Buddha Da - Anne Donovan

You can tell from the very first lines that Anne Marie loves her Da.

"Ma Da's a nutter. Radio rental. He'd dae anythin for a laugh so he wid; went doon the shops wi a perra knickers on his heid, tellt the wifie next door we'd won the lottery and were flittin to Barbados, that wis daft stuff compared tae whit he's went and done noo. He' turnt intae a Buddhist.

Her Da is mental, but it's fun, he's a great Da to have. ...
..."Mammy turn roond…and gied him wanny they looks…"

The other thing you've noticed by the bottom of the first page is that may not be the easiest book in the world to read. All this dialect is hard going already. So you skip ahead and open a few pages at random. Yes, it is all like that. All the way through.

Although not all EXCACTLY like that, because this is Marie talking. As the book progresses we'll listen ... more

You can tell from the very first lines that Anne Marie loves her Da.

"Ma Da's a nutter. Radio rental. He'd dae anythin for a laugh so he wid; went doon the shops wi a perra knickers on his heid, tellt the wifie next door we'd won the lottery and were flittin to Barbados, that wis daft stuff compared tae whit he's went and done noo. He' turnt intae a Buddhist.

Her Da is mental, but it's fun, he's a great Da to have. Not such a great husband maybe, you think, as "Mammy turn roond…and gied him wanny they looks…"

The other thing you've noticed by the bottom of the first page is that may not be the easiest book in the world to read. All this dialect is hard going already. So you skip ahead and open a few pages at random. Yes, it is all like that. All the way through.

Although not all EXCACTLY like that, because this is Marie talking. As the book progresses we'll listen to Jimmy (her Da) and Liz (her Mammy). Their dialect is just as broad Glaswegian, but different, older maybe, softer. It's hard to say how or why the voices are different, but they are. Recognisably so.

That is just one of the achievements of this utterly charming book. That Donnovan has managed to write a tale entirely in dialect is a feat in itself, but she has done so in a way that enables the 'foreigner' to easily slip into it. It ceases to be 'hard going' very quickly. The rhythm of the speech is catching, you can hear the lilt, you might even end up thinking in it. Part of the mechanism for doing that, is the avoidance of any attempt at linking description. You're not allowed to see any of this episode from outside. Everything comes from within the family - from Jimmy, from Liz or from Anne Marie. Some of it comes from more than one them, told from their different angles. But all of it is told, as to a new-found confidante, some-one who doesn't know them, but to whom they can tell it all. It is a very direct "telling", alternate chapters from each of the three, not in strict rotation, but in line with the way the story evolves.

The story itself is very simple. A lapsed-Catholic-cum-atheist Glaswegian painter and decorator contracts 'Buddhism' (as they do)…and his wife is at first amused, but then horrified as he becomes serious about this latest scheme and starts to give up alcohol, meat, and eventually sex (just for a while, just to see)…while his daughter is intrigued. Jimmy's spiritual journey starts almost as just another 'wanny they things' but the deeper his connection to the lamas grows, the more he begins to view life differently - not just differently to the way he had previously, but differently to those around him. Which obviously has repercussions, which cannot help but send Liz off on a voyage of discovery of her own.

Anne-Marie meanwhile is growing up and discovering new things for herself…moving away from her old crowd as she gets involved in a school production and then a music competition with stimulates a friendship with a Sikh schoolmate.

So, is this a serious examination of multi-cultural Britain? No. As much as anything it's a mickey-take at those who take those cultures too seriously…an affectionate reminder that whatever 'community' we're from, we're part of a wider one. We all have our crossovers from one to another, they feed and bleed into each other…and that's as it should be. If we're willing to follow through, as Jimmy does, we can learn a lot ~ and then take a view on how much of it is relevant. That's the point. It isn't about mindless acceptance; it's about following your path - and deciding if and when you want to change it. It is - to use the Buddhist expression - about being mindful.

It is fun-filled little book.

Jimmy plays the archetypal Glaswegian dullard as he enters the parallel worlds: of the genuine faithful Buddhists (the lamas and Rinpoches and monks) and of searchers - some of whom are on a genuine quest and finding their way in the religion, others of whom are pseudo-spiritual seeking a present-world gain but unable to admit it to themselves. His faux-pas are a delight. Not least to those of us who may have come close to making them ourselves.

Ann-Marie has an insight beyond her years, raising sharp questions on gender and morality in ways that also raise a smile.

Lizzie struggles on, holding to her own faith without belief…and to her belief, without trust.

All of them in their own ways are innocents abroad. It's that underlying naivety which makes the whole thing work. A complete absence of cynicism.

So, is it going to teach you anything about Buddhism? Not if you're a complete novice. Without a grounding in the main tenets of the philosophy (and we should remember that, strictly speaking, Buddhism in its pure form is a philosophy & not a religion) you're likely to miss some of the references. It offers clues to the practice and to the reasoning, but explains little behind them…Jimmy keeps telling us "it's difficult to explain". Given the grounding though, there are one or two moments of enlightening. Pay attention to the detail and you should pick something up, but that really isn't the point.

The point is that what matters in this world is how we respond to each other. It is about family and friendship. It is about balancing the self and the duty. It is about how we make choices and why, about our continuing right to explore and our responsibility to consider others as we do so.

It is a book to be read for the pleasure of it. If it speaks to you - as I hope it will - then that's a bonus.

~ ~ ~

Published in paperback by Canongate
ISBN 1-84195-338-5
pp 330
Cover price £9.99

~ ~ ~

© Lesley Mason
hiker@Ciao
28.1.07
 

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