The Walk Home Part 21

Papa Robert was a hard grandfather to love.

Graham reckoned he must have been a much harder Dad.

And so what kind of father had he been to Stevie? It hurt Graham to think he'd given him reason to run off.

But it gave him heart just then, all the same, that Eric had tried drawing Papa Robert again. He'd given him another go, so sons could do that, if you gave them time, maybe, and cause. Not just bitter about everything he'd lost, Eric had tried to remember what else his Dad was. A teetotaller, a steady and reliable worker, a church elder, and a grower of fine roses. A Louth boy, and a Glasgow man; Papa Robert was a father too. And Graham still wanted to be a better one.

"You still here, son?"

His Mum was standing in the doorway, in her dressing gown, face a soft smile. Like she knew she'd caught him hoping, waiting up like she did. It was just a short drive across the scheme to his own house, but she told him: "You can aye stay here. You know that."

Graham nodded: he did now. It did him good to hear it. A while since he could take that for granted.

He turned to look at the clock, well after midnight. Should he sleep now, or go out driving about, looking for Stevie? What would happen if he found him?

"Could still take him years, son. Tae find his way home."

Graham looked at his mother, abrupt, feeling like she'd looked right through him. But it was a kind look she gave him, like she knew it was painful. Hard to be hopeful, but not too much; keeping faith, over the long haul. She said: "It's Stevie's choice tae make. So we'll just have tae wait."

Like she'd thought all this over, and it would only lead to hurt, getting their hopes up too early.

Graham blinked, not sure what to say to that. He stood himself up. Was that all there was to say here?

He looked at his mother, thinking Stevie was out there, somewhere, so he couldn't just do nothing till he came here.

Except Graham couldn't find the words to put her right, not just then. How long had it taken Eric before he drew his Dad again?

He sighed.

"Can I take you up on that bed, Maw?" Graham asked, for want of a better response, and then he took himself into the spare room to sleep on it.

But he woke again, briefly, at three. Thought he heard his Dad's key. Allowed himself to think it was Stevie. And then he was back drifting, and Graham's dreaming mind took over; he was already on tomorrow night, the night after, searching the streets between here and the South Side. Watching for a small red head to show up on the pavements.

Acknowledgements.

Grateful thanks to: Toby Eady and Jamie Coleman, for sticking with me while I stuck this one out. Ditto Dan Frank, and for cutting to the chase when it was needed. Lennie Goodings, for her careful persistence; very much appreciated.

Anne Campbell, w.i.l.l.y Maley, Alison Miller, Caroline Rye and Paul Welsh, for all the reading and support over the years.

John Freeman and all the good folk at Granta, for their timely intervention.

Jo Seeley likewise, and for helping me to put things in a new light.

Alan Bisset, for pointing me in the right direction early on.

Kevin, for all the time he gave over, with good humour; and his family, for letting me bend his ear.

The Grand Orange Lodge of Scotland, in particular Robert, Malcolm, Tom and David, for their generosity and openness.

The Queen Elizabeth Accordion Band, especially Harry and John, who welcomed me both at Whiteinch practices and on Walk days, and were endlessly patient with all my questions.

Sarah Ward, for long friends.h.i.+p, and who first took me to Drumchapel, too many years ago now to think about.

And Michael, just because.

Those who know Drumchapel well will spot that the timeline of its regeneration is a little elastic in this novel. I hope I have remained faithful in principle to the process and that they will therefore permit me this leeway.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR.

Rachel Seiffert's first novel, The Dark Room, was short-listed for the Booker Prize, won the Los Angeles Times First Fiction Prize, and was the basis for the acclaimed motion picture Lore. She was one of Granta's Best of Young British Novelists in 2003; in 2004, Field Study, her collection of short stories, received an award from PEN International. Her second novel, Afterwards, was long-listed for the 2007 Orange Prize, and in 2011 she received the E. M. Forster Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. Her books have been published in eighteen languages. Formerly of Glasgow, she now lives in London with her family.

BY RACHEL SEIFFERT.

The Dark Room.

Field Study (short stories).

Afterwards.

The Walk Home.

A Pantheon Books Reading Group Guide.

The Walk Home by Rachel Seiffert.

This guide is designed to enhance your reading group's focus on some of the main concepts in this book and to enable readers to explore and share different perspectives. Feel free to wander in your discussions, and use this as a guideline only!

Discussion Questions:.

1. Describe the relations.h.i.+p between Stevie's parents, Lindsey and Graham. Why does she leave Ireland for him? Why does she eventually leave Scotland too? What is she running away from? Do you think she'll ever find peace?

2. How is The Walk Home a story of reinvention? Who tries to reinvent themselves and why? Do they succeed?

3. Are any of the characters free of guilt? How does both family guilt and religious guilt play into the novel?

4. The Walk Home is set against the sectarian and cultural divisions and hatred of Northern Ireland and Scotland in the 1990s that are, years later, still reeling from the Troubles of the 1960s. How does religion affect the characters, even those that aren't religious?

5. Why does Graham play his flute in the annual Protestant Orange Walk despite pressure from his wife and mother? Why don't they want him to partic.i.p.ate?

6. What does playing and practicing with the band give Graham that he doesn't seem to have from anything else? How does it ultimately rip apart his family?

7. Why does the relations.h.i.+p between Graham and Lindsey dissolve? What do you think kept them together up to that point?

8. Why does Stevie run away from home and stay away for so long? What is he running away from and to what or where is he running?

9. What do you think home represents for each of the characters? Family? Love? Safety? Shared history?

10. What does the t.i.tle mean to you? What do you think it means to Stevie, to Lindsey, to Eric, to Graham, and to the Polish workers?

11. The Economist says of The Walk Home, "This is a book about people who say very little." Why do Graham and Stevie not say much? Why does Lindsey chat more with Eric and her mother-in-law than with her husband?

12. Describe Lindsey and Eric's relations.h.i.+p. What binds them together? Why does Lindsey ultimately feel betrayed by Eric?

13. Does Lindsey trust anyone? Does Stevie?

14. Why do you think the author compares a working-cla.s.s Scottish family with the community of Polish contractors who are in Scotland with little family or cultural connections? What do they represent in the novel?

15. Discuss the themes of violence and betrayal in this work. How does violence, both physical and mental, play into the story?

16. What do we learn about Graham's grandfather, Papa Robert? How has his large personality ("He was a force tae be reckoned with" [this page]) loomed over and haunted the family even after his death?

17. How is Eric different from the other men in the novel? "He'd taken a lonely path, and it had undone him" (this page).

18. "Now he was no longer so angry, perhaps he could feel it as his father had" (this page). Eric tries to forgive and explain his father to Lindsey, but it backfires. Why?

19. Is the Drumchapel neighborhood of Glasglow, as described here, similar to any neighborhood you know of? How and why?

20. Do you think the ending is hopeful? And do you think Stevie will finally feel like he belongs?

Suggested Reading:.

Monica Ali, Brick Lane.

Tessa Hadley, Clever Girl.

Rachel Seiffert, Afterwards.

Zadie Smith, NW.

Irvine Welsh, Trainspotting.