By Graham Osborne
Recommended by Cookie N Screen for Graham
My choice for Graham is Filth.
I have many reasons for picking this. One, because I believe everyone in existence and on this planet needs to see it. It's one of my favourite books of all time. It's a psychological dark comedy that crazily deals with the disgusting debauchery that Bruce goes through. Though Welsh doesn't acquire you to be sympathetic to the character, he offers understanding.
It's a heavy departure from Sci-Fi and Fantasy. It's mean, it's crazy and the narrative is absolutely bonkers. It's a difficult read because it’s told in a Scottish tongue but when you get the beat of it, it flows so well and the character bounces off the screen. It's entertaining but there is a dark side to the character and much more reason behind his madness. Welsh is a genius at captivating humanity on the edge.
Recommended by Cookie N Screen for Graham
My choice for Graham is Filth.
I have many reasons for picking this. One, because I believe everyone in existence and on this planet needs to see it. It's one of my favourite books of all time. It's a psychological dark comedy that crazily deals with the disgusting debauchery that Bruce goes through. Though Welsh doesn't acquire you to be sympathetic to the character, he offers understanding.
It's a heavy departure from Sci-Fi and Fantasy. It's mean, it's crazy and the narrative is absolutely bonkers. It's a difficult read because it’s told in a Scottish tongue but when you get the beat of it, it flows so well and the character bounces off the screen. It's entertaining but there is a dark side to the character and much more reason behind his madness. Welsh is a genius at captivating humanity on the edge.
Filth is one of those books that had been sitting in my peripheral vision for a while, yet I never got around to picking it up. Fortunately, Cookie’s choice managed to clear this little problem up.
Written by Irvine Welsh in 1998, Filth tells the story of Detective Sergeant Bruce Robertson (soon to be Detective Inspector Bruce Robertson) as he is called upon to solve a murder with a racial motive. The story is told in a stream of consciousness from Bruce as he goes about his day-to-day life, containing all his musings on men, women, his co-workers and the “games” he plays on them as well as making numerous comments on people’s racial and sexual preferences. Bruce is an utterly repulsive human being, yet manages to remain somewhat likeable, to a degree.
This is helped by the secondary narrator, a tapeworm residing inside Bruce’s gut. The tapeworm starts out as a mindless being, only pursuing the primal urge to eat. However, as the story continues, it evolves and becomes self aware, delving into Bruce’s past to discover why he is the man he has become.
The tapeworm as a narrative device creates an interesting flow to the story, overriding Bruce’s internal monologue to discuss its own philosophies and stories. It is through this that we ultimately discover the various neuroses and triggers that lead to the book’s finale. This is also contrasted by Carole’s chapters. Carole is Bruce’s wife, and she discusses their relationship over the years, as well as her faith in her husband about his promotion.
Due to its Scottish narrator, the book is written using Scottish slang. This is a blessing and a curse as it helps to drive the narrative along and set the tone of the story, but it also makes the plot hard to get into as each time you come across an unfamiliar phrase or pronunciation of a word (to/tae etc) you hit a mental stumbling block and lose the flow of events; it feels like the book was designed to be read in as few sittings as possible.
Including Bruce, the tapeworm and Carole, there’s a wealth of characters to both help and hinder the main character. The first person narrative manages to convey Bruce’s (mostly negative) opinions of everyone , whilst showing a deeper, more caring side to him throughout the narrative. It’s strongly implied that everyone knows Bruce is involved in most of the plots against them (especially those who are against him for the promotion), it’s also suggested that they are aware of Bruce’s mental state.
Filth is an enjoyable tale, told through the dark, disturbed mind of the main character. The final act manages to make you feel some sympathy towards him, whilst still leaving you feeling numb from the twist that has been the catalyst for the entire book up until that point. The story makes you feel uncomfortable throughout with the occasional bit of humour and levity to stop it descending into an entirely depressing read. It’s a wonderful slice of a horrid life.
Written by Irvine Welsh in 1998, Filth tells the story of Detective Sergeant Bruce Robertson (soon to be Detective Inspector Bruce Robertson) as he is called upon to solve a murder with a racial motive. The story is told in a stream of consciousness from Bruce as he goes about his day-to-day life, containing all his musings on men, women, his co-workers and the “games” he plays on them as well as making numerous comments on people’s racial and sexual preferences. Bruce is an utterly repulsive human being, yet manages to remain somewhat likeable, to a degree.
This is helped by the secondary narrator, a tapeworm residing inside Bruce’s gut. The tapeworm starts out as a mindless being, only pursuing the primal urge to eat. However, as the story continues, it evolves and becomes self aware, delving into Bruce’s past to discover why he is the man he has become.
The tapeworm as a narrative device creates an interesting flow to the story, overriding Bruce’s internal monologue to discuss its own philosophies and stories. It is through this that we ultimately discover the various neuroses and triggers that lead to the book’s finale. This is also contrasted by Carole’s chapters. Carole is Bruce’s wife, and she discusses their relationship over the years, as well as her faith in her husband about his promotion.
Due to its Scottish narrator, the book is written using Scottish slang. This is a blessing and a curse as it helps to drive the narrative along and set the tone of the story, but it also makes the plot hard to get into as each time you come across an unfamiliar phrase or pronunciation of a word (to/tae etc) you hit a mental stumbling block and lose the flow of events; it feels like the book was designed to be read in as few sittings as possible.
Including Bruce, the tapeworm and Carole, there’s a wealth of characters to both help and hinder the main character. The first person narrative manages to convey Bruce’s (mostly negative) opinions of everyone , whilst showing a deeper, more caring side to him throughout the narrative. It’s strongly implied that everyone knows Bruce is involved in most of the plots against them (especially those who are against him for the promotion), it’s also suggested that they are aware of Bruce’s mental state.
Filth is an enjoyable tale, told through the dark, disturbed mind of the main character. The final act manages to make you feel some sympathy towards him, whilst still leaving you feeling numb from the twist that has been the catalyst for the entire book up until that point. The story makes you feel uncomfortable throughout with the occasional bit of humour and levity to stop it descending into an entirely depressing read. It’s a wonderful slice of a horrid life.
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