Rebus's Scotland: A Personal Journey

by Ian Rankin

Book by Ian Rankin

Genres: Nonfiction, Scotland, Travel, Crime, Biography, Memoir, Photography

3 pages, Audio CD

First published September 15, 2005

About the author

AKA Jack Harvey.

Born in the Kingdom of Fife in 1960, Ian Rankin graduated from the University of Edinburgh in 1982 and then spent three years writing novels when he was supposed to be working towards a PhD in Scottish Literature. His first Rebus novel was published in 1987; the Rebus books are now translated into 22 languages and are bestsellers on several continents.

Ian Rankin has been elected a Hawthornden Fellow. He is also a past winner of the Chandler-Fulbright Award, and he received two Dagger Awards for the year's best short story and the Gold Dagger for Fiction. Ian Rankin is also the recipient of honorary degrees from the universities of Abertay, St Andrews, and Edinburgh.

A contributor to BBC2's Newsnight Review, he also presented his own TV series, Ian Rankin's Evil Thoughts, on Channel 4 in 2002. He recently received the OBE for services to literature, and opted to receive the prize in his home city of Edinburgh, where he lives with his partner and two sons.

http://us.macmillan.com/author/ianrankin

Reviews

[Gisela Hafezparast · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really interesting semi-autobiographical as well as semi-fictional (from Rebus' point of view) writing, musing on the Scottish culture, heritage and people as well as it's capital city. Interesting insights both how Scotland, Edinburgh and Fife have shaped the author, the books and Rebus. Really adds to the stories and makes me want to re-read quite a few of them.

A very interesting read.

[Chuck Slack · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having just returned from vacationing in Edinburgh and Scotland and reading Mortal Causes and Let It Bleed while there, this book was great for nostalgia.

Recommend it for anyone that loves the Rebus series and has, or is planning to, visit Edinburgh and Scotland.

[Solitaire Doddridge · Rating 5 out of 5]

Had to stop reading this when I realised it covered books I hadn’t read! Now I’m up to 20 I was ok to finish it! Really interesting to see the thinking behind Rebus and his author.

[Lesleyts · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this book as I am a Rebus fan. An interesting read showing the overlaps with Ian Rankin’s own memories and feelings.

[Poonam · Rating 3 out of 5]

I learnt more about Scotland and Rebus from this book than the dozens of Rebus books I had read. Probably because I was more focused on mystery than to note fictional/real watering holes or geography of Edinburgh.

Rankin explores how much of Rebus is from him. (Back history and childhood details match). Rebus has inherited his love for music but their rates differ and Shiobhan also has little bit of him. I learnt about Fife and Cardenden. Coal mines. I learnt about religious sectarianism. Scotts' love of drinks. As Rankin says: The rich relationship between Scots and alcohol goes beyond our invention of whiskey, and drips down to our language. We possess myriad words for drunkenness: hoolit, steaming, guttered, wellied, blootered.

How Edinburgh is not considered true representative of Scotland; how two main cities of Scotland Glasgow and Edinburgh don't quite see eye to eye. There are multiple references about class divide, Scottish self-deprecation etc via Muriel Spark or Edwin Muir's works. But most important feature of this book are those reflections by Rebus in various books that reflect author's own changing feelings and observations on things Scottish. I enjoyed reading these excerpts. The photographs in the book are those that reflect the Scotland of Rebus book not the one about castles, whiskey, golf and tartan.

[Robert · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is best read after reading all the Rebus crime novels by Rankin. On the other hand, if one wanted a flavor of the books, with lots of brief excerpts, this gives a good overview of the style and background. I've read them all, so the places and events were very familiar. A few pages of black and white photos, shot by photographers that impressed Rankin, are clumped in spots throughout the book. Perhaps it was the muddy reproduction quality, but the out of focus attempt at 'artsy' completely failed for me. Forget that Scotland can be dreary, cold and rainy, these are just substandard photos, for me.

[David]

I always enjoy background details, so this guided tour around the Scotland that appears in the Rebus books is quite pleasant to me. Re-read following another sweep of Rebus earlier in the year.

