Bookworm

IF YOU know anything about Bob Moore, the Glasgow-born ship's engineer and unconventional memoirist, then James Kelman, his publisher, and possibly the police forces in at least two countries want to hear from you. His book, Don't Call Me A Crook, which first appeared in 1935, is being reissued in May by new US imprint Dissident Books, whose New York publisher Nick Towasser says in his foreword that he has no idea what happened to Moore after 1935 but would love to know. "While I doubt he's still alive," he writes, "I wish he were. I'd like to tell him that, whether a crook or upright citizen, he was a great storyteller."

Crook? For sure. As Kelman writes in the afterword, Moore's crimes involved murder (in China), robbery and fraud (usually conning women out of their money). He was violent, racist, and hard-drinking, and as Kelman notes: "There are points in the narrative where one has to ask, why am I reading the writings of such a rogue? He would have robbed his granny and probably did."

The reason, one suspects, is that Moore's book is one of relatively few accounts looking at the Roaring Twenties from the point of view of a Scot who was, if hardly at the bottom of the social order, at least not born with a silver spoon in his gob.

But even Kelman has some doubts about Bob Moore, and points out that a quick check on the internet revealed nothing about either Moore or his editor, Pat Spry. Do any of our readers know any more about either of them?

TIME FOR TEA

ALEXANDER McCall Smith's event at the Aye Write! Bank of Scotland Book Festival on 10 March is already sold out, but some tickets are still available for a similar one, to celebrate the launch of his new novel Tea Time for the Traditionally Built (see page 15) at the National Library of Scotland a week today at 3.30pm. Tickets are 5, which includes a drink of Mma Ramotswe's favourite redbush tea, along with cake and sandwiches. Normal tea is also available for the non-traditionally built. For tickets phone 0131-623 4675 or e-mail [email protected].

Finally, James Robertson and Margaret Elphinstone will be dissecting historical fiction at Glasgow University's Anatomy Lecture Theatre on Tuesday (reception 5.45pm, event 7-8pm). Members of the public are welcome to attend this, Scottish PEN's annual Naomi Mitchison Event. For more details e-mail [email protected].