The Incredible Adam Spark (Alan Bissett, 2005)

After my failed attempt at getting through Taltos by Anne Rice I was in the mood for something lighter and, drawn by the comic-book style artwork of the front cover, I picked up The Incredible Adam Spark. Written in the first person by the titular Adam Spark, or Sparky, an 18 year old Scottish boy with an undefined 'condition' (I presume he has Down's Syndrome, judging by the harsh taunts of 'mongol' he receives, and the fact he is visibly 'different'), it takes a little adjustment to get into Bissett's style. Fullstops provide virtually the only punctuation, there are no commas or capital letters within the sentences to separate out Adam's thoughts, and the whole is written in Scottish dialect which means I had to read it in my head in a Scottish accent. This proved easier than it might sound! 

The effect of the language means that it really does feel like Adam Spark is the author of this work, it's an incredibly authentic voice. Adam's childlike view of the world - he begins the book excited about being dressed as He-Man for a carnival, and it is only later in the chapter you learn he's actually 18 and wonder what his story is - is endearing at times, at others it is heartbreaking. He's not a stupid boy by any means, and his talents at word association lead to some laugh out loud moments, but he is not adept at human relationships. His mother and father have died - or 'gone to Oz' as Adam articulates it - and he is left with his left-wing, lesbian sister to look after him, and her patience is wearing thin as she's met a woman and wants to live her own life. 

Adam refuses or is unable to deal with the trauma of his parents' deaths and his sister's relationship - the fact it is with another woman adds another level of difficulty for him. At times he turns violent, beating up his rival for his sister's affections, and he becomes part of the local gang of youths in order to feel accepted and not be picked on by them. It's distressing to see this misguided innocent led astray by his 'mates', but then the book examines the notion that maybe Adam isn't so misguided, he's intelligent, he just doesn't deal with problems. 

There is so much to recommend about The Incredible Adam Spark - the wonderfully complex protagonist, the social commentary on the war in 'arack', the relationship between Adam and sister Judy and her burgeoning lesbianism, the rich Scottish vernacular... I zipped through this book in a matter of days and enjoyed every single page, and there aren't many books that I can say that about.