Buddha Da

Publisher and industry reviews

UK Kirkus review

Anne Donovan's first novel, based in Glasgow, is told, in turns, by each member of the central family: Jimmy, the painter-and-decorator father, Liz, the mother, and Anne-Marie, their 12-year-old daughter. At first they seem happy enough with their lives and with each other - just an ordinary family, leading fairly unremarkable lives and getting on with their business. But it all goes wrong when Jimmy, previously a non-believer, suddenly gets interested in Buddhism. Jimmy befriends two Buddhist lamas and starts to make visits to the local Buddhist Centre. From that time on, he comes a more spiritual, more thoughtful, less shallow person (Jimmy's point of view) or a complete pain in the neck (his wife's point of view). Jimmy stops drinking and eating meat; he goes on retreats; he decides he wants to be celibate. All this is very trying for Liz, who has lost the man she thought she knew. One of the most appealing things about this book is the way Donovan cedes equal weight to each of the three viewpoints. The three characters all write in a representation of the Glaswegian dialect ('At first bein a Buddhist didnae seem tae make that much difference tae ma da'), but at the same time each has a clear, distinctive voice. The three characters are all, at heart, good people, and Donovan is quite even-handed in her treatment of their point of view - though, very gradually and subtly, she guides our sympathies away from Jimmy and towards Liz, who has anxieties and worries that her husband doesn't even seem to notice. Anne-Marie is the child caught between the two parents - puzzled at what is going on, but also with her own preoccupations. It's a likeable novel, not least because Donovan deals so lightly with some big questions about the nature of spirituality and goodness, and doing the right thing. Is Jimmy right to try to become a more spiritual person? Or is he simply putting himself first and selfishly neglecting his family? There aren't any clear-cut answers, and the unresolved ending is a little unsatisfactory, but Donovan does a beautiful job of airing some difficult issues, while at the same time painting a convincing picture of modern family dynamics. (Kirkus UK)