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‘EMILY WAS MYSTICAL AND POSITIVELY SPHINX-LIKE ‘
Her understated yet powerful stories have reached out far beyond their Glasgow settings. Anne Donovan chats to Rodge Glass about her follow-up to Buddha Da
first saw Anne Donovan in 2()()l on the
undergrotmd ‘stage' of (ilasgow's l3th Note (are.
surrounded by beer bottles. graffiti and posters advertising upcoming gigs by the punk and metal bands that usually played there. People were crammed into the tiny venue where other performers had already been ignored or abused by the crowd. which was mostly made up of musicians. writers and wannabe writers: l was one of the final group. It was getting late and most people were drunk. but Anne seemed undaunted by the hostile atmosphere. In her distinctly down—to-earth. direct style. she read the start of a new comedy. seemingly about Tibetan monks coming to Scotland because they’d heard the next Dalai Lama had been born on a (ilasgow estate. She was the most popular performer all night because people warmed to her. and her personality came through in her work.
Two years later that story became a hugely successful novel called BIN/(Illa Du. which won prizes but also proved popular with libraries and reading groups. It was a word-of—mouth hit whose reach went much further than its (ilasgow setting. being translated into several languages. Apparently the Russian translator had trouble interpreting the words ‘Partick Thistle‘. Like 'I'ruins/mrring before it. Btu/(Ilia I)a proved good Scots writing in dialect could be understood and enjoyed everywhere; not that the author has ever chased success.
She has just quietly gone about writing understated. powerful stories and. since 2001's collection IIivmg/yphit"s. has developed a growing following. New novel Being liniin features the same language
38 THE LIST 8» I)? May 9008
and settings to her other books but is much darker and comes five years after BIN/(“1U l)u. Was it hard to follow'.’ ‘Well. first I wrote a novel that didn't quite work.. Donovan says now. very matter—of-factly. ‘But there was no pressure. Then i had the idea for Being Iz'mily. about a girl relating to limily Bronte. being fascinated by the whole family mythology and that romantic idea of the sisters who live on a moor. limin was mystical. positively sphinx-like. she hardly went around with anyone else. I thought it was a good start for a short story. liverything I've done so far begins that way: I think of myself as a short story writer who occasionally writes a novel by mistake.‘
But Being Ifmi/y is actually very well-crafted and tackles big issues. particularly in rejecting assumptions about teenagers all being uncaring violent thugsjust waiting to attack the nearest helpless granny. like everyone else. teenagers often get stereotyped.‘ she says. ‘I taught teenagers and they are not all the same: in some cases they deliberately reject the culture around them.‘ All the teenagers in the novel are ordinary. responsible young people trying to work life out: the problem is the world around them.
it's too early to say how readers will respond to the novel but the author is modestly pleased with it. And does she feel she has changed since those early public readings? ‘1 am happier with my writing now. Before. it was a major barrier for me. to feel what I was doing mattered. but now i feel it does. ljust hope the reading groups aren't disappointed this time.‘
Being Emily is published by Canongate on Thu 15 May. See book events.
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THE BEST BOOKS, COMICS & EVENTS
* Alex Gray This fine crime writer is another example that the female arm of the Tartan Noir brigade is still going strong. Pitch Black is her latest thriller. Waterstone’s, Edinburgh, Fri 25 Apr.
* Jem Rolls With his Big Word baby having flown the nest, Mr Rolls returns with this anticipated performance de poetry. Some rather special guests are promised. The Jazz Bar, Edinburgh, Thu 75 May. * Anne Donovan With Being Emily, the Glasgow writer delivers a superb follow- up to her acclaimed Buddha Da. See preview, left. Canongate; Waterstone '3, Glasgow, Thu 75 May; Mitchell Library, Tue 20 May; Waterstone's, Edinburgh, Thu 22 May.
31¢ John Burnside Whether the tourists will be heading in their droves to Fife after reading Glister is uncertain but the literati should be enthralled by Burnside’s tale of deformity and disease. See review, page 39. Jonathan Cape.
31‘ Mark E Smith with Austin Collings The grumpiest northern band leader of them all finally unleashes his autobiography, all too pertinently titled Renegade. See review, page 39. Viking.
3i: Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson With The Boys. Ennis and Robertson have collectively created an anarchic superhero satire about a team of CIA-funded thugs who patrol our streets with big business and the mob making things even scarier. See review, page 40. Titan.
* Richard Cowdry and various A bitterly funny compilation is led by Cowdry but features an array of aspiring artists. See review, page 40. Bedsit Journal.