Murray Watson, a three-times published oral historian, has at the age of 77 turned to writing fiction, with a historical family saga with more than a hint of topical satire.
In a bombed out signal box a group of adventurous schoolchildren discover a medal and dog tag belonging to a WWI German PoW who had absconded from Stobs, a nearby camp in the wilds of the Scottish Borders. So begins an absorbing tale of relationships involving four families from Germany, Italy, England and Scotland.
Fate and serendipity link these families in a tangled paradox where people are put in concentration camps by their enemies and internment camps by their friends. It all ends happily… until the third generation are shocked by the consequence of their actions.
Distorted by Time is a fast moving, humorous and satirical saga that combines well-researched historical fact with fiction. Embracing the complexities of human relationships, with reflections on the construction of personal and national identity, Murray Watson lyrically sets his tale in the magical old-growth forests of Canada, the open spaces of the South African veld and the rolling hills of the Scottish Borders.
The ending makes you want to know what happens next.
PAT DOUGLAS
A very immersive story and so visual, with engaging characters.
SUZANN TOMLINSON
Murray Watson was born in Scotland in 1947. As a child he emigrated to the West Indies, then went to read Economic History at the University of Kent. After pursuing a career in marketing, mostly in England, he returned to his native Scottish Borders in 1998. He is the author of Being English in Scotland (EUP, 2003)