[Kirsten · Rating 5 out of 5]

In diesem Buch führt Ian Rankin den Leser auf den Spuren von John Rebus durch Edinburgh und Schottland. Aber es sind nicht nur Rebus' Spuren, sondern auch die von Ian Rankin.

Der Anfang gehört ganz dem Polizisten. Ian Rankin erzählt, wie es dazu kam dass er John Rebus ins Leben gerufen hat und von dessen ersten Fällen. Dann wendet er sich Edinburgh und Schottland zu. Es geht um die schottische Geschichte, um den ständigen Konkurrenzkampf zwischen Glasgow und Edinburgh und natürlich auch um den Whisky, ohne den John Rebus nicht einschlafen kann. Vieles wird mit Zitaten aus den Büchern erläutert.

Je weiter man im Buch kommt, desto persönlicher wird es. Ian Rankin nimmt viele Ereignisse aus Rebus' Leben zum Anlass zu erzählen, was er in diesem Moment gemacht hat oder was ihm der Ort, über den er gerade berichtet bedeutet. So ist zum Beispiel die Musik, die Rebus hört, der Zeitfaden aus Rankins Leben. Was ich nicht wusste ist, dass Ian Rankin auch Musik macht und mit seiner Band sogar einen kleinen Auftritt in einem seiner eigenen Krimis hat.

Dass das Buch alt ist, merkt man daran dass John Rebus noch nicht in Rente geschickt wurde. Oder auch daran, dass Jackie Leven noch am Leben ist. Wie würde das Buch wohl aussehen, wenn es jetzt erst geschrieben worden wäre?

Rebus' Scotland hat mir nicht nur wegen der wunderschönen Schwarzweiß-Aufnahmen gefallen sondern auch wegen dem Einblick, den ich in das Leben von Ian Rankin nehmen durfte. Überrascht hat mich, dass er froh ist, John Rebus nie getroffen zu haben weil er glaubt, dass er ihn dann nicht sympathisch finden würde. Und natürlich hat es mir Lust gemacht, die Krimis wieder zu lesen.

[Lawrence Patterson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having lived and worked in Edinburgh for a few years in my first job and know well its streets and also belong to a similar generation to the author and read a fair number of the Rebus stories as well as seen the TV series I really gelled with this book - the passages came back to me and the stories they related to. It is not a long read but if you want to better understand what makes up the Rebus character (if the books have not yet got that into your head), Edinburgh, its people, and Scotland then it is one of the best ways of educating yourself in the shortest time possible. For me I am one with the author about what makes up those that compose the character of our nation and the differences across the capital and the country although I am not sure all of us from the Borders suffer from schizophrenia about either the city dwellers or the English -we are simply Borderers first, Scots second and maybe citizens of a wider nation and a bigger continent at the end of the day! I grew up with kids from Eastern Europe families whose dads were prisoners of war and who stayed to work on the farms after the war and as far as I can see Scots are at home with all sorts and equally willing to fly the nest and survive and prosper if other lands (said he now forty years in southern England!!!). The pictures and design of this book are worth its purchase alone! It makes me a wee bit homesick!!

[Ellen · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm guessing I might have been more enthusiastic about this book if I was a fan of Rebus. I've read some Rebus books but I find the writing a bit empty. I like the observations about life and living it, but I find they're thrown out there without much background and that, for me, misses the mark. So this book, written in the same style only a bit more so, comes across as self-indulgent. I think maybe I'm not the target audience rather than it's a bad book, though.

I wasn't a fan of the lack-of-focus photography either. The photos looks like they'd been taken by somebody a little too drunk on the water of life.

[Adele · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beat the backlist reading challenge: A companion novel
A must for any Ian Rankin/Rebus fan. Complemented by atmospherically dark and brooding photographs by the duo responsible for the series jacket images from 1999-2005, this companion book explores the inextricable link between author, protagonist and locale. Having had the privilege to attend a book signing talk and to have watched several online interviews (most recently Facebook’s “At Home With”) I could read this personal guide in Ian’s accented voice which added much to the pleasure of it’s telling.

[Keith Hamilton · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting read for fans of Rebus, his author Ian Rankin and his adopted hometown, Edinburgh (like Rankin, Rebus hails from Fife). I didn't realise how semi-autobiographical the Rebus novels were, so much of Rankins upbringing, background and early life is mirrored in Rebus. The words are complemented by moody black and white photography of many of the locations that feature in the novels (without them, this would be a short book!) I enjoyed finding out more about Rebus (and Rankin), and it has encouraged me to re-visit some of the series that I last read many years ago.

[Bill McFadyen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Published in 2005 this trip through Ian Rankin’s earlier Rebus books. , the locations the music and the tie in with authors life is an interesting insight. An insight into Rankin but more so an insight into Scotland - a Scotland that has changed little in the following thirteen years.
There are some fab photographs in the Orion paperback.

[Rob · Rating 3 out of 5]

Simultaneously Rankin's autobiography, a Scottish travelogue, and an exploration of how Rankin created his famous detective.

A must-read for anyone who's a fan of Rankin's Inspector Rebus series, but of limited appeal for everyone else (hence, my 3-star rating that attempts to split the difference between the two audiences).

[David Highton · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting book with great photographs. Rankin provides us a lot of autobiographical detail and how history fits into the John Rebus character, who is chronologically about 14 years older than the author. Edinburgh obviously features a great deal but other parts of Scotland too.

[Susan Wray Toogood · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having now read 10 of the Rebus books and watched the TV series, this was a fascinating insight into Ian Rankin and Rebus. I have visited Edinburgh several times and hope to return again. Perhaps I will take the Rebus walking tour!

[Jean · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well written, blends Rankin’s and Rebus’s Scotland with extracts from the works and autobiography.

[Melody · Rating 4 out of 5]

Seeing Scotland through the eyes of one of my favourite characters was enlightening. Those same eyes as Ian Rankin amazing. The gritty, dark, stoically Scottish atmosphere. Excellent!

[Andrew Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

An enjoyable discussion on Rebus, his approach to his city, country, and life, and what the books tell us about Scotland and its people.

[Neil · Rating 4 out of 5]

Part Ian Rankin autobiography, part Scotland through the eyes of John Rebus. The joins are blurry.

[Margaret · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is fascinating to read, with insights into Ian Rankin’s own life and that of the character of John Rebus that he invented, along with his thoughts on Scotland and the Scottish character. It’s partly autobiographical, blending his own life with Rebus’s biography. It also describes many of the real life locations of the books, in particular Edinburgh, Rebus’s own territory.

I particularly enjoyed Ian Rankin’s views on writing – how writers mine their own experiences, reshaping their memories to create fiction and the similarities between novelists and detectives.

Throughout this book Ian Rankin quotes liberally from his books to illustrate the points he makes. He begins with a chapter on the place where he was born and grew up, which was in the same cul-de-sac as John Rebus – even in the same house. But really, of course, Rebus was not born there. He was created in a bed-sit in Edinburgh where Rankin was living and writing. He deals with Rebus’s ‘prodigious intake of alcohol‘, the Oxford Bar, his taste in music, the city of Edinburgh (Rebus’s territory) and Fife, where Rebus and Rankin have shared memories. I like the way he writes about Rebus as though he were a real person, sometimes admitting that he’s not sure what Rebus will do, but at the same time acknowledging that he is his creation.

[Nicholas Whyte · Rating 3 out of 5]

http://nwhyte.livejournal.com/2162540.html[return][return]In this book, Rankin pulls back the curtain to show us where Inspector Rebus came from. He introduces us to Fife, to Edinburgh, to Scotland as a whole, and to how his own personal history intersects with that of his creation. Rebus is older and more right-wing, but has mysteriously similar tastes in music to Rankin; they have lived on the same streets, and drunk in the same pubs. Rankin is not sure if he really likes Rebus; they have been too close for too long, with communication really only in one direction, for the relationship to be entirely healthy. It's thanks to Rebus that there is an Ian Rankin Close in their home town; the writer feels that this is a mixed blessing. It's a very good exploration of Scotland as a political and cultural entity, and how that is reflected in art.[return][return]There are some lovely photographs in the book, but they are badly presented, jammed into four different clutches and not well integrated with the text. I hope that a future edition will use better production methods to help readers appreciate them.

