Geoffrey Faber Memorial Prize Winner: After his father's death, a young man struggles with darkness in this novel by "one of Scotland's finest writers" (The Independent, UK).

Charlie Grant, an intense young student at Glasgow University, sits in the lecture hall worrying about the looming possibility that his girlfriend may be pregnant, waiting for her to send word. But when a message arrives for him, it's not about new life but about death. Charlie's father is dying from cancer—a fact he hid from his son so as not to interfere with his studies—and Charlie's world is about to change.

As time passes, overwhelmed by the memory of the humble yet dignified death of a man who struggled so hard to provide for his family, Charlie is left to face his own fierce resentment toward his adulterous mother, who left several years ago and has a new, comfortable life. With shades of Hamlet and Camus, William McIlvanney's award-winning first novel is a revelatory portrait of youth, of society, and of family.

"As a stylist Mr. McIlvanney leaves most of the competition far behind." —The New York Times Book Review