Rick Skwiot's Blog - Posts Tagged "robin-jenkins"
Recommended: the novels of Robin Jenkins
Have you read Robin Jenkins? I made his acquaintance over the past few months, reading five of the late (1912-2005) Scottish novelist’s 30 some works: Fergus Lamont, Guests of War, The Cone-Gatherers, Poverty Castle, and A Very Scotch Affair.
I find his work psychologically deep and subtle; full of humanity, beautiful language, irony and cutting humor. His novels—which depict a cross-section of 20th century Scottish society, from slum dwellers to aristocrats, from workers to artists and educators—often contain characters struggling with difficult and complex moral choices.
Social-class conflicts, religion and hypocrisy frequently infect and fever his characters and his stories, which often convey an affecting warmth—though always with a hard edge. He draws both male and female characters convincingly, with a Dickensian richness but with more believability, i.e., less of the Dickensian melodrama. Redemption or damnation often hang within the grasp of his central characters, and Jenkins seldom tips his hand as to where the fruit may fall, producing a palpable tension.
I particularly recommend Fergus Lamont, a novel with social and historical sweep and moral scope. The Cone-Gatherers, perhaps his best known novel, is a compressed, seemingly allegorical tale based in part on his forestry work as a World War II conscientious objector. In Guests of War and Poverty Castle, both affecting family dramas, spirited women protagonists fuel the action.
Apparently of some renown in Scotland, Robin Jenkins deserves a larger audience in the U.S. and elsewhere.
I find his work psychologically deep and subtle; full of humanity, beautiful language, irony and cutting humor. His novels—which depict a cross-section of 20th century Scottish society, from slum dwellers to aristocrats, from workers to artists and educators—often contain characters struggling with difficult and complex moral choices.
Social-class conflicts, religion and hypocrisy frequently infect and fever his characters and his stories, which often convey an affecting warmth—though always with a hard edge. He draws both male and female characters convincingly, with a Dickensian richness but with more believability, i.e., less of the Dickensian melodrama. Redemption or damnation often hang within the grasp of his central characters, and Jenkins seldom tips his hand as to where the fruit may fall, producing a palpable tension.
I particularly recommend Fergus Lamont, a novel with social and historical sweep and moral scope. The Cone-Gatherers, perhaps his best known novel, is a compressed, seemingly allegorical tale based in part on his forestry work as a World War II conscientious objector. In Guests of War and Poverty Castle, both affecting family dramas, spirited women protagonists fuel the action.
Apparently of some renown in Scotland, Robin Jenkins deserves a larger audience in the U.S. and elsewhere.
