Laura Hird

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Laura Hird 2007

Laura Hird (* 1966 in Edinburgh ) is a British writer.

Life

The Scot Laura Hird has at Middlesex University studied in London. Since the mid-1990s, she has published numerous short stories and the novel Born Free , which was nominated for the Orange Prize and the Whitbread First Novel Award. The novel was also published in Holland, Finland, Poland, Spain, France, Germany and the USA. Hird's last release was in 2007.

By his own account, Hird leaves her hometown Edinburgh as rarely as possible and has only been "properly away from home" three times.

Born Free

The novel Born Free tells the story of a family in Edinburgh, Scotland. The mother Angie is an alcoholic and works in a betting shop . After years of being dry, she starts drinking again and falls into a relationship with her work colleague Raymond. Her 15-year-old daughter Joni is hanging around, stealing and trying with all her might, before her 16th birthday, which is imminent, to lose her virginity . Her 14-year-old brother Jake is a Rangers fan , is bullied by almost everyone, and loves to spend his time playing computer games. Father Vic works as a bus driver, takes antidepressants and is totally dissatisfied with himself and his family.

Raymond asks Angie in vain to leave her husband and run away with him. Ramond finally runs away with the daily income. Angie has to answer for the crime and loses her job. Joni, who tried unsuccessfully to hook up with her friend's uncle, drives a trucker who sleeps with her shortly before her 16th birthday. Jake, who is terribly lonely, befriends the Catholic boy next door and realizes that there are normal families too .

Vic has finally had enough of Angie's antics and wants to throw her out. Angie has lost Raymond and sees no way out. But she knows that her daughter is stealing money from the secret family treasury. She threatens to tell Vic about it and demands that Joni speak to her father that Angie should remain in the family. Angie wins, the family stays together.

The novel is written in the present tense . The story is told in the first person form from four different perspectives that change constantly. The language is adapted to the respective person and is consistently simple and colloquial .

"Full of black humor and pain, a comedy emerged from tragedy ...."

- Esquire

"Laura Hird is much more than just a female Irvine Welsh with no heroin ... a weird, remarkable, and extraordinarily brave debut."

- The Guardian

Works

  • Nail and Other Stories (short stories, 1997). German edition: nails . Eichborn Verlag , 2003.
  • Born Free (Roman, 1999). German edition: Born Free . Eichborn Verlag, 2001 / Droemer Knaur 2005.
  • Hope and Other Urban Tales (short stories, 2006), previously only published in the UK
  • Dear Laura: Letters from a Mother to her Daughter (2007), previously only published in the UK
  • The Dilating Pupil In : Children of Albion Rovers: An Anthology of New Scottish Writing, 1997.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Barbara Wegmann: Stories that leave scars. Cover culture magazine , February 17, 2004, accessed on July 8, 2020 .
  2. ↑ Quoted from the cover of the novel Born Free. Eichborn 2001.
personal data
SURNAME Hird, Laura
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British writer
DATE OF BIRTH 1966
PLACE OF BIRTH Edinburgh , Scotland , United Kingdom