American readers may be astonished to find how much, especially in terms of popular culture, they have in common with contemporary Glaswegians. Donovan's sense of the intimacies and pleasures of these small lives is acute her ear for their talk, alternately tough and tender, is sharp and she manages to make her little family at once likable and intensely vulnerable. But he yearns for something beyond the quotidian and finds it in the local Buddhist center, where he is soon spending much too much of his time, in the view of his wife and daughter, learning to meditate and hanging out with the 'lamas.' Soon he is separated from his family, while Anne Marie becomes involved with a Pakistani school friend in an all-absorbing music contest, and Liz falls into a flirtation that leads to a family crisis. Jimmy is a Glasgow house painter, a genial giant of a man who seems happy in his marriage to Liz and in his musical teenage daughter, Anne Marie. Donovan's delightful debut domestic comedy has the dialect all right (though it's very easy to follow after the first few pages) and a few darker undertones, but is essentially sunny and engaging. 'About this title' may belong to another edition of this title.Novels from current Scottish authors are assumed not only to be full of the kind of dialect that on screen would require subtitles, but also fraught with edgy violence, rage and angst. 'Her deliciously corkscrewed tale flows with the sap of everyday life.' ' Buddha Da reads like a Scottish Roddy Doyle, dealing with potentially heavy issues with an addictive blend of pathos and humour.' 'An enchanting novel in which ordinary lives are illuminated with extraordinary charm.' Buddha Da is a delight from one of Britain's most exciting writers. Each character's voice has its own subtle rhythm and the conclusion is a poignant mixture of hope and lingering reservations.

Moving seamlessly between three family members, Donovan's clear-eyed, richly expressive prose sings off the page. 'A delightfully deadpan look at what happens when one family member decides that he's unlocked the secret of the universe.'īuddha Da tells the endearing story of a working-class Glaswegian man who discovers Buddhism, rejects old habitsĪnd seeks a life more meaningful, only to alienate his immediate family in the process.

Buddha Da by Anne Donovan