These poignant short stories about the quiet yearnings of ordinary lives form “a sad, brilliant, joyful tribute to the dreams that never make it” ( Sunday Express ). From a recipient of a Whitbread Award, a Faber Memorial Prize, and other literary honors—who has been called “one of Scotland's finest writers” ( Independent )—this is a collection of stories about the casualties of social and emotional struggle, the people who defy defeat with humor, resilience, and a persistent faith in their unfulfilled dreams. Whether widows or prisoners or argumentative elderly spouses, they are all the walking wounded—and they all have the power to inspire both laughter and empathy. “As a stylist Mr. McIlvanney leaves most of the competition far behind.” — The New York Times Book Review
Author
William McIlvanney was a Scottish writer of novels, short stories, and poetry. He was a champion of gritty yet poetic literature; his works Laidlaw, The Papers of Tony Veitch, and Walking Wounded are all known for their portrayal of Glasgow in the 1970s. He is regarded as "the father of 'Tartan Noir’" and has been described as "Scotland's Camus". His first book, Remedy is None, was published in 1966 and won the Geoffrey Faber Memorial Prize in 1967. Docherty (1975), a moving portrait of a miner whose courage and endurance is tested during the depression, won the Whitbread Novel Award. Laidlaw (1977), The Papers of Tony Veitch (1983) and Strange Loyalties (1991) are crime novels featuring Inspector Jack Laidlaw. Laidlaw is considered to be the first book of Tartan Noir. William McIlvanney was also an acclaimed poet, the author of The Longships in Harbour: Poems (1970) and Surviving the Shipwreck (1991), which also contains pieces of journalism, including an essay about T. S. Eliot. McIlvanney wrote a screenplay based on his short story Dreaming (published in Walking Wounded in 1989) which was filmed by BBC Scotland in 1990 and won a BAFTA. Since April 2013, McIlvanney's own website has featured personal, reflective and topical writing, as well as examples of his journalism. Adapted from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William...
