Murdo

Book excerpt: Murdo Macrae is one of the most extraordinary and fascinating of Iain Crichton Smith's literary creations. Dismissed from his job as a bank teller, Murdo tries to write, but cannot get beyond the first sentence. Murdo has a wild and fertile imagination, and, much to the incomprehension of his long-suffering wife, Janet, sets out to convert all he meets to his bizarre philosophy and unique vision of the world. Murdo's surreal and often hilarious antics, however, mask much deeper questions about his inadequacy in the face of social convention and his own spiritual turmoil. It is this juxtaposition of tragicomic elements, together with the fact that Murdo is in so many ways the alter ego of his creator, that brings real poignancy to these stories and confirms Iain Crichton Smith as one of Scotland's most versatile literary talents of modern times. This volume contains the two publications, "Murdo and Other Stories" and "Thoughts of Murdo." It also includes another substantial piece, the autobiographical "Life of Murdo," which is published in book form here for the first time.