Tales from the Back Green

Veteran actor Bill Paterson brilliantly evokes his 1950s Glasgow boyhood in this beautifully written and keenly observed memoir. It was a world full of intriguing characters and extraordinary events set against the background of the changes and challenges of the post-war era, among them the nuclear threat, the fading dominance of the Kirk and the arrival of Rock and Roll. Paterson was an astute observer of the dramatic developments which altered the face of Scotland’s largest city forever – such as the disappearance of Glasgow’s beloved trams and the demolition of swathes of old tenements to make way for new roads and high-rise flats, which pulled old close-knit communities apart. Poignant, witty, nostalgic yet true to the harsh realities of the era, Tales from the Back Green is not only a brilliant realisation of a time and a place but also a classic memoir of childhood.