But n Ben A-Go-Go
Details
One of The List/Scottish Book Trust 100 All Time Best Scottish Books in 2005.
The year is 2090. Global flooding has left most of Scotland under water. The descendants of those who survived God’s Flood live in a community of floating island parishes, known collectively as Port. Set in a distinctly unbonnie future-Scotland, the novel’s dangerous atmosphere and psychologically-malkied characters weave a tale that both chills and intrigues. In But n Ben A-Go-Go Matthew Fitt takes the allegedly dead language of Scots and energises it with a narrative that crackles and fizzes with life.
Written entirely in Scots, this is a science fiction novel set in a future where the Scottish Highlands are the only unsubmerged area of Britain. With strong characters and a gripping plot, the well-defined settings create an atmosphere of paranoia and danger. The exciting denouement has a surprising twist and is set on Schiehallion.
The introduction includes a section on how to read the Scots in this book, Matthew has made the spelling as straightforward as possible for a population used to English spelling conventions.
Reviews:
Matthew Fitt will do for prose in Scots what Hugh MacDiarmid did for poetry in Scots. JAMES ROBERTSON, EDINURGH INTERNATIONAL BOOK FESTIVAL 2000
A cracker. GERALDINE BRENNAN, TIMES EDUCATIONAL SUPPLEMENT
Going where no man has gone before. STEPHEN NAYSMITH, THE HERALD
After an initial shock, readers of this sprightly and imaginative tale will begin to relish its verbal impetus, where a standard Lallans, laced with bits of Dundonian and Aberdonian, is stretched and skelped to meet the demands of cyberjannies and virtual hoorhooses ... I recommend an entertaining and groundbreaking book. EDWIN MORGAN