Benbecula by Graeme Macrae Burnet

Intense, disturbing. Benbecula is a fictionalised account of a true crime committed on the Outer Hebrides island in 1857. Angus MacPhee bludgeoned to death his mother and father and his aunt who lived with them. Malcolm, his older brother, recounts his memory of events, now alone in the ‘Murder House’ following the departure of his other two siblings, Marion and John.

Malcolm’s description of his brother Angus’s childhood, his impulsive and uncontrollable behaviour, makes one wonder how he would be regarded today, perhaps ADHD, perhaps autistic. But his behaviour while annoying seems harmless enough, until the day he returns from working with shoemaker MacPherson. Malcolm himself had not liked working for MacPherson and had sent Angus in his place. When Angus returns he is in a violent temper, and struggling wildly. His behaviour becomes mad and unpredictable.

It is a strange family, the parents old and disinterested, and the siblings Marion and John simple and reclusive. At least that is how Malcolm describes them, but as we read on it becomes increasingly apparent that Malcolm is not a reliable narrator. His thoughts reveal him to be perhaps as callous as Angus, in the way he sabotages Marion’s hopes of marriage, and the way he disparages John. The only difference is that unlike Angus, Malcolm is secretive and disguises his impulses. He senses that he is not Angus’s opposite but his mirror image. And as his writing progresses it seems he is increasingly haunted and losing a grip on reality.

In his Afterword, Burnet’s research of the archival records reveals that there was little that could be done for a person like Angus. He is deemed to be insane. The only option is to keep him physically restrained in a lunatic asylum. There is no treatment; signs that he is becoming dull and despondent over the years are seen as an improvement.

Reading Benbecula is an immersive experience, entering the impoverished closed world of Malcolm’s family, following his thoughts and sensing his mental decline. It’s a time and place that doesn’t allow him any escape, though his sister and younger brother manage to set out for another life. For Angus and for Malcolm, there is only what they know, and sadly no positive outcome. Their story raises many questions about how to best care for people with mental health issues.

Themes: Murder, Insanity, Mental health, Disability.

Helen Eddy