The Slow Air of Ewan Macpherson

By Thomas Fox Averill

Book Overview

Though it's not quite the motherland, Glasglow, Kansas, makes a fine home for Scotsman Rob MacPherson and his son Ewan. As the elder MacPherson blows up whisky stills in his attempts to make a single-malt Scotch, Ewan falls in love-at twelve years of age-with Shirley Porter. There's no turning back for Ewan. From that moment on, his heart has set its course. Through adolescence and into adulthood, through becoming a high school teacher, bagpipe instructor, loyal son, and keeper of all Scottish traditions, Ewan has found his one true passion-much like his father's obsession with single malt Scotch. A passion that-through trial and error-will teach him that love is an acquired taste...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0425190811
• ISBN13: 9780425190814
• Release Date: July 2003
• Publisher: Blue Hen Books
• Length: 272 Pages
• Weight: 0.50 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.2" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

The Slow Air of Ewan MacPherson

I picked this book up because of my living in Kansas. I thought, hey, local author, I owe it to him to read it. I have rarely been so pleasantly surprised by a book. Maybe it's because I had no expectations, or maybe because it's just a darned readable novel. The characters are so richly fleshed out that I feel as if I knew them at one time, or maybe dreamed the entire book. When I was finished reading it, I wanted more of Ewan's story, and that's as fine a compliment as I can give a book.

A pleasure to read

"Slow Air" is more than just the story of Ewan MacPherson; it is about the passions, struggles, and conflicts he and his father, his true love, and has friends face through most of Ewan's lifetime. So it is partly a love story, but without the sentimentality that ruins many novels. Averill holds no punches in telling this story. The story takes interesting, authentic turns. There are beautiful metaphors with all things caught between Scottish and Kansan life, like Ewan's life is caught between. The characters effortlessly breathe within the pages--no cardboard people here.The story reveals life's contradictions, where humor and tragedy meet and people long for what they can not have. It was a pleasure to read "Slow Air." I am thankful Mr. Averill gave us this story of love, longing, and the paths that make a life.I highly recommend this book.

Scotch, Scots, and Self-discovery

Thomas Fox Averill continues his tradition of "coming of age" stories with a novel that explores the middle years of Ewan MacPherson. Averill's first novel, SECRETS OF THE TSIL CAFE, took Weston Hingler from toddlerhood to young manhood. THE SLOW AIR OF EWAN MACPHERSON takes more interest in Ewan's manhood and development in his adult life. Ewan's personal odyssey is rich in the cultures of Kansas and Scotland, and both are presented ideally and realistically. Although SLOW AIR is not a social commentary, the issue of racial prejudice is faced squarely in the novel, with excellent cross-cultural support from Robert Burns, whose "A man's a man for a' that" plays a big role in defusing a racial incident.Readers will be fascinated with the veritable tasting notes of single malt scotches, the detailed explanations of bagpiping, and the celebrations of Scottish culture in this novel. Averill's uses of the poetry of Robert Burn to introduce almost every chapter. But underlying the cultural context is the compelling story of a man learning what his heart desires and what his desires require.This is a powerful second novel by Kansas' leading contemporary novelist. It's a must read for Scots and for egalitarians of every culture.