Undiscovered Scotland

 

Peace, Love & Petrol Bombs by D. D. Johnston tells the story of Wayne Foster as he progresses from burger flipping youth in Benny's Burgers in his fictional central Scottish home town of Dundule to squats and friend's flats in Paris and London, via participation in riots in places as far afield as Prague. We meet Wayne just as he meets Manette, the future love of his life, amid the tear gas clouds in Prague at the protests against the World Bank summit in September 2000: and as he almost ends up under a train while escaping from the police. From here the story moves backwards and forwards in time as Wayne weaves together the events of his life to date.

As we share Wayne's journey we learn enough about the life of a burger flipper to ensure we will never see his real world counterparts in the same light again. Life with Manette in Paris is also brought vividly to life, as is Wayne's rather more chaotic later existence in London. The author's use of language adds greatly to the enjoyment of the novel. We read, for example, that "Eventually, the past sticks to you like fluff to Sellotape dragged across a dusty suit"; or that "Lives are like asterisks. At any point, lines intersect in a multitude of directions. You can be diverted, driven down tangents, and then made to reverse." More immediate is the author's description of the smell of a toilet: "a stench... that wore lemon air freshener like earrings."

D. D. Johnston is a Scot who, while spending seven years working in the fast food industry, started an underground trades union, studied for a degree in sociology, and became interested in anarchist politics. He also participated in anti-capitalist, anti-fascist and anti-war protests across Europe, and it is clear that many of the events of Wayne's life are closely informed by aspects of the author's own experiences. The book's title could lead to the thought that it is some sort of anarchist manifesto. What actually emerges is a well told and exceptionally well written "coming of age" novel that draws the reader in to a life that will be alien to many: and spits you out again at the other end feeling entertained, informed, and more than a little curious to know what happens to Wayne next...