The crashing waves and unforgiving weather of the Isle of Harris provide the perfect backdrop for Douglas Stuart’s latest novel, which explores the relationship between a father and son divided by secrecy and shame. After an unsuccessful post-graduate career, 22-year-old John-Calum Macleod (‘Cal’) returns home from Edinburgh with a queer identity he must hide, and to the island dwellers’ dismay, a shockingly bad haircut. As always, he is met with the embrace of his brazen Glaswegian grandmother, and the steely face of his Presbyterian sheep-farmer father, John. As Cal’s stay at home extends, ordinary life begins to fog – childhood friends are changing, the politics between his father, mother, and grandmother are more complicated than ever, and it transpires that his father is also hiding parts of himself. As with all of Douglas Stuart’s work, John of John’s fleshy characters and enthralling descriptions unearth the nuances of masculinity and sexuality with utter brilliance. IM

Published by Picador