First, a confession:  I’ve never read Trainspotting.  I’ve  seen the film (as if that’s any compensation) and thought it was excellent, and have meant to read the book, but found the dialect in the writing too damn dense.  I had Filth recommended
to me by Brandon Wilkinson some time ago and I decided that, since he’d spoken so highly of it, I’d make a real effort to get through it.

Once I got a feel for the rhythm and worked out what ‘ken’ meant (know/knew), it was a straightforward read.  Funny, dark, twisted and with a marvelous little twist in its rear.  I’ve suddenly gained an even greater affection for what I already thought was a rather sexy accent, and the text is so much richer for being written with that accent woven straight in.

I’ve not seen so many dark spirals in a narrator, either.  Detective Sergeant Bruce Robertson started out as a complete arsehole and then he gets so, so much worse through the investigation into a messy murder.  He goes on a jaunt to Holland, has a lot of sex, does a lot of drugs, and undermines everyone around him.

And then there’s the contributions to the story from his ‘pet’ tapeworm, whom I grew very fond of the more I read.

After finding this a far more enjoyable read than I had anticipated, I’m rather up for having another go at Trainspotting now.

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