One City

Scotland’s finest take on Edinburgh, in a trio of tales. Foreword courtesy of JK Rowling

By Harold Shiel

THE ‘ONE CITY’ around which these three stories revolve is Edinburgh, a city dear to the heart of these three celebrated authors. A fourth celebrated author – Harry Potter plotter JK Rowling – provides the introduction under the shady auspices that she now lives in Edinburgh.

The premise behind this book’s existence is charity, more specifically: the One City Trust charity which is aimed at relieving social injustice in Edinburgh. That on its own is reason enough to invest in this venture but, thankfully, the content is pretty good too.

The first, by Alexander McCall-Smith, is about a homesick biologist from Delhi, who befriends a local girl. He struggles with his loyalties and feelings regarding her and his new home. While it is well written I found it somewhat unfulfilling; a stream of nice ideas and observations but without the structure and attention that could have made it more engaging.

The second, by Ian Rankin, is a far more enthralling read – my favourite of the three. Tiger is a contestant in the homeless World Cup being held this year in Edinburgh. He discovers a new hobby off the pitch which more than makes up for his lack of commitment on it. You can feel Rankin’s imagination flowing here and it makes for a wonderfully gratifying read.

The third, by Irvine Welsh, is about a Tiger loose in the Murrayfield district of Edinburgh. With Welsh’s signature use of colloquial spelling you really get the feel of Scotland, but the subject is a bit lackadaisical and doesn’t really satisfy. Still it is a good, easy read and compliments the other two nicely.

Three very different subject matters, by three very different writers – all set in one unique city. But what’s all this about tigers?