one side.

He is given several offers of employment by uncles and the like. One even questions the desirability of him going to University as its consequence for a parent is that it takes your children away. Better to take a post in the family firm.

That Scottish sense of unspecified sin so inculcated by Calvinism even has its impact on Jews. The condition of living in the city (and all of Scotland) at the time is conveyed by the remark made to Jericho on a proposed anniversary do, “‘Celebrations? Glasgow? People don’t live in Glasgow. They are here to expiate a previous existence.’”

One of the 100 best Scottish books? Well, for an aspect of life not normally covered by the description, yes.

Pedant’s corner:- Luis’ (Luis’s – also employed occasionally,) “‘tell us what is it’” (what it is.) “‘Who expects you to be.’” (is a question so needs a question mark not a full stop.) “‘You didn’t have parties and speeches when people died?’” (conversely isn’t a question and so requires a full stop rather than the question mark,) vultures wings (vultures’ wings.) “‘Where do you think your are, Russia?’” (you are,) stethescopes (stethoscopes,) “eighty percent of woman” (women,) brylcreamed (it’s a proprietary preparation so brylcreemed.) Mentioned later as Brylcream (Brylcreem.) “‘It was having dinner’” (context demands ‘I was having dinner,’) Gilmore hill (it’s one word, Gilmorehill, and was spelled correctly in the several more instances it appeared,) “carpet so thick they tickle my knees” (either carpets, or, it tickles my knees,) palsie (palsy,) dropsie (dropsy,) a missing end quotation mark (x2,) “‘You still haven’t told me what you’re doing here?’” (isn’t a question, so no question mark,) synagogoue (synagogue.) Bar-mitzvah (sometimes spelled with hyphen, other times without,) Baranovitz’ (Baranovitz’s,) waggon (wagon,) “‘It lacks that touch of doom?’” (again, isn’t a question,) references to the Bible and the Old Testament as well as the Torah, an end comma after the direct speech mark rather than immediately before, x4,) the Mitchell library (proper noun, Mitchell Library,) “‘You’ve got penniless capitalists?’ (again not a question, so no question mark,) some moments silence (moments’,) Centrigade (Centigrade, bedtter still, Celsius,) tumesence (tumescence,) stich (stitch,) estacy (ecstasy,) “for more then fifteen minutes” (than,) the Trossacks (Trossachs, x2,) Aramaeic (Aramaic,) lemonsoda (lemon soda,) calomine lotion (calamine lotion,) sunk (sank,) “‘I suppose Philip told you I was here?’” (is another non-question.) I suppose these might be a way to represent the inflections of Jewish speech on the page but ditto “‘ – in fact that is the only circumstance in which you can adore a woman?’” ditto “‘tell me, but frankly, what I lack?’” ditto “‘You’d look very handsome as a sailor?’” ditto “‘I was wondering whether you have any idea whose they are?’” ditto “‘So I had travelled and was educated?’” Unilevers (Unilever,) Gilettes (Gillette’s,) rumbah (rumba,) strudl (usually rendered in English as strudel.)