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Dust on the Paw

by Robin Jenkins

ISBN: 9781904598848
Imprint: Polygon
Publication Date: Jun 2006
Format: Paperback (eBook also available)
Price: £7.99
Stock Status: in stock

eBook also available to download from the iBookstore

 ‘His persistent creativity for a half-century makes this Scottish writer worthy of the greatest respect throughout the English-language world.’ – Paul Binding, The Guardian

‘Let me alert everyone to the best-kept secret in modern British literature ... if you are interested in books that are humane and wise, not slick and cynical; then treat yourself this year to some Robin Jenkins.’ – Andrew Marr

‘Many people can produce a novel, but very few are authentic writers whose sentences and paragraphs give intrinsic pleasure. Jenkins is one of them.’ – J. B. Pick

‘Jenkins [is] a remarkable writer whose gentlest touch induces the greatest of pleasures.’ – The Times

Abdul Wahab, an Afghan science teacher, is eagerly anticipating the arrival of his British fiance, Laura Johnstone, in the capital of his home country. Having met while Abdul was a student at Manchester University, the couple are eager to settle down in Isban. However, Abdul is not the only one interested in Miss Johnstone’s arrival. Prince Naim, one of the sons of the king, sees the marriage as symbolic of a successful union between East and West, and in his hurry to cement this union, promotes Abdul into a position of power he is far from ready for.

Meanwhile, the employees at The British Embassy are in turmoil at this new arrival and all the disaster they are sure this mixed marriage will bring.

John Robin Jenkins was born in 1912, one of four children, in the village of Flemington, near Cambuslang. He studied English at the University of Glasgow. When World War II broke out, he registered as a conscientious objector and was directed to work for the Forestry Commission; he used this experience in the acclaimed novel, The Cone Gatherers. In 1957, he moved abroad to work in Spain, Afghanistan and Malaysia. In 1968, he settled in Dunoon where he remained for the rest of his life. In 2002 he received the Saltire Society’s Award for Lifetime Achievement. He died in 2005       

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