In a condemned tower block, residents slowly leave until a young man is left alone with only his tormented mind for company. Stumbling from one surreal situation to the next, he encounters others on the margins of society, finding friendship and camaraderie wherever it is offered, grappling with who he is and what has shaped him. This is a gritty read but one told with warmth and humanity and with the city of Glasgow as a vivid backdrop.
At the outset the sky would no longer be black, but dark blue. Looking into the immensity of it from the fire escape on the side of some building it felt like we were leaning into the heart of the universe, reaching towards a destination it was impossible to arrive at. With the day still only a suspicion, we'd watch the sky soak up sunlight like blotting paper and flower gradually through folds of midnight, cobalt, turquoise, crimson and gold. Just at the point when the night pulled away from us, we'd come down from the fire escape and follow it. Compelled to chase it through the streets like a magnet drawing two solitary iron filings after it.
