The Testament of Gideon Mack

by James Robertson

A good man—and a good minister despite his atheism—Gideon Mack leads a respectable life that is shattered when he falls down a ravine and into the raging river below. Presumed dead, he emerges three days later, alive and claiming he had been rescued by the devil. After being suspended from the Church, mocked by the tabloids, and shunned as a madman, Gideon disappears. The case is considered closed until a publisher receives what appears to be Gideon’s posthumous memoir of his experience and the unusual life that preceded it.

The son of a minister, Gideon grew up in a joyless house under his father’s repressive thumb until a fateful clash over an episode of Batman sets him free—or so he thinks. Decades later, Gideon’s life is upended when he discovers an enormous stone in the local woods whose mysterious—and possibly supernatural—appearance begins to unravel his understanding of truth, faith, and how much we can trust our own perceptions.

(Publisher's review)

In James Robertson, Scotland has a writer of the highest literary quality and cultural acuity. He recently served as the Scottish Parliament’s first Writer in Residence and his second novel, Joseph Knight, won the two major Scottish literary prizes in 2003/4 – the Saltire Scottish Book of the Year and the Scottish Arts Council Book of the Year. He has published two novels, stories, poetry, anthologies, compiled a Scottish Dictionary of Quotations and is also editor of an educational Scots imprint. James lives in Angus.