What you have here is a collection of short stories written early in the 20th Century about the crew of a "Clyde Puffer" - a small coastal boat plying its trade from the Clyde and out into the Western Isles of Scotland.

For me there are parrallels with Damon Runyon, but the humour is gentler and the setting rural.

There are comic situations but most of all there is comedy of character. These are brilliantly observed people.

A lot of the action is topical to the time of writing. The stories first appeared in a newspaper after all.

Its sad to think that the author was not particularly proud of these stories, and considered them as junk. He tried really hard to make it as a serious historical novelist - in vain.

But ironically his name lives on in Scotland and beyond for these daft wee sketches of men conniving gently against each other.

If Dougie was here he would tell you himself.


Return to an old favourite   December 30, 1999
 7 out of 7 found this review helpful

This is a very nice edition of the Para handy tales, the West of Scotland dialect is lovely, the humour gentle, each story is a treasure. This edition comes with some explanatory text and pictures of the similar boats and some of the harbours. A map would have been nice, but a lovely book all the same.