For the most part, working-class novels have been written in ‘proper’ English. Even the classic Dickens stories, all of which have a heavy dose of working-class stories, are written in very structured, formal English. This is why it is refreshing to read Colin Burnett’s ‘A Working Class State of Mind’ (published by Leamington Books). The first thing, a reader will notice about the writing style of the book, is how informal and realistic the vocabulary is. The language of the book can be described as ‘Embra Scots’, which is the lingua franca of east Scotland. Burnett isn’t hesitant to immediately thrust you into the mindset of his protagonist Aldo as well as his long time suffering best friends Dougie and Craig, in a city that seems to be explicitly disjoined on class lines. The novel is written in twelve chapters. All of them have loving references to certain cultural entities which are relatable. The chapter ‘From Wuhan to Leith’ directly ties the novel’s characters to our current predicament. Although the writing could have been tighter in certain areas, Burnett manages to convey his points across with minute observations and inferences.

What Burnett seeks to address primarily in the novel are the young working-class people affected by poverty while also noting the various strands, both socio-cultural and economic, while at the same time maintaining their very unique and distinct identity. He also drives home the point that they are creative and networked despite their economic condition. As with most working-class protagonists, Burnett’s characters navigate a complex, integrated labour market in which the balance of power is set against them. There is something intrinsically heroic about this way of life. This has something to do with the cultural arena in which they have grown up and the hardships that have moulded them.

In terms of shaping these politics in a novel, it is a tough act to execute. Most novels that came out in the era of globalisation made an effort to blur the protagonists’ identity to give them a more universal appeal and market feasibility. Burnett is boldly and importantly swimming against this tide and making the identities come out more vividly via the language. That is the counter-hegemonic struggle that directly challenges the dominant discourse and structure, which aims to homogenise socio-cultural uniqueness and variety.

This situation also seeks to ask the question that given the 30-odd years of globalisation which apparently hasn’t worked, will the future of fiction continue to churn out universalistic fables or will it be rooted in the distinct geographies (both social and cultural)? The decline of capitalism has been felt even more so during the pandemic with the severe contraction of the market from social welfare. If literature follows the latter, it can also prove to be a challenge and limitation for those who have become familiar with a linear pattern of written English. It took me a good time to accustom myself to this style even though I have some exposure to spoken Scottish via movies such as Sweet Sixteen and the celebrated Trainspotting. However, if more authors follow his cue, it can open a door for a vast treasure of distinct linguistic riches. This thought gives me a refreshing state of mind.   

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Aashish Xaxa is a Research Associate at the Indian Social Institute (ISI), New Delhi. He has a Ph. D. in Development Studies from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), Mumbai.