Sputnik Caledonia
Sputnik Caledonia (2008) is a book by Andrew Crumey, for which he received the Northern Rock Foundation Writer 's Award, even before publication. It tells the story of a Scottish boy who wants to be spacemen, participates in a parallel communist Scotland on a mission to a black hole, and returns to the real world later. The work is divided into three parts, the central part in the second parallel universe is predominantly serious in tone, while the other two parts are shorter and more humorous. The title, with its reference to the Russian Sputnik program and Caledonia (English Caledonia ), the Latin- Celtic name for Scotland, suggests a Scotland as a Soviet satellite state.
Summary
- Part one
Robbie Coyle, at the beginning of the book nine years old, lives in Kenzie in Scotland's central belt in the early 1970s. His dream is to travel into space; but due to the anti-American and pro-Russian attitude of his father, he would rather be an astronaut cosmonaut instead, so he learns Russian. On an old radio receiver he finds the Eastern European radio station Voice of the Red Star, imagines it was a telepathic signal from another planet, and desires to be brought to this planet.
- Part two
The nineteen- year-old Robert Coyle lives in the British Democratic Republic - a communist state, which was formed after the Nazi occupation of Scotland in the "Great Patriotic War" - and enters the "Installation", a secret military base in Scotland to Space Mission at a participate. A strange new object, probably a black hole was discovered in the solar system, and the volunteers are to explore it telepathically. Robert remembers only inaccurately the time before his arrival, and it is not explained to the reader, if any, connection between part one and part two is.
- Part three
Robbie's parents from part one are now retired. Her story alternates with that of " the kid", a thirteen- year-old runaways who adores science fiction stories such as Doctor Who and is convinced: " In an infinite universe, anything is possible ." He meets a middle-aged man ( "the stranger" ) who claims to be a spaceman with a mission. The stranger could be the become older Robert from part two - or a terrorist and identity thief. The third part denies a logical resolution and accesses previously mentioned topics. He is emotionally ambivalent and provides the comic from part one of the dark pessimism of part two against.
Expenditure
- Sputnik Caledonia. Picador 2008, ISBN 978-0330448413 ( hardcover ) ISBN 978-0330447027 ( Paperback )