Filth

It has been for me an introduction to Welsh's style: clean, simple, tