Daisy on the Outer Line

Daisy On The Outer Line

by Ross Sayers

Published by Cranachan

I FIRST became interested in Daisy On The Outer Line because of its Scottish roots, with it not only being set in Glasgow, but written in Scots. This is something that caught my eye as it’s not a common occurrence for an author to focus on Scotland like Ross Sayers does in this book and his last standalone novel, Sonny And Me.

The use of Scots creates a unique atmosphere to the book, differentiating itself from the many written in Traditional English. I found this change actually made it a much easier book to read, as every page felt a little more casual – even with themes of life, death and morality there was something intensely welcoming about it. Settling into reading in this style made the whole experience fade away from the boundaries of what you might expect a book to be like, and has the tone of a catch-up with an old friend. This made it a remarkably easy read with each page flying by, as well as enabling a connection to the story and making a lasting impression.

The main character that the story is told from the perspective of is Daisy, an emotionally closed-off 19-year-old with a tendency to come off as selfish. Such a purposefully flawed protagonist is something that always gets my attention as it means room for growth to follow along with, and an understanding that people aren’t perfect. This is actually demonstrated by one of my favourite quotes in the book: “Life isnae a fulm. It’s barely even a story. Thur’s nae such thing as gid guys and bad guys, thur’s jist... guys.” And this is a quote that stuck with me throughout the story.

I found myself rooting for Daisy to see her own worth, see that there’s truly a place for her to belong when she makes a real effort for other people, and that not all connection ends in pain. Ultimately, what I loved about Daisy as a character was that her flaws made her human, but her journey to treating other people and herself better is what made her likeable.

The plot really begins on December 23 when Daisy finds herself in her counsellor’s office trying to talk about anything but the recent death of her stepdad who she’d never gotten along with. What quickly emerges is the idea that she never felt like she could get close to him after her own father left without warning. She had written off the concept of having a dad and was certain of this.

Later that day, after causing a scene at his funeral and getting in a fight with her mum, she got drunk at her work night out and fell asleep on the Glasgow subway. Upon waking up, Daisy found herself with the shock of her life, sent back in time to December 6 in a different body with a mission. The only thing that can give her back her old life is saving her stepdad before it’s too late – but with no one to turn to and no idea of where to start, it may be the kind of challenge to change her.

What I found to be particularly important in this book was reading from Daisy’s perspective. Without knowing her thoughts and feelings, without knowing the pain and anxiety that comes from when she says the wrong thing and hurts someone, her story would not have been nearly as effective. I would love for everyone to read this book and find something about themselves in all that Daisy learns.

-- Gemma MacLaughlin * The National *

The use of Scots creates a unique atmosphere to the book; every page felt a little more casual – even with themes of life, death and morality there was something intensely welcoming about it. Settling into reading in this style made the whole experience fade away from the boundaries of what you might expect a book to be like, and has the tone of a catch-up with an old friend. This made it a remarkably easy read with each page flying by, as well as enabling a connection to the story and making a lasting impression. I would love for everyone to read this book and find something about themselves in all that Daisy learns.

-- Gemma McLaughlin * The Nation