Set in an Ayrshire mining town at the start of the First World War, Docherty is a romanticised, but affectionate and moving portrayal of how a working-class man attempts to come to terms with the limitations of his life. Tam Docherty is a miner. He has a wife, a daughter and three sons, and is a fiercely-committed family man and a union activist. He argues with his father about religion, choosing to renounce the Catholicism he'd been brought up with in a close-knit community where this was uncommon.

Though short in stature, he is stubborn and proud and determined that his children will have a better life than he’s had. When his youngest son Cornelius (Conn) is born, Tam has high hopes that he will stay on at school and get the education that Tam himself did not have the opportunity to have. The book is about Tam's struggle to reconcile his dreams and ambitions with the reality of a life where every wage coming into the house is a precious one, and where your children may grow up to have ideals and opinions very different to your own.

I liked this book for McIlvanney's portrayal of a type of family and community that no longer seem to exist (if they ever did exist apart from in wishful thinking). Tam is a good father. He teaches his children to have respect for their elders and partners, and has eyes only for his wife. He is the domineering patriarch of a strong family unit but his actions are motivated by love for his family. While the family support and defend one another against the world, Tam also impresses upon his children the importance of doing what is right, however difficult that may be. They live in Graithnock, a place where families know each other, where people look in on elderly neighbours, where men drink and work while women mend and cook, where children play outside, and partners are met at dances.

McIlvanney writes with incredible sympathy for Docherty, and he also writes very beautifully at times. I found this book very emotionally affecting because it reminded me of my childhood and my own family, and it had me mourning the loss of this type of community and sense of family.