Currently reading...

Click image to enlarge

I'm a total sucker for stories that serve as a raw, gritty depiction of Urban life and Irvine Welsh is an author who never fails to deliver anything less than coarse storytelling that's dirty, boorish and unashamedly offensive; Filth is exactly those things! Like a lot of people, my first venture into the world of Welsh came when I first watched Trainspotting and I enjoyed both the story line and the risque characters so much that I endeavored to read the book.

Much like Trainspotting, Filth is written (in-part) in Scottish dialect although it didn't take too long to get used to and I've so far had little trouble reading it, finding it much easier to digest than Trainspotting. I have, however, had the advantage of being able to call on my Mum for help in parts towards the beginning (my Grandmother is Scottish making my Mum more accustomed to Scots dialect than I am). 

Potential spoilers have been blacked out, fear not!

As you'll have gathered from the image I included of the blurb, Filth follows the life of corrupt Edinburgh Detective Sergeant Bruce Robertson and, as far as protagonists go, he's no Romeo - he's crude, dirty and cruel but he's also surprisingly likable. Foul and treacherous he may be, there are occasions when he's revealed as being somewhat sensitive and all too human beneath the hard-as-nails facade.

Bruce Robertson is a character that you can't help but root for, despite the fact that there are far-too many occasions when I find myself shaking my head in utter disgust at his despicable nature and bad-intentions, he's the epitome of 'bad boy' and would put the other cheating and lying, but nonetheless charming, bad boys that girls fall for to shame.

If you're a fan of Irvine Welsh and haven't yet read Filth, I'd highly recommend doing so - it's a hugely enjoyable, vulgar and utterly hilarious page turner, I can't believe I hadn't read it sooner.

*all images taken by Phoebe Fuller (me)