Dare Scots take heed of Lesley Riddoch?

I wrote this brief review of my chosen book for Green Left Weekly’s annual recommended books of 2013

I went for “Blossom : What Scotland Needs To Flourish” by Lesley Riddoch, a gem of a book that had me both laughing and despairing as I raced through its insightful pages about my native land.

This was my review, one in a long list of great books chosen by GLW writers, contributors and others. I’ll be reading well into the new year at this rate.

Lesley Riddoch is the sort of life-long friend everyone needs – the one to warn you against making a total berk of yourself just as you thought you were looking pretty sharp. In Blossom : What Scotland Needs To Flourish, the lucky beneficiary of her advice isn’t a single person but an entire nation.

Riddoch chides her fellow Scots for their timorous beastiness in the face of what is a truly rare moment – the chance for a straight-out vote on regaining independence. Her book channels the Renton character in Trainspotting to tell potential voters they’ve more to fear from themselves than any supposed auld enemy to the South.

Her work stares straight into causes and effects of severe poverty and inequality in Scotland, not least the health statistics so truly awful they’ve earned infamy as “the Scottish effect”. Somehow she’s also truly funny.

Dare Scots pay heed?