Historical novel set around ENGLAND (Birmingham)
A Rock and Roll Drama set in SCOTLAND
8th April 2026
The Ossians by Doug Johnstone, a rock and roll drama set in Scotland (Edinburgh, St Andrews, Dundee, Arbroath, Aberdeen, Inverness, Thurso, Ullapool, Kyle of Lochalsh, Fort William and Glasgow)
It is both a sex and drugs and rock and roll drama and an analysis of Scottishness and what it means to be Scottish. The Ossians is the name of Connor Alexander’s rock band, and the book recounts the group’s tour, gigging at venues around coastal Scotland. Other band members are Connor’s girlfriend Hannah, his twin sister Kate, and Danny. The band has met with some success, and their manager has arranged for a London agent to watch the final gig in Glasgow. Connor hopes that by that time they will be sufficiently well rehearsed to be signed up by a big record label. But this is a road-trip novel with a twist. Reflecting on the band’s tour, Connor thinks of “a journey of self-discovery as they mapped out modern Scotland and their place in it through a bunch of triumphant rock gigs”. If only it were so…
Connor is 24 years old and overthinks everything, which leads to paralysis. He tries to silence his internal dialogue with drink and drugs. He owes money to his drug dealer, Nick Simpson, which he can’t pay. To pay off the debt, Nick tasks him with delivering mysterious packages to strangers in several of the towns the band is due to visit. Failure to complete the task risks unspecified but serious consequences, as is made plain by Nick’s ‘heavy’, Shug. The strain of the tour, plus the risks of being caught with the packages, lead to Connor drinking far too much and using even more drugs. This in turn leads to him fighting with the paying customers and to increasingly fraught relationships with his bandmates.
Connor is a likeable character, despite his flaws, and the plot rolls along at a decent pace. Although at first he is terrified by his mission, he later begins to enjoy the skulduggery, but when a stalker leaves a note that says, “I know your secret”, the fear returns. When a mystery figure appears, Connor’s befuddled thought is that this must be his guardian angel, sent to protect him. The novel’s many episodes of tension are leavened with a wonderful dark humour.
Connor tends to judge the support bands and their followers for their taste in music and dress sense. Equally, he comments on the conflicts he observes as they travel around: between “town and gown” in university venues, between Scots and English, and between rich and poor. He sees the ridiculousness of each but offers no solutions – usually he is too drunk or high.
The other main characters are fully formed, and the author shows particular insight into the minds of the women he creates, cleverly differentiating their priorities and attitudes from Connor’s, in particular.
Many of the details about the Scottish music scene (and for that matter, the drugs culture) went right over my head, but you don’t need to be an expert in any of this to enjoy the book. It is still relatable and enjoyable. If you are a rock music lover, I imagine this adds another dimension to the enjoyment of the book.
Descriptions of the many settings along the way are part love song and part dirge. They are both detailed and poetic. It took me right back to places I have visited in Scotland, while introducing me to others I haven’t yet got to. Through Connor’s eyes, the author celebrates the stark and enduring natural beauty of Scotland on one hand, while mourning the urban decay that besets even its most remote towns and villages. The landscape is not so much described as incorporated, as an integral part of the narrative. He characterises each town and city the band visits, its problems and its attractions. Connor lives in Edinburgh but was brought up in the fishing town of Abroath. His inner turmoil is soothed by proximity to the sea, which is how he chose the venues.
This fantastic book might well become a classic Scottish novel in the vein of Trainspotting or Shuggie Bain. If you like your Scottish novels raw, yet sensitive, definitely give this one a go. Highly recommended.
Sue for the TripFiction team
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