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Makeshift & Hunger March: Two Novels
Makeshift, first published in 1928, explores a young girl's life in early 20th-century Scotland. Dramatic and closely observed, it turns on the changing attitudes and expectations of women following the First World War. Hunger March dates from the middle of the Great Depression, interweaving the lives and stories of characters from all classes and areas of Glasgow. Both are highly readable and enjoyable works of fiction, offering a window into women's lives in the first half of the 20th century.
412 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 1, 2010
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About the author
Dot Allan
9 books1 followerDot Allan was a successful novelist and freelance journalist based in Glasgow. She wrote several plays early in her career, contributed to a wide range of newspapers and magazines throughout her life, and published ten novels.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
August 1, 2023
4 / 5 stars
April 6, 2011
Dot Allan’s MAKESHIFT (1928) traces a young woman’s development and growing awareness of sex in a male-dominated world. Most women’s lives of the era are makeshift because they never reach self-fulfillment. They simply follow the accepted path of unhappy marriage, children, and a lifetime of drudgery.
While MAKESHIFT deals with gender struggle, HUNGER MARCH (1934) deals with class struggle. In the latter novel, Allan chronicles a single day in Depression-era Glasgow. She closely follows 10 or 12 characters from different levels of society and shows how their lives interact in the course of the day.
Unlike many 20th-century Scottish literary works, both novels end on a note of hope. MAKESHIFT’s Jacqueline finally sees the light and has the courage, despite all odds, to forge her own path. Similarly, as the characters in HUNGER MARCH come to interact, they start to understand those around them and take the first tentative steps toward acting for the good of more people than just themselves.
Another difference from many modern Scottish works is that neither novel is written in Scots dialect, thereby making them more accessible to the general reader. I recommend this book highly to anyone interested in 20th-century Scottish literature.
While MAKESHIFT deals with gender struggle, HUNGER MARCH (1934) deals with class struggle. In the latter novel, Allan chronicles a single day in Depression-era Glasgow. She closely follows 10 or 12 characters from different levels of society and shows how their lives interact in the course of the day.
Unlike many 20th-century Scottish literary works, both novels end on a note of hope. MAKESHIFT’s Jacqueline finally sees the light and has the courage, despite all odds, to forge her own path. Similarly, as the characters in HUNGER MARCH come to interact, they start to understand those around them and take the first tentative steps toward acting for the good of more people than just themselves.
Another difference from many modern Scottish works is that neither novel is written in Scots dialect, thereby making them more accessible to the general reader. I recommend this book highly to anyone interested in 20th-century Scottish literature.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews