Jackson’s Journey: A New Scotland Adventure
by Heather Pearson
IN a break from my reading of classics still relevant to the experiences of young people today, a new story came to my attention, one set in a somehow familiar future. To describe Jackson’s Journey as part political comedy about the possibilities of an independent Scotland and part deeply human drama about family and growing up would not do justice to how perfectly balanced these two genresthemes are.
All of the big modern issues such as climate change, political conflict and the power of social media are framed by Heather Pearson in a way that is witty, but also as deeply personal as interacting with these larger concepts can be. While this means it is a story about many things, all of this is expressed through the story of one young man learning how to grow up.
It’s 2035 in New Scotland and Jackson Campbell has grown up in an environment that is equally privileged and toxic. His apathy towards politics has led to disastrous conflicts with his passionately Unionist father who is deeply discontented with the current Green government and independence. Posting their arguments and his day-to-day thoughts has led Jackson to fame on the major social media platform Blurt, but his mother longs for peace in their home and for Jackson to do something with his life for her toshe can be proud of.
The novel follows him through the events that force him out of the codependent complacency of his parents’ Edinburgh home and into a transformative journey which comes in a large and public scale no-one expected, posing the question: can he help his country and himself at once?
Jackson Campbell begins as a greatly unlikable character due to how distanced he is from himself and the world around him, yet there is something in this that makes the reader root for his change. To disengage from the events of your life, whether those are major political changes such as looking for solutions to climate change and homelessness, personal issues of the way you treat friends, family and even acquaintances or the ever-spiralling combination of the two Jackson faces, is to disservice both yourself and the world.
This story forces its main character to come to terms with this truth and reconcile his own problems and ego with what has to be done on a highly publicised journey from Edinburgh to the Isle of Eigg as part of the First Minister’s plan to open Highland ownership to the country’s youth. Yet to allow the world believe in the young people, this young person has to learn to believe in himself first – beyond the fleeting validation of online fame.
The story of Jackson, while at the centre of this light-hearted and thought-provoking independence-focused debut novel, is by no means the only properly developed character. As he discovers a new world of politics and morality as they intersect in his awareness, he’s surrounded by a bright and hilarious supporting cast who are able to elevate the story’s impact.
His parents, Roy and Rebecca’s differing angles of frustration with their son and at times each other make up the other two-thirds of a complicated and funny but quietly emotionally astute picture of a dysfunctional family unit. Niall, introduced as an open-minded classmate with a heart and imagination more developed than Jackson’s is when we meet him, is a rounded and relatable depiction of mental health issues. While there are more to discover between the pages, these characters make up a new Scotland adventure worth telling, and reading.
