Naming the Bones

SOME SECRETS ARE BEST LEFT BURIED - Knee-deep in the mud of an ancient burial ground, a winter storm raging around him, and at least one person intent on his death: how did Murray Watson end up here? His quiet life in university libraries researching the lives of writers seems a world away, and yet it is because of the mysterious writer, Archie Lunan, dead for thirty years, that Murray now finds himself scrabbling in the dirt on the remote island of Lismore. Loaded with Welsh's trademark wit, insight and gothic charisma, this adventure novel weaves the lives of Murray and Archie together in a tale of literature, obsession and dark magic.

My Thoughts:

This book is as good as it sounds. I had read ‘The Bullet Trick’ before and thought show more it was ok, but this book was really good.

It is a dark brooding thriller, a little slow to start but the story picks up when Murray goes to the island of Lismore. I can’t help thinking that when characters go to these small islands that they are going to encounter something similar to ‘The Wicker Man’. Not in this case though ! What Murray does find is not what I thought he was going to and one aspect of the story there is no solid conclusion.

A worthy read which is perfect when you are snuggled up on a cold winters afternoon. show less

From the back cover, this novel seemed a bespoke fit to my own preoccupations. The story moves initially between Glasgow and Edinburgh, two cities I spent the better part of twenty years toing-and-froing between. Then, as things gain speed, it moves to a remote Scottish island. The main character is an academic, at Glasgow Uni, who is overly involved with his subject - the life and work of a dead poet. As a postgrad at Glasgow uni I spent several years walking in much the same footsteps as Murray, albeit with far less havoc unraveling around me.

The core strand of the book, which is played out with great philosophical and, crucially, narrative success, is the question of whether or not our understanding of a writer's work is enhanced by show more knowing more about his life. It's a question I find endlessly fascinating, and never have I seen it developed so astutely in fiction.

There's so much to admire and enjoy here, that I was quite surprised I'd not heard more about this book until now. It confirms everything her earlier novels promised would be the case. Louise Welsh consistently delivers intelligent, challenging, and ultimately highly satisfying work. More please, Louise! show less

Louise Welsh knows how to intrigue her readers and, like any good mystery writer, gives them enough twists and turns to keep them interested to the last page. But instead of using a professional (like investigator or detective) to get to the bottom of this story, she puts the research in the hands of a Professor of Literature on sabbatical, trying to write the story of his favourite poet's brief life for a book. Using this as the basis of the story, the people in his life also get tangled into the strange circumstances of the poet's life and death. For people like myself, who don't care much for the mystery genre, Welsh proves once again that you don't need to be a fan to enjoy her works.

Literature professor Murray Wilson has been fascinated by the obscure poet Archie Lunan ever since he happened upon Lunan’s single poetry collection when he was 16. Now, he’s using his sabbatical to research Lunan’s life, if he can juggle his affair with his department head’s wife and his fraught relationship with his artist brother.

It’s a lot to manage, and I wasn’t sure in the early chapters of Welsh would be able to juggle all these disparate elements. But Welsh’s writing flows nicely, and Lunan’s (supposedly?) accidental drowning 30 years earlier held just enough promise to keep me interested. By the second half of the book, set on the Island of Lismore, where Lunan met his end and where his girlfriend Christie still show more resides, the investigation has picked up steam. And Welsh ramps up the excitement in the final chapters, leaving readers with a satisfyingly ambiguous thriller of an ending. Questions are answered, but which answer to choose?

Welsh is nowhere near replacing Ruth Rendell/Barbara Vine or Kate Atkinson as one of my favorite authors of dark psychological mysteries, but she certainly has potential. See my complete review at Shelf Love. show less

Perhaps I should warn readers of this review that Louise Welsh is one of my all time favourite authors. NAMING THE BONES was therefore greeted with some excited anticipation in these parts. One of the things that I really like about Welsh's books is the dark, introspective nature of her characters and the settings, as well as irresistible Gothic quirkiness.

NAMING THE BONES is the story of Dr Murray Watson; academic, guilty lover, conflicted brother, writer of a poet's biography. Murray's love affair with Archie Lunan's writing had started with a slim paperback collection of poems. Lunan wasn't a very prolific poet, but who knows what he could have produced had he not died strangely, so young.

Murray's research into Lunan's life is show more fuelled by a small, cryptic collection of papers stored in a cardboard box. An odd mixture of rambling jottings, memento's, an old address book, there's not a lot for Murray to go on. Small clues however do set him off on what is really a detecting job - finding out more about Lunan's life and his friends in a series of small steps, revealing very complicated and intertwined lives. Meanwhile Murray struggles with his failing relationship with his brother - an art installation which Murray feels is highly exploitative starts to create a rift between the brothers, which is exacerbated as Murray finds his brother is being unfaithful.

