The Deadman’s Pedal

This is the winner of the James Tait Black Fiction Prize. For 16-year-old Simon Crimmons there is not a lot to do. Going nowhere, fed up with school, he leaves to work as a driver on the trains. That summer he is introduced to a world of grown-up glamour, strikes and girlfriends. When Simon falls for the ethereal, aristocratic Varie, he finds freedom and adventure but will it be at a price? Too ‘posh’ for the railways, too ‘working class’ for Varie, Simon must navigate what it means to be a man as his world is turned upside down.

Reviews of The Deadman’s Pedal

"A delight: a boisterous, kindly, deep, sweet romp of a thing" Scotsman "Absolutely beautiful… As far as I'm concerned he's emerging as the William Faulkner of British fiction: somebody who's created a body of work that has not only animated a language but a period and a place… He has this incredible talent" — Andrew O'Hagan "This is the best Scottish fiction since Lanark" Scottish Review of Books "Morally sensitive, exquisitely written and emotionally mature" Guardian "If you still haven't read it from last year, Alan Warner's The Deadman's Pedal was out in paperback in this. Read it" — Janice Galloway Scotsman