The title of James Kelman's 'Dirt Road' is an apt metaphor to evoke the seemingly endless possibilities the young Murdo sees for himself as an incessant improviser of music (accordeon player) and the meandering direction of the life he seeks to pursue in the congenial music scene of the American South. Kelman captures with perfection the bittersweet conflict pitting Murdo the stubborn dreamer against his father Tom's anxiety-ridden practical ways as a parent sincerely seeking what is best for his son in the wake of a period of shared grief both of them experience following the death of Murdo's
mother in Scotland. This novel will appeal to fans of Americana in Kelman's evocations of various genres of American folk music, as well as to anyone who was a bit of a young rebel with a cause.
On the road again
The title of James Kelman's 'Dirt Road' is an apt metaphor to evoke the seemingly endless possibilities the young Murdo sees for himself as an incessant improviser of music (accordeon player) and the meandering direction of the life he seeks to pursue in the congenial music scene of the American South. Kelman captures with perfection the bittersweet conflict pitting Murdo the stubborn dreamer against his father Tom's anxiety-ridden practical ways as a parent sincerely seeking what is best for his son in the wake of a period of shared grief both of them experience following the death of Murdo's mother in Scotland. This novel will appeal to fans of Americana in Kelman's evocations of various genres of American folk music, as well as to anyone who was a bit of a young rebel with a cause.