They are in The Deep south of America to catch up with Uncle John and Auntie Maureen who reside in rural Alabama. Tom and Murdo arrived there by bus after a mix up that saw them stopping off in Allentown, Mississippi.
We see everything from Murdo's point of view. It is as if we are in his head, living his confusion and self-doubt with him. He is a gentle soul, not academically gifted but he has a talent for playing the accordion and in Allentown he experiences the Zydeco playing of Queen Monzee-ay and is enchanted:
What a sound! That was special. That was so special. And the girl scrubbed it along facing the old lady who nodded her head on that two-three beat rhythm, glancing around at the folk watching, smiling a little but only in the music ... This lady kept on looking, seeing the people watching, keeping her eye on them. Murdo liked that. This was her playing, she was playing. She had her way and there she was.
James Kelman's text is like a stream of consciousness and Murdo's voice has a distinctly Scottish twang but it is never inaccessible. I don't think the word "you" is ever used. Instead, it's always "ye" to suggest a working class Scottish accent.
Murdo simply has to get to Lafayette in Louisiana to meet up with Queen Monzee-ay again. He also fancies her granddaughter Sarah who seems rather sweet on Murdo too. There is a festival and Murdo needs to play with the Zydeco legend.
In some ways this is a "coming of age" novel from a writer who does something more uplifting with his writing than just angry bleating about the plight of the downtrodden. There is affection and understanding here and celebration too.
It was one of those books where you reach the last page and you feel kind of sorry that it's over. But maybe it would not be the same for you. After all, one person's meat is another's poison.
After I closed the book, I did a bit of googling and discovered that back in 2018 a film heavily based on the novel had been created called "Dirt Road To Lafayette". It is available on Amazon Prime so I watched it tonight.
It was a nice film but of course it totally failed to do what the writing had done - putting me inside Murdo's head as though wrapped in his uncertainties and his sense of loss. Not only had his mother died of cancer but he had lost his sister Eilidh as well. The trip to The Deep South became a kind of healing with the prospect of better tomorrows and joy.
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