Undiscovered Scotland

 

"Family Man: The Third Book of Aldo" by Colin Burnett is an outstanding read and one I would wholeheartedly recommend to anyone with a liking for Scottish crime fiction. Let's face it, you could fill a small library with novels about crime in Edinburgh, and Colin Burnett's latest outing for his complex anti-hero, Adolfo Ali, has to be one of the very best of them. It's a book that I know will remain vivid in my memory long after others have faded into the background.

Why is it so good? In large measure this is down to the central character, Adolfo Ali. The phrase "complex anti-hero" in the last paragraph really doesn't do him justice. Much of the book is written from Aldo's perspective and in the first person, though others do get to contribute too. This gives us a real insight into the thoughts and feelings of a man I suspect none of us would want to meet in the real world, certainly not if we'd given him cause (real or imagined) to dislike us.

Aldo is quick witted, highly intelligent and supremely street smart. He also cares very deeply for his partner Roxy, his daughter Jen and his dog Bruce, who he thinks of as a son much of the time. But outside of his home and family, Aldo is a psychopath given to shocking acts of violence. He is quick to take offence and has a fuse even shorter than that other notable psychopath in Scottish fiction, Begbie. The fear this generates in those he interacts with, both in his own criminal organisation and - especially - amongst those he comes into conflict with, is a key reason why he has become so powerful in Edinburgh's dark underworld. A large part of what makes Aldo so fascinating as a character is the startling contrast between his loving and docile behaviour at home and his savagery whenever he's out of it. Then there's the vicarious thrill that comes from the sheer horror of some of what Aldo does. There's a sense, especially early in the book, that this man we're coming to like as readers can't really be about to... Too late, he's done it.

And then there's the language. Not the sweary words you'd expect in a gritty Scottish crime novel, though there are plenty of those, too. "Family Man: The Third Book of Aldo" is written entirely - apart from the intro about the author, the acknowledgements and the rear cover blurb - in East Coast Scots. This is a language mutually intelligible with English, certainly with Scottish English, but it's one that is much more frequently spoken and heard than it is written and read. I found myself listening to the narrators speak as I read the book and the language adds hugely to the reader's immersion in Aldo's world; and to the impact and memorability of this superb book.