IAIN GRANT

Honest and gritty or full of stereotypes? I am from the West of Scotland am age equivalent to the author and have lived through Thatcher's years. In a way this novel plays to every stereotype of Glaswegian (or maybe even Scottish) people - titilating reading to others it would seem in a slightly freakshow, grotesque way. Not to take anything from the ability of the author to create characters of depth and relevance and tell a gripping story but definitely embellished and concentrated (layered on perhaps) for dramatic effect or shock factor, it's hard to say.