Barking Up the Right Tree

2015

Beneath the wit and linguistic trickery of Paul Kavanagh in the company of his trusted Wee Ginger Dug, you’ll find an encyclopaedic knowledge of Scottish politics. Here is political satire in the best tradition. No punches are pulled, and strangely the humour is both brutal and subtle. This collection of articles in The National, which is separate from the prolific author’s activity as a blogger, forms a coherent whole in which ideas and linguistic jokes evolve. For instance, Jim Murphy’s acolytes start the collection as Murphoids but mutate into the Haemurphoids, “a dwindling band of minions”. “Ed, Davie, Nick and Nige scream that Scotland’s choices are illegitimate and unwelcome. But to no avail: no one in Scotland is listening to the four hoarse men of the Jockalypse.” The Jockalypse makes more than one appearance, and in the wake of Project Fear this should come as no surprise. Kavanagh is always ready with a smart phrase that encapsulates both the absurdities we live through and the real hopes for change that have caught Scotland’s imagination.