Trackman

by Catriona Child

[brokentune]

Nobody bothers about shoplifters much these days. It's not like Trainspotting. No chases along Princes Street.
The guy's out of the shop and away by the time I get to the top of the stairs, so I head back down to the basement. Chris, our overweight security guard, ambles up to the counter eating a bag of crisps. 'I'm on a break. What do you want?' he says to me, spraying salt and vinegar. I point at the blackened cord and the charity box hanging from the counter.
You don't realise how many crazies there are in the world until you work in a shop.

Trainspotting is what first came into my mind when I started the book, but there was also an undertone of something else, something softer.

This is probably the first RL book group read that I really enjoyed, but I think the rest of the group may struggle with, and not necessarily because of the references to song titles throughout the book.

Davie, the MC, is struggling to keep sane. He's affected by grief and can't find a way to cope with it. One day, he is given an MP3 player by a homeless man in Edinburgh. The gadget seems to be broken, but every now and then it comes to life and demand that Davie let's a stranger listen to a song.

We don't know whether this part is real or in Davie's head but it is his way of trying to find a purpose in life and to find a way to remember.

Trackman has been an interesting way to look at grief, mental health, the recognition of the impact of small good things, the kindness of strangers.

It's not a book I would have picked up by myself, but I am glad I read it.