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Synopsis
A wickedly offbeat look at a Scottish Holden Caulfield trying to make his way out of his small, native village even as he pursues sex, laughs, and a witches' Sabbath.
Duncan McLean has been called "Scotland's answer to Roddy Doyle" (Cosmopolitan), but he has his own unique, scruffy voice full of quirky humor and surreal images.In the highland town of Blackden, things have gotten overheated despite being overtaken by the chill of winter. Inside the head of eighteen-year-old Patrick Hunter, an auctioneer's assistant, the blood is boiling. Fueled by a potent mix of yankee doodle pie and beer, Patrick spends a November weekend on his own when his off-balanced mother goes to the city. Racing around the hills and dens of his hometown, he is half in escape from worn-out friends, drudging work, and painful memories, and half in pursuit of a girl, his father's ghost, and a new life. "Brilliantly funny: fast, sharp, constant banter, even when the narrator is only talking to himself."―Times Literary Supplement "A hilarious and touching insight into the mind of a young man, balanced between naivety and maturity."―The List
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Review
As part of the wave of new Scottish writing, Duncan McLean made a splash in the literary world with Bucket of Tongues and Bunker Man. His second novel, Blackden, is full of humor and beauty, a true find. It is the story of a weekend in the life of an 18-year-old. Paddy Hunter's mom is out of town, his mates are getting drunk, and all he can think about is girls, girls, girls. Paddy wants out of Blackden, the tiny highland village where he has lived his entire life, but sometimes the idea seems like a pipe dream. He's poor, his dad is dead, and his grandparents need him to deliver their dinner, as well as to make sure the heat has not gone out in their tiny shack. Dropping by on Friday night, Paddy hopes to get away quickly and get drunk, but instead his grandfather sits him down and tells him about the day a German plane crashed into the nearby hillside during the war:
A big red hand of fire reaching up into the darkness, that's what it looked like. And then it came down. The hand came reaching down towards us, the fingers of the fire stretching out over the woods in all directions towards Ballogie, and setting the timber ablaze wherever it touched.... And nearer it came, nearer, the hand was closing in about us, your granny and me, it was closing its fingers tighter, tighter.The quality of his listening even as he dreams of beer is part of what redeems Paddy, what makes him stand out from the guys around him, a creepy bunch who like to make jokes about having sex with sheep and raping girls. Throughout the book, women respond to him in an almost maternal way, offering him rides, giving him free food at the pub. Through these gestures of kindness, we come to understand him from the outside, even as the novel is written solely (and masterfully) in his chattery, contagious first person. Infatuated with Shona, who is in love with her abusive boyfriend, Paddy rides around with her in the middle of the night and tries to talk reason into her, tries to tell funny jokes and get her to look at him instead. Inevitably she ends up going back for more abuse. In the remote and violent backwater of Blackden, Paddy is a gentle soul, a fatherless boy on the verge of becoming a man, on the verge of seeing past the horizon of the only place he has ever known. --Emily White
About the Author
Duncan McLean is the author of Bucket of Tongues, Bunker Man, and Lone Star Swing. He lives on the island of Orkney.
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- PublisherW. W. Norton & Company
- Publication date2000
- ISBN 10 039331975X
- ISBN 13 9780393319750
- BindingPaperback
- Edition number1
- Number of pages238
- Rating
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Blackden (Norton Paperback)
Seller: Wonder Book, Frederick, MD, U.S.A.
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Condition: Good. Good condition. A copy that has been read but remains intact. May contain markings such as bookplates, stamps, limited notes and highlighting, or a few light stains. Seller Inventory # W08H-00917
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Blackden
Published by
W. W. Norton & Company, Incorporated, New York, NY, U.S.A., 2000
ISBN 10: 039331975X
ISBN 13: 9780393319750
Used
Trade Paperback
Seller: Bookmarc's, Houston, TX, U.S.A.
