Born Free

by Laura Hird

Punchy, acerbic, sharp-witted and above-all, acutely observed, Born Free tells the story of an ordinary family who are all trying to escape from something - and each other.
The interactions between Jake, Joni, Angie and Vic reveal a hellish cocktail of asdolescent and mid-life crises; the savagery of sibling rivalry; the waking nightmare of a marriage gone cold - and, naturally, the unbridgeable, infernal chasm between the generations.
It's a story of everyday life. SHORTLISTED FOR THE WHITBREAD FIRST NOVEL AWARD 2000 BOOK OF THE YEAR - THE FACE '99 NOMINATED FOR THE ORANGE PRIZE

Genres: Fiction, Scotland, Contemporary, Novels

288 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 2000

About the author

Laura Hird is a Scottish novelist and short story writer. She is the only child of June, medical secretary/undiscovered literary/acting genius and Ronnie, ex Allied Brewers storeman/undiscovered artistic genius.

Laura spent her childhood climbing trees, playing with Action Men, being taken to opera/ballet/musicals, learning piano, entering competitions and being subsequently bullied (an ordeal which she now describes as "character-building") After leaving Tynecastle School, aged 16, she embarked on various careers - sales assistant at Rae Macintosh classical record shop, packer of coleslaw, packer of catalogue clothing, seller of velvet shirts at Ingliston Market, dozens of office jobs for civil engineers/chartered surveyors/insurance companies/Waterstones/Scottish Prison Officer "Association/Legal Aid Board" and stints as a Council Tax canvasser, bookies clerkess and boardmarker.

Between 1988-91 she studied at Middlesex Polytechnic and worked, lived and staggered around London, graduating with a BA(Hons) in Studies in Contemporary Writing. After this, she returned to Edinburgh, working again in offices to gain back her reputation as the oldest office junior in Britain, until receiving a Scottish Arts Council Bursary in 1997 to allow her to write full-time.

Reviews

[dianne b. · Rating 1 out of 5]

Before we entered the Age of Coronavirus, we had stocked a small library of SCOTLAND books in preparation for a planned - now dashed - trip to Scotland to escape the Southern hemisphere winter. This book is one of the lot.

Familial dystopia. Pretty damned dark.
A story of folks with no redeeming qualities forced to live together due to that bloody granfalloon called “family” giving them no other option.

The one who keeps trying - out of some raggedy bit of humanity - is repeatedly mocked, tortured, shamed for this apparent personality defect. I need a drink.

One star for all of the Scottish slang I learned.

[Teree · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book, I love this book. It is out of print in America. I laughed and laughed and laughed. The vernacular is a bit difficult, but well worth the read. BTW, it's irreverent.

[Steven · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is Hird's first novel and she follows through with the same strengths she showed in her story collection: black humor, self-aware narrators, mastery of character voice, and an unflinching eye to her character's failings. This novel has an interesting form: four first-person narrators (daughter, father, son, mother) with the chapters alternating narrators, so that each character gets eight whacks at it, and then the novel ends with a final chapter each from daughter and father. It takes a while to adjust to the different narrators, particularly because the voice in the first chapter is so strong, but Hird clearly pulls off the four distinct voices.

[Miriam · Rating 2 out of 5]

Reading this book was a chore to me. It was well-written, but I hated every single character in it with a burning passion. Additionally, it was like the author always used the most disgusting descriptions possible in some attempt to be edgy or shock the readers. While I read it quickly, drawn onwards by some trainwreck fascination, I felt very unsatisfied by the non-ending of the book. It was like the author simply decided to stop at one point and end it there. There was some attempt at an outlook to the future, but in my opinion it didn't work at all.

[Kirsten · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sie sind eine ganz normale Familie irgendwo in Edinburgh und jedes Mitglied hat seine Pläne und Träume. Aber was passiert, wenn diese Träume sich nicht erfüllen? Oder schlimmer noch: was passiert, wenn sie sich erfüllen?

Die Geschichte beginnt mit Joni, die in einer Boutique Klamotten klaut. Das macht sie lieber, als in die Schule zu gehen. Dabei macht ihr die Schule eigentlich Spaß, aber weil ihre Mutter unbedingt will, dass sie nach der Schule studiert, schwänzt Joni lieber und will so schnell wie möglich einen Job annehmen, nur um ihre Mutter zu ärgern. Wie sehr muss sie ihre Mutter hassen, um ihr offensichtliches Talent so zu vergeuden?

