Ajay ponders the mysteries of life
Local author’s new novel is set close to home
Perthshire-based author Ajay Close publishes a new book next week which takes a look at the urge to become a parent and the mystery of who we actually are.
Described by the writer as a “love letter to Perthshire”, the new work of fiction, ‘The Daughter of Lady Macbeth’, is a contemporary tale with many scenes set in familiar Big County locations.
The book is inspired by the region but, unlike her previous focus on the area’s painful past in work such as ‘Cat and Mouse’ and ‘A Petrol Scented Spring’, this novel is enriched by the beauty and wildness of its landscape.
In ‘The Daughter of Lady Macbeth’, the central character, Freya, is 43 years old and childless.
To gain the services of a fertility clinic she is forced to leave her Glasgow lifestyle and decamp to near the place where she’s hoping to get IV treatment.
So Freya takes a break from her job, leaves her husband Frankie in Glasgow, and moves to a farm in rural Perthshire – which is where her life takes a wholly unexpected turn.
In some ways this plot twist is a mirror of Ajay’s life, as she too left the bright lights of Glasgow and became involved in a new life in these parts as Perth’s writer-inresidence.
“There are odd chapters set in Glasgow and Edinburgh, but most of the story happens around here. I’m sure eagle-eyed readers will recognise some of the locations,” said Ajay.
The other side to Freya’s reality is a drama queen mum with important secrets she’s not keen to release - like the identity of Freya’s father. Ajay’s latest book
Ajay explores love, marriage, families, and the persistent kernel of mystery in the people we think we know inside out.
“I wanted to write about two turning points in all our lives,” Ajay added. “Deciding whether or not we want children, and realising that our parents will not live forever.
For Freya, the sheer singleminded power of the drive to have a child comes as a shock. It changes her whole idea of who she is.
“I’m interested in what happens when the possibility of making life in a laboratory clashes with the newly-awakened sense of being a part of the natural world.”
Ajay’s new book will be launched on Thursday, February 16, at the AK Bell Library, Perth, at 6.30pm. Admission is free and a ticket is not required.
The ‘Daughter of Lady Macbeth’ is published by Sandstone Press.
Available in paperback, it is priced £8.99. Perthshire-based author Ajay Close