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Trade Paperback. Condition: Good. BZ2 - A trade paperback withdrawn ex-library book in very good- condition. A tight, clean, sound copy in black and white photo illustrated black wraps with very minor overall shelf wear plus there are the usual library lables on the spine and on the front cover plus the cover is laminated with clear plastic. This is a title in the publisher's Norton Paperback series. A novel in which the main character is an 18 year old auctioneer's assistant living in a highland town in Scotland. He is caught between worn-out friends, drudging work, and painful memories and his pursuit of a girl and a new life. The author is a winner of a Somerset Maugham award. By the author of "Bucket of tongues," "Bunker Man," and "Lone Star Swing." 229p. Size: 5.5"x8.25". Ex-Library. Seller Inventory # SCW05255
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Blackden
Published by
W W Norton & Co Inc, Scranton, Pennsylvania, U.S.A., 2000
ISBN 10: 039331975X
ISBN 13: 9780393319750
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Paperback
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Paperback. Condition: Good. Library withdrawal in the reinforced covers. A card pocket that was pasted on the inside back cover is now removed leaving a mark. RELIABLE paperback edition. Some shelf wear to the covers. A bit of scuff to the page edge. The book is been stamped at the page edge by the library. A few spots at the page edge. CLEAN CLEAR text. Useful and presentable!. Seller Inventory # DJkHCNov28VI67
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Blackden (Norton Paperback)
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Condition: Good. SHIPS FROM USA. Used books have different signs of use and do not include supplemental materials such as CDs, Dvds, Access Codes, charts or any other extra material. All used books might have various degrees of writing, highliting and wear and tear and possibly be an ex-library with the usual stickers and stamps. Dust Jackets are not guaranteed and when still present, they will have various degrees of tear and damage. All images are Stock Photos, not of the actual item. book. Seller Inventory # 32-039331975x-G
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Blackden.
Published by
W.W. Norton & Company, New York, NY, 2000
ISBN 10: 039331975X
ISBN 13: 9780393319750
Used
Paperback
First Edition
Seller: Black Cat Hill Books, Oregon City, OR, U.S.A.
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Paperback. First Ed thus; First Printing stated. First Ed thus; First Printing stated. Very Near Fine in Wraps: very small patch of rubbing at top edge near front hinge; binding square and secure; text clean. Virtually 'As New'. NOT a Remainder. NOT a Book-Club Edition. NOT an Ex-Library copy. 8vo. 229pp. Trade Paperback. Duncan McLean is an important Scottish writer who lives in Orkney, in the northeast end of Scotland where most of his fiction takes place. He is known in America for his novel Bunker Man. He is also the author of an intense book of short stories, Bucket of Tongues. Irvine Welsh spoke of McLean's early work: "It's very hard to think of a better short story writer in Britain today." Much of McLean's work is a perfect voice for what it's like to grow up in Scotland. Even though Blackden is actually Duncan McLean's first novel, it is only now being published in America. Blackden is the story of Patrick Hunter, an 18-year-old auctioneer's apprentice, and his life over a three-day lost weekend. He rides his bicycle around the village, he meets people, loses his bicycle, and his comic and dark experiences become the bulk of the book. Blackden is a somewhat bleak, but also a tender, gentle and realistic novel. Patrick reminds me of Stephen Dedalus at the end of Portrait of an Artist fleeing from Ireland so he could become a writer, instead of becoming a drunk like his father. Patrick sees people in his village leading lives that go nowhere, and at the end he sees an image of the wall of death. While Patrick Hunter may choose to leave Blackden someday, and ride away on a missing bike, Duncan McLean has definitely found his own voice as a writer. He seems fit to write and to work on a small island with waves washing over. Over the past few years he has created an impressive body of work. Seller Inventory # 33428
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Blackden (Norton Paperback)
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Blackden (Norton Paperback)
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Blackden (Norton Paperback)
Published by
W. W. Norton & Company, 2000
ISBN 10: 039331975X
ISBN 13: 9780393319750
New
Softcover
First Edition
Seller: Ergodebooks, Houston, TX, U.S.A.