Aber vielleicht kommt das gespannte Verhältnis zwischen Mutter und Tochter daher, dass Angie ihre Tochter für ihr unbefriedigendes Leben verantwortlich macht. Eigentlich war sie mit einem jungen Soldaten verlobt, hat ihn aber während eines Einsatzes betrogen. Das Ergebnis waren zwei Kinder, ein Mann, den sie nicht liebt und ein Job in einem Wettbüro, bei dem das Beste noch der Chef ist, in den sie heimlich verliebt ist.

Vor Vic, dem Ehemann und Vater, habe ich großen Respekt. Er versucht alles, um die Familie zusammen zu halten. Egal, wie sich seine Frau und Kinder ihm gegenüber verhalten: er liebt sie, auch wenn er im Umgang mit ihnen sehr unbeholfen ist. So oft sie ihn auch zurückstoßen, versucht er doch immer wieder, ihre Zuneigung zu gewinnen. Wie Angie auch hatte er andere Pläne für sein Leben. Aber anders als sie trauert er diesen Plänen nicht nach.

Der Sohn Jake steckt mitten in der Pubertät. Er ist wie seine Schwester, hinter ihm steckt viel mehr als die Lebensumstände hergeben würden. Aber anders als sie wirkt er auf mich wie jemand, der sein Schicksal nicht hinnimmt. Er kommt mehr nach seinem Vater.

Es war schwer, die Familie zu begleiten. Denn jeder hat seine Geschichte erzählt und so habe ich auch die Dinge erfahren, die vor den andere Familienmitgliedern geheim gehalten wurden. Trotzdem glaube ich, dass sie als Familie eine Chance haben. Eigentlich passiert nichts Ungewöhnliches, aber gerade der täglichen Ereignisse und wie die Familie damit umgeht, machen die Geschichte für mich so berührend

[Kati · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow, that was one ride. I literally hated all the characters (well maybe not Jake) but loved the book nevertheless. It is a brutal and dark yet at times hilarious depiction of a very dysfuntional family living in Edinburgh, written from the perspective of all four members of the family: father, mother, daughter and son. The Scottish vernacular it is written in was a blast.
The ending did disappoint me a bit though, but I'll let that pass, because this piece of literature really made me feel things. Ah dinnae ken, I just thought it was barrie.

[Martin Raybould · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is quite a bleak tale and Laura Hird doesn't mince words. The line of titles in a counselling office sums up the content: "Domestic violence, jealousy, arguing, alcohol, sexual abuse and other staples of modern marriage". Families don't come much more dysfunctional than this and reference to freedom in the title is heavily ironic. Not a book I'd say I liked a lot but I admire its honesty.

[Tony · Rating 4 out of 5]

I first came across Laura Hird through her story "The Dilating Pupil" in the Children of Albion Rovers collection. In this, her first novel, she tells the depressing story of a wreck of a family living in Edinburgh. The chapters alternate between the voices of Vic, Angie, Jonie, and Jake (father, mother, 15-year-old, and 14-year-old), as they each seek escape from the shell of domestic life. Vic and Angie are going through agonizing midlife crises and a marriage that's totally dead. He's a bus driver on Prozac struggling to be decent and win the love of his family, she's a bitter, contemptuous bookie's assistant who's having a blast falling off the wagon. Meanwhile, their two teenagers are caught up in their own selfish angst of sex, friendships, drugs, and avoiding their parents.

The book is like a Mike Leigh film, brilliantly put together, but totally depressing. There are many moments of humor and recognition throughout, but ultimately there's not a whole lot of hope to be found anywhere. Given how awful the women act, it's hard to imagine a man being able to write this book without getting attacked as a misogynist. In any event, Hird's obviously got loads of talent, and this book should put her right there with her male Scottish peers like Welsh, Warner, McLean, Legge, and the like.

[Tenli · Rating 4 out of 5]

A dysfunctional family of horribly unlikeable people, drawn with such humor and precision that somehow I couldn't help liking them at least enough to keep reading. Headlong Scottish vernacular and shifting viewpoints reminded me a bit of Trainspotting, but with middle class concerns and excruciatingly self conscious teens.

[Paul · Rating 2 out of 5]

Portrait of a dysfunctional family in modern-day Edinburgh. Told from the points of view of the four family members. Plot is somewhat weak, and the drive of all the members of the family is too similar, and fails to give much originality.

[Fabio · Rating 1 out of 5]

Tremendo. Fatevi un favore e leggete altro.
Volgarità gratuità fuori luogo e storia del tutto dimenticabile. Per non parlare del finale che, probabilmente, era difficile concepire peggio.
Le premesse e la sinossi erano accattivanti, ma l'esecuzione è tragica.

[Sarah Timi · Rating 1 out of 5]

I didn't like it! I found it so boring. The only character I liked was Joni.

[Melissa Norrbom · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting.... weird... didn't love the ending...