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Stone Over Water
The diary of a disenchanted and emotionally crippled man, which records 10 months of the disintegration of his life. On the surface, Richard McPhail is a successful bank manager and faithful husband, yet he finds himself drawn into self-destructive relationships.
256 pages, Paperback
First published April 24, 1989
About the author
Carl MacDougall
36 books5 followersCarl MacDougall was a Scottish writer. He wrote for theatre, radio and television in addition to being a short story writer. His first novel, Stone over Water was preceded by a collection of short stories, Elvis is Dead, published to great acclaim in 1986.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
September 13, 2022
Fictional autobiography, which hops from time to time throughout the narrator's unhappy life: "We are skipping the years like a stone over water." (page 103)
Redolent of Scottish gloom and bitterness, this defines a particular small-town milieu of disappointed people. Invercullion, according to Angus McPhail senior, "displays all the timelessness of a small Scots town."
Timeless pursuits are well covered: incest, fornication, adultery, drunkenness and even bank robbery in the service of socialism.
But there're laughs, like this story:
God and Jesus were sitting on a cloud. They were having a smoke. They'd made the world and were wondering what to do. "I know what," said God, "we'll make Scotland." "Good idea, Da," said Jesus. So they planned it out. "We'll make it a lovely place," said God. "We'll give them hills and valleys, long glens for sheep and cattle, high mountains and lochs to vary the landscape, rivers filled with fish. We'll put coal beneath the ground to heat them, give them a varied climate and the best farmland to grow their crops." " Sounds great," said Jesus. "Everybody will want to live there." "No they won't, said God. "Everybody will leave. Wait till you see their neighbours."
What it is to be Scots.
Redolent of Scottish gloom and bitterness, this defines a particular small-town milieu of disappointed people. Invercullion, according to Angus McPhail senior, "displays all the timelessness of a small Scots town."
Timeless pursuits are well covered: incest, fornication, adultery, drunkenness and even bank robbery in the service of socialism.
But there're laughs, like this story:
God and Jesus were sitting on a cloud. They were having a smoke. They'd made the world and were wondering what to do. "I know what," said God, "we'll make Scotland." "Good idea, Da," said Jesus. So they planned it out. "We'll make it a lovely place," said God. "We'll give them hills and valleys, long glens for sheep and cattle, high mountains and lochs to vary the landscape, rivers filled with fish. We'll put coal beneath the ground to heat them, give them a varied climate and the best farmland to grow their crops." " Sounds great," said Jesus. "Everybody will want to live there." "No they won't, said God. "Everybody will leave. Wait till you see their neighbours."
What it is to be Scots.
Displaying 1 of 1 review