Benbecula
By Graeme Macrae Burnet
Biblioasis
This short read, taking place in 19th-century Scotland, is about as rough as it gets. Everyone’s experiencing hard times, but the MacPhee family’s got it especially bad. Angus, the second son, returns from a tough work situation of his own making, and murders his parents and aunt. The surviving family members, Angus’s two brothers and a sister, are of course now the pariahs of the distant island of Benbecula. Malcolm, the eldest, has nowhere else to go or nothing else to do, so he remains on the land and relying upon the goodness of strangers to help keep him alive. It’s hardly an existence, and he continues to wear out his welcome, because he doesn’t know any different. Depressing, yes, but also riveting.