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foxo_cube's review
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.5
I have read this at least once before. I think I read it when I was 18? maybe another time also? But I hadn't re-read it for some time. The first time I read it, it was in two sittings, and I had no clue if it would hold up to how much it gripped me back then.
It is, indeed, very compelling. If you've read a lot of Irvine Welsh, then it certainly isn't the most... Irvine Welsh book. A lot of his other books are a bit more playful in their narrative techniques, I think - my personal favourite being the tapeworm in <i>Filth</i>, probably. The parallels of Ray's history and the stuff happening in the present is well done, though.
This is also probably one of the more sanitised Welsh books that I've read, myself (which I know sounds awful given the subject matter - I just mean it's less graphic and nasty comparatively speaking). This feels like Welsh trying to write a more "normal" piece of crime fiction/thriller. That said, it's probably a mercy given that it's about, you know, child abuse. It still has his hallmarks, though - Scottish protagonist from a working-class background; drug and alcohol abuse; some light left-wing political commentary; lots of moral ambiguity.
Even if it isn't totally perfect, I am giving it a high rating anyway, because it's fantastic! It's horrible and so hard to read but it's hard to stop reading, too. I think the way that Ray, Tianna, and Les (the latter in less detail) are shown to respond to their history of CSA is fantastically portrayed. They all react differently and go different routes to deal with what happened to them. I kind of wish we saw more of Robyn because I do really like her: she is mostly used (successfully, I'd say) as an example of how somebody being abused can leave them more open to abuse later on in life.
It does seem that Welsh tried to approach the subject matter as delicately as he could, but the gentleness that's pretty uncharacteristic of his writing doesn't obscure the sheer nastiness of it all, which I really do think is admirable.
One little detail I do like is Ray's tendency to assume, in his head, that most people around him are nonces. I do think that it is, firstly, a call-out of how common it is for paedophilia to be brushed under the rug (famous examples come up sometimes, like Elvis marrying Priscilla when she was 14), but it also is to the point that even Ray acknowledges it goes to the extent of paranoia. I have a similar habit, so it just stands out to me.
I do think Trudi could have been a bit more important a character, but then a lot of her interactions with Ray are a lot more focused on how <i>Ray</i> is struggling to communicate properly with her and so she remains clueless as to how bad things are. She does really love him, but for a lot of the book she's a bit overly vapid, and it seems a little unfair - even if I do think some of it is a deliberate way of characterising her as easily dismissed as far more shallow than she is. Maybe I'm giving too much benefit of the doubt, but there're a few little bits of Trudi lore scattered here and there that led me to think that.
The best thing about the book is the surprisingly heartwarming relationship of Ray and Tianna as he panics and tries to get her to safety with a family friend of hers. Tianna is understandably wary, and Ray's thinking "oh god oh fuck this is a ridiculous idea this is a random child but I can't live with myself knowing more shit could happen to her" and that builds to a really lovely familial dynamic. He's Uncle Ray from Skatlin :)
Welsh books often don't come to nice happy ends, but this one does, and honestly, I'm glad. I sometimes find it kind of unsatisfying when an end is <i>too</i> neat, but after everything that happens? nah, Ray and Tianna and their respective friends and family need a fucking <i>break</i>.
This is probably one of my favourite books by one of my favourite authors. I'm glad that it held up to my recent re-read.
It is, indeed, very compelling. If you've read a lot of Irvine Welsh, then it certainly isn't the most... Irvine Welsh book. A lot of his other books are a bit more playful in their narrative techniques, I think - my personal favourite being the tapeworm in <i>Filth</i>, probably. The parallels of Ray's history and the stuff happening in the present is well done, though.
This is also probably one of the more sanitised Welsh books that I've read, myself (which I know sounds awful given the subject matter - I just mean it's less graphic and nasty comparatively speaking). This feels like Welsh trying to write a more "normal" piece of crime fiction/thriller. That said, it's probably a mercy given that it's about, you know, child abuse. It still has his hallmarks, though - Scottish protagonist from a working-class background; drug and alcohol abuse; some light left-wing political commentary; lots of moral ambiguity.
Even if it isn't totally perfect, I am giving it a high rating anyway, because it's fantastic! It's horrible and so hard to read but it's hard to stop reading, too. I think the way that Ray, Tianna, and Les (the latter in less detail) are shown to respond to their history of CSA is fantastically portrayed. They all react differently and go different routes to deal with what happened to them. I kind of wish we saw more of Robyn because I do really like her: she is mostly used (successfully, I'd say) as an example of how somebody being abused can leave them more open to abuse later on in life.
It does seem that Welsh tried to approach the subject matter as delicately as he could, but the gentleness that's pretty uncharacteristic of his writing doesn't obscure the sheer nastiness of it all, which I really do think is admirable.
One little detail I do like is Ray's tendency to assume, in his head, that most people around him are nonces. I do think that it is, firstly, a call-out of how common it is for paedophilia to be brushed under the rug (famous examples come up sometimes, like Elvis marrying Priscilla when she was 14), but it also is to the point that even Ray acknowledges it goes to the extent of paranoia. I have a similar habit, so it just stands out to me.
I do think Trudi could have been a bit more important a character, but then a lot of her interactions with Ray are a lot more focused on how <i>Ray</i> is struggling to communicate properly with her and so she remains clueless as to how bad things are. She does really love him, but for a lot of the book she's a bit overly vapid, and it seems a little unfair - even if I do think some of it is a deliberate way of characterising her as easily dismissed as far more shallow than she is. Maybe I'm giving too much benefit of the doubt, but there're a few little bits of Trudi lore scattered here and there that led me to think that.
The best thing about the book is the surprisingly heartwarming relationship of Ray and Tianna as he panics and tries to get her to safety with a family friend of hers. Tianna is understandably wary, and Ray's thinking "oh god oh fuck this is a ridiculous idea this is a random child but I can't live with myself knowing more shit could happen to her" and that builds to a really lovely familial dynamic. He's Uncle Ray from Skatlin :)
Welsh books often don't come to nice happy ends, but this one does, and honestly, I'm glad. I sometimes find it kind of unsatisfying when an end is <i>too</i> neat, but after everything that happens? nah, Ray and Tianna and their respective friends and family need a fucking <i>break</i>.
This is probably one of my favourite books by one of my favourite authors. I'm glad that it held up to my recent re-read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Trafficking, Sexual violence, Drug abuse, Drug use, and Pedophilia
Moderate: Violence, Racial slurs, Sexism, and Murder
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