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Softcover. Condition: New. First Edition. Product DescriptionA wickedly offbeat look at a Scottish Holden Caulfield trying to make his way out of his small, native village even as he pursues sex, laughs, and a witches' Sabbath. Duncan McLean has been called "Scotland's answer to Roddy Doyle" (Cosmopolitan), but he has his own unique, scruffy voice full of quirky humor and surreal images.In the highland town of Blackden, things have gotten overheated despite being overtaken by the chill of winter. Inside the head of eighteen-year-old Patrick Hunter, an auctioneer's assistant, the blood is boiling. Fueled by a potent mix of yankee doodle pie and beer, Patrick spends a November weekend on his own when his off-balanced mother goes to the city. Racing around the hills and dens of his hometown, he is half in escape from worn-out friends, drudging work, and painful memories, and half in pursuit of a girl, his father's ghost, and a new life. "Brilliantly funny: fast, sharp, constant banter, even when the narrator is only talking to himself."-Times Literary Supplement "A hilarious and touching insight into the mind of a young man, balanced between naivety and maturity."-The ListAmazon.com ReviewAs part of the wave of new Scottish writing, Duncan McLean made a splash in the literary world with Bucket of Tongues and Bunker Man. His second novel, Blackden, is full of humor and beauty, a true find. It is the story of a weekend in the life of an 18-year-old. Paddy Hunter's mom is out of town, his mates are getting drunk, and all he can think about is girls, girls, girls. Paddy wants out of Blackden, the tiny highland village where he has lived his entire life, but sometimes the idea seems like a pipe dream. He's poor, his dad is dead, and his grandparents need him to deliver their dinner, as well as to make sure the heat has not gone out in their tiny shack. Dropping by on Friday night, Paddy hopes to get away quickly and get drunk, but instead his grandfather sits him down and tells him about the day a German plane crashed into the nearby hillside during the war: A big red hand of fire reaching up into the darkness, that's what it looked like. And then it came down. The hand came reaching down towards us, the fingers of the fire stretching out over the woods in all directions towards Ballogie, and setting the timber ablaze wherever it touched. And nearer it came, nearer, the hand was closing in about us, your granny and me, it was closing its fingers tighter, tighter. The quality of his listening even as he dreams of beer is part of what redeems Paddy, what makes him stand out from the guys around him, a creepy bunch who like to make jokes about having sex with sheep and raping girls. Throughout the book, women respond to him in an almost maternal way, offering him rides, giving him free food at the pub. Through these gestures of kindness, we come to understand him from the outside, even as the novel is written solely (and masterfully) in his chattery, contagious first person. Infatuated with Shona, who is in love with her abusive boyfriend, Paddy rides around with her in the middle of the night and tries to talk reason into her, tries to tell funny jokes and get her to look at him instead. Inevitably she ends up going back for more abuse. In the remote and violent backwater of Blackden, Paddy is a gentle soul, a fatherless boy on the verge of becoming a man, on the verge of seeing past the horizon of the only place he has ever known. --Emily WhiteFrom Publishers WeeklySet in the titular rural Scottish highland village of Blackden, McLean's kinetic novel examines the supernatural possibilities in a small town and in the complicated adolescence of observant narrator Patrick Hunter. "Paddy" is a fatherless, imaginative 18-year-old, left alone for a weekend while his emotionally unstable mother goes to visit his "brainy" sister, Helen, at university in Edinburgh. The boy is obliged to look after. Seller Inventory # DADAX039331975X
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Blackden (Norton Paperback)
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Paperback. Condition: As New. Prompt shipment, with tracking. we ship in CLEAN SECURE BOXES NEW BOXES Near Fine. First edition. Seller Inventory # Bing68218
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Blackden (Paperback)
Published by
WW Norton & Co, New York, 2000
ISBN 10: 039331975X
ISBN 13: 9780393319750
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Seller: Grand Eagle Retail, Wilmington, DE, U.S.A.
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Paperback. Condition: new. Paperback. Duncan McLean has been called "Scotland's answer to Roddy Doyle" (Cosmopolitan), but he has his own unique, scruffy voice full of quirky humor and surreal images. In the highland town of Blackden, things have gotten overheated despite being overtaken by the chill of winter. Inside the head of eighteen-year-old Patrick Hunter, an auctioneer's assistant, the blood is boiling. Fueled by a potent mix of yankee doodle pie and beer, Patrick spends a November weekend on his own when his off-balanced mother goes to the city. Racing around the hills and dens of his hometown, he is half in escape from worn-out friends, drudging work, and painful memories, and half in pursuit of a girl, his father's ghost, and a new life. "Brilliantly funny: fast, sharp, constant banter, even when the narrator is only talking to himself."Times Literary Supplement "A hilarious and touching insight into the mind of a young man, balanced between naivety and maturity."The List A wickedly offbeat look at a Scottish Holden Caulfield trying to make his way out of his small, native village even as he pursues sex, laughs, and a witches' Sabbath. This item is printed on demand. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability. Seller Inventory # 9780393319750
Quantity: 1 available