Sadie, Call The Polis by Kirkland Ciccone
From the author of Happiness is Wasted on Me
In 1976, a heatwave, scorching enough to melt concrete, punishes everyone in Scotland. At the same time, a woman arrives in Little Denny Road with a set of keys for her new flat. She isn’t alone. Her two daughters are always by her side, except at night-time when they watch their mither drive off in a stranger’s car.
Sadie, the youngest of the two daughters, thinks nothing of this until the day she’s asked a question at school. The answer she gives starts a revolution in her life that lasts decades. At the root of her existence is a secret with a horrific impact, one Sadie will eventually confront fist to face.
Sadie, Call The Polis is an offbeat story about a Scottish family as seen through the eyes of the indomitable Sadie Relish, whose journey from childhood to adulthood is rendered in hilarious, sometimes crushing detail. From her doomed first date, the time she ran away from home, those nights spent at the bus stop with a bottle or two, the hangovers, her first and last job, trying to avoid Covid, and all the drama squeezed in between. This is a book about a girl making the best of what she’s got to win at life.
About the author
Kirkland Ciccone is the fab not drab author of Happiness Is Wasted On Me, a coming of age novel for adults set in Scotland’s infamous new town Cumbernauld during the ‘90s. It tells the story of an asexual protagonist named Walter, who finds himself trying to navigate life as an outsider among other outsiders. The book touches on Britpop, New Labour, the Spice Girls, and Kurt Cobain’s death. A live performer, Kirkland has toured Scotland extensively in support of his writing.
Review
I first came across Kirkland’s work when I read ‘Happiness is Wasted On Me’ as part of the Scottish Book Club so as soon I saw this book I jumped at the chance of reading it! It did not disappoint. ‘Sadie, Call The Polis’ has the irreverent charm that oozes out of Kirkland as a person saturated into its pages. It's funny, clever, witty and not afraid to tackle dark issues but yet when you read the final page you are left with a feeling of hope.
‘Sadie, Call the Polis’ follows it's heroine from 1976 when the family arrives on Little Denny Road to the present day covering a breadth of topics such as sex work, addiction, deprivation, gender identity, abuse, and relationships with family to name but a few! The story is told through Sadie’s eyes and I ended up loving her voice. The book opens with Sadie announcing to her whole class unabashedly that her mum is a prostitute which causes a ruckus! This sets the tone for the rest of the book. Sadie exists in her own world of fairies and magic in order to cope with life as a kid. Growing up slightly different is tough and this is her way of mitigating and understanding the world in which she lives. She deserves better that her lot in life and this book pulls no punches when we age alongside her. But it does so by creating humour out of the darkness, by finding issues that a lot of readers will identify with or at least emphasise.
This book follows me and my life story in some ways. I was born in Falkirk, have family in Knightswood, live on Nithsdale Road, and unfortunately, my mum died of lung cancer. That part of the book I did read with some tears as Kirkland depicted the emotions and reactions spot on. The scene where Sadie’s mum is putting on her make up determined to be herself and give her a bit of self-confidence broke me. It reminded me so much of my mum going out and buying new clothes even though she knew she was dying. Same folks, different strokes. That whole section of the book was a triumph in my eyes. Also, I was not let into my Uncle’s house once as I was wearing a green coat due to his love of Rangers 🤣
Kirkland’s writing has matured and grown since HIWOM and now comes across as a confident author who knows his style and is running with it. His descriptions of locations were on point, his characters outwith Sadie were also well-rounded and complex, especially her mum and childhood friend. I don't think I have read a better eulogy to the Kelpies as this - ‘two decapitated horse’s heads through the windscreen’! His use of Scots was effortlessly inserted into the prose and I didn't notice it being troubling to a non Scots reader. Also, round of applause for using Scots and being one of those authors who is campaigning it's use in our modern and diverse literature in Scotland!
I actually could talk for hours about this book! Roll on the next adventure.
