David Ross (2) (1943–)

Highland Views is a collection of short stories written by a writer from my home village (David Ross), and which are steeped in the local culture and history of this part of the world. Ross writes of characters struggling with their sense of self, as a background of ancient history and custom slams up against the new industries of oil rig construction and aluminium smelting - initially representing the dawn of a new era, but one that crashed and burned and brought much of the local economy with it, as overhead the RAF fighter-bombers continue their relentless screaming diving runs onto the practice range on the shore day after day.
The Highlands are a part of Scotland that feature large in the tourist mystique of the nation, but the realities of which are often blinded even to Lowlanders, let alone foreigners. The Highlands are not just a twee large-scale tourist attraction - they are a distinct and unique part of Scotland, where a particularly Highland history and culture are still palpable. Ross' stories illuminate those realities, showing a place where the old Scotland meets the new in different permutations to those seen in the cities and the South.
The writing itself is occasionally a little on the too archly-clever side, with fairly obvious wordplays seeming a degree of flashy ostentation that the stories do not need. At their best, they showcase believable characters who reflect the people I have known all my life, providing a political and social commentary on the last few decades in the North, and help to underscore the differences between life here, and what many think of as being typically 'Scottish'.… (meer)