by Craid A Smith
The River is a life-spanning epic novel about death and new beginnings. There's a saying, beloved of Scottish grannies: "Whit's fur ye will no' go by ye". Seemingly embracing this maxim, Lachlan McCormack lives his life as aimless as a piece of driftwood, but somehow gets to where he always wanted to be - where the river meets the sea.
The novel is a love story, both to his childhood sweetheart, and to Scotland, and follows Lachlan's journey through seven decades of the nation's political, sporting and cultural history (and disappointments). Along the way, it appears that only death has the power to propel him onward, and the novel revisits the seven significant deaths that have shaped him and mapped his journey. It explores the cyclical nature of life, love, happiness, and Scotland's ongoing struggle with its place in the world.
Craig Smith lives on the edge (of Edinburgh) with his wife and children. In a former life he was a musician with a couple of NME Singles of the Week to his name. In this life, his spare bass gathers dust in a corner while his Fender Precision left to begin a new life in Marseilles. His debut novel The Mile (Pilrig Press) was published to much acclaim in 2013. An alumni of the Faber Academy, he continues to write about Scotland, Scottishness, and Scots, and hopes one day he might live in a normal country. Preferably Scotland.
#ModernScot