Welsh's earlier books have always had a bit of a twist, a touch of quirky and an elaborately Gothic feel to them. NAMING THE BONES doesn't quite start out like those earlier books, and Murray seems, particularly in this day and age, strangely normal. Including the lustful affair with his Head of Department's wife, Murray has relationship difficulties all over the place and he just seems somewhat naive and disconnected from the realities of life. Certainly his admiration of Lunan is a little odd to start off with, one short volume of poetry too insignificant to have had such a profound and long-lasting affect on such a renowned academic.

Given that NAMING THE BONES started off with less of the Gothic than normally expected, I was taken by how quickly the book become difficult to put down. This reader found herself increasingly involved in Murray's telling of his own tale, increasingly taken by his bafflement over Lunan's own relationships and why this man killed himself. Add to that Murray's own hamfisted methods of handling obsession, confrontation and disappointment and the story quickly becomes a less about researching a biography and a lot more about the mystery of Lunan and those around him.

Ultimately Murray takes himself off to the dreary, mysterious, damp, windy, threatening and even vaguely odd island of Archie's early life and death, and the resolution of the book takes place on this bleak, geographically and technologically isolated little island, with a good sprinkling of odd and normal locals, and a lot of rain, mud, wind and dark tracts of land.

This is exactly the sort of book that I just love. Cunningly witty, NAMING THE BONES is a mystery that's not immediately a mystery. A death that was explained, a sprinkling of odd clues and hints, and a whole lot more hidden under the surface of a lot lives. show less

Very slow to get going, but good character build up and well written. Enjoyed reading about places in Edinburgh I recognised.Pace picked up when arrived on Lismore ad quite atmospheric

This book led me to wonder what publishers put on the back of some books. The blurb to this one says:

"Knee-deep in the mud of an ancient burial ground, a winter strom raging around him, and at least one person intent on his death: how did Murray Watson end up here?"

Promising, isn't it? Maybe like me you expected a fast-paced thriller with action, conspiracy and a lot of gradually revealled secrets? Only, that's not what you get.

Dr. Murray Watson, doctor of English literature, is on a sabbatical researching the poet Archie Lunan who died in his late twenties after publishing only one volume of poetry. Sources on Archie are scarce - his one-time girlfriend Christie won't give Murray an interview, and other acquaintances seem superficial show more or evade his questions.

The first 190 pages set in Edinburgh and Glasgow trail Murray on his research endeavours. Or rather we follow his life - an affair with his head of department's wife and a fall-out with his artist brother included. It's a character study of a man in his thirties without much sense of direction; that makes him cling to his research project even though the results are meager.

This was very well written, Murray comes distinctly to life as a flawed but likeable character. His life is ordinary, but the everyday-quality of his story makes it easy to relate to. We are drawn slowly into Murray's life, and Welsh's writing is so good it makes you hang on despite your disappointed expectations.

But still, I wasn't particularly interested in this character study. Suspense? Nil. And the blurb had coloured my reading - whenever something slightly unexpected happend I waited for the sinister turn that surely had to come. Of course, it didn't.

Maybe you sense the slightest bit of frustration here. It's actually with the publishers, not the book. Their blurb lured me into reading (Point for them) but unfortunately destroyed my reading experience along the way.

In the second half, Murray travels to the remote Scottish island of Lismore where Archie died and which is still home of his erstwhile girlfriend Christie. Here, the pace steps up a bit, and Murray ends up making contact with Christie and learning her - and Archies - secret.

This makes it sound a bit more like a thriller, but again- it isn't. This book is about Murray and his growth of character, his process of coming to terms with the problems in his life. He emerges more mature and with a direction for his future.

When I first read the ending it completely satisfied me, it simply seemed the appropriate denouement. But when I started thinking about it (while I was ironing, great time to revisit your last book) I noticed what are in my opinion two major flaws.

Firstly, the secret that's finally revealled could not have rested undetected all these years. Not on a small island, where everybody talks about everyone else, where people watch each other closely. I just can't believe it. Sorry I can't say more here but of course I don't want to spoil the book for you.

Secondly, there is a thread about a young sociologist who researched suicide among artists and also worked on Archie Lunan and his death. This sociologist dies himself on Lismore under suspicious circumstances. Welsh introduces him quite early and keeps our interest alive by haphazard mentionings throughout the book. But a solution doesn't come forward, only a lukewarm theory that maybe living on edge and doing this suicide stuff made him toying with his life. Pfff.

So, in the end, a good book, but not a superb one. If you haven't read a book by Louise Welsh before try "Tamburlaine must die" - a solid five star book.

And last not least - shame on you, publishers. show less