[Liz · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading Rebus’s Scotland, I can only imagine the pleasure I’d have gotten if I actually read more than one book in the mystery series.

Ian Rankin describes the book as a sort of autobiography of himself and a biography of Rebus. Rankin tells about the differences between he and Rebus (and admits he probably wouldn’t get on with him if they met), but also talks about the many similarities in their backgrounds.

A lot of this book, as the title warns, is about Scotland and how Rankin feels about his homeland. Much of what he feels is reflected in his stories about John Rebus, but in this he can explain why Rebus feels the way he does. He talks a little bit about the evolution of the character, but mostly this book is about what life is like for a native of Scotland. He covers music, religion, politics, and the Outlands.

I’d recommend this to anyone who has any fondness for the Old Grey Mother.

[Mike · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting but rather dry semi-autobiography with many black and white photos. The photos in particular, though they're quite arty, are a disappointment overall. They seldom work in with the text, and some of them are intentionally vague.
The background to the books is more interesting, but again, it's all a bit loose, as though it was thrown together in Rankin's spare time. He notes at one point that he read all his Rebus books through for the first time, in sequence, before writing this book, and this means he has plenty of ready quotes to connect to his own past and the way his past and Rebus' interweave. But at the end of it, it mostly makes you want to go back and read the books through again yourself. Which is a good thing.

[Sundarraj Kaushik · Rating 3 out of 5]

This books gives a background of how Ian Rankin describes about how he intersperses his real life experience as part of experience of Inspector Rebus the protagonist in his books.
He was born and brought up in Scotland and has deep ties to this land. He speaks about three places, his birthplace, Edinburgh and Glasgow.

It is probably a good book to read before reading any of his other books, although in my case it has been a chance that I read this book before any of his other books. Hopefully I will be catch glimpses of Ian Rankin's life as I go on to read his novels which I am yet to begin.

[Thebruce1314 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Am I a sucker for all things Edinburgh? A big, resounding YES to that. So, after surgical removal of my rose-coloured glasses, I came to the conclusion that the constant insertion of quotations in the text was a little irritating and Rankin's self-criticism wholly unnecessary...however, the photographs of Edinburgh and the surrounding area are beautiful, and the author's observations are thoughtfully written and insightful to the appreciative outsider-looking-in. This is one that I'll keep on my shelf, if not to re-read, at least to look at the pretty pictures.

[The Bookish Wombat · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating overview by Ian Rankin of the country and influences that made his fictional detective John Rebus, but really focusing on the author's development as an individual and as a writer. Moody black and white photographs set the tone for a trip around Fife, Edinburgh, and (briefly) other places.

The book is beautifully written and makes you feel that you're having a conversation with the author. I don't think you'd have to be a fan of Rebus to get something out of this book as it has much to say about late 20th and early 21st century Scotland - including its links to its past.

[Judith Stewart · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an interesting insight into the world of Ian Rankin. However, if his fictional character John Rebus had written this he would have concentrated only on the pubs and the record shops! My highlight was learning that Ian Rankin believes that he wouldn't like John Rebus if he met him. This explains why he lets Rebus be beaten up all the time. That aside, the photographs were really good & I'm so happy to know that Ian Rankin has been immortalised with a street named after him. That and a substantial body of work will long survive him. Go Ian Rankin.

[Sharon · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have never read a Rebus novel, so thought this may a good way to see if I would be intrested.

A good book, which the author manages to let us in on his feelings for his native land, as well as those of his most famous character.

I liked this book, it wasn't too heavy going to read, and has perked my intrest in maybe giving the Rebus series a go.

[False · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm big on pictures, and for an author to go back, via photography to bring places to life with pictures is a nice plus. I have just finished reading ALL of the published Ian Rankin, and this was my final read. A nice treat, but hard to find. I had to special order it through the interlibrary loan system.