Difficult storyline, well written

Although the storyline is very harrowing, the writing is excellent, making it easier to bear. it was brilliantly narrated.

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Worth a listen

Enjoyed this book, great hard hitting storyline and Welsh is a master at creating complex characters like Lennox. I have to say though, the American accent (particularly female characters) by the narrator is awful and I had to fight the urge to stop listening as it’s so distracting.

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Fantastic

Another absolutely stunning book from Mr Welsh,dark but funny and ultimately uplifting and brilliant performance from Mr Burn👏

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Cliches in Search of a Plot

Let me say for the record, your man Tam Dean Burns is getting a straight five stars for his performance. He reads it well with a hell of a range of voices, fair play. The story, I have the feeling the writer was wanting to put a blockbuster film script Holywood's way, lone maverick, psycho-damaged cop saves the day against the odds, saves mother and child and rescues his relationship all while sunning him bum in Florida. We have the usual tropes of drugs and personality disorders from the author and it is nothing you have nae heard afore ... is there a cop out there who is not some sort of dunderhead, numpty or otherwise header solving crimes. In order to be a fictional detective do you have to fail a few psychological profiling tests just to get the gig? It is writing at its least ambitious. Worse, there are so many passages of crass over-writing that Tam Dean Burns must have needed a wee swally after getting through them all. That man, the actor, did his best for sure, but the editor must have been away on holiday or scoring the next line of coke rather than worrying over the lines so hilarious over the top they make Ben Nevis look like a teenage pimple on a pimp. So, there are the good guys all compromised, they are the baddies without redemption and some poor fictional lassie has been made to suffer for such a Holywood ending that you have to be a born cynic not to laugh ones head off in disgust.

In short, great performance with no the best material, alas.

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Deep and disturbing

Theatrical reading jarred but story emerged triumphant. This is a crime story of unparalleled strength and truth. Highly recommended. A unique read.

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slow burner

Love Irvine Walsh .
This was a wonderfully crafted tale. The narrator was immense , when Ray is talking to himself is spellbinding.
Fu***ng nonce currency.
Nearly crashed my van laughing.
Great book!

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Another gem from the master

Excellent book if your a fan and if your not a fan of IW then I urge you to give it a go. The best narrator on audible couples the story with passion and realism.

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Relentlessly grim but totally compelling

It took about an hour to get used to the narration, which was theatrically overstated and made me listen to the voice rather than the book. However, when I got used to it, I thought that the other-worldliness of the tale, and the darkness of the situations benefitted from it. My first Welsh, although I've seen the Trainspotting films; and I kind of expected that there would be no punches pulled in the telling of a story with such a bleak setting. There weren't, which lent a gravitas to the book. Never felt prurient, but veiled nothing. A really good read/listen. Thought provoking.

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Fantastic - couldn’t stop listening

This is my first Irvine Welsh novel and what a cracker to start with. Had me gripped from the beginning.

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Listen (if you think you're hard enough)

This is a grim tale of a cop with a dark past he cannot outrun as he obsessively tries to compensate for his own perceived failures. If you like your fiction to be relentlessly harrowing and grimy this will be for you.

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3 people found this helpful