A careening, kaleidoscopic novel told from the point of view of a cast of dozens (the reader is provided a two-page character list), Caledonian Road is Scottish novelist Andrew O’Hagan’s masterpiece. Centering on Campbell Flynn, an art historian who somehow has become a sought-after opinion writer, we see modern Great Britain through the eyes of politicians, rappers, hackers, people smugglers, Russian oligarchs, and dukes. Brilliantly portraying the modern art world amidst money and power, the novel rotates around Campbell as he falls under the spell of an intriguing university student with ideas that resonate, ideas rooted in Campbell’s humble past. From the very start, Campbell’s doom is foretold but how will it happen and why and with what consequences? O’Hagan is a supple, luminous stylist who manages with ease to control the bursting plotline. His dialogue is a treat. There is something old style about this capacious novel yet it smells of today’s headlines and issues, and the overarching preoccupation with Campbell’s existential malaise fills the reader with a sense of awe, tragedy, but also hope. If you read one modern-day novel this year, Caledonian Road should be the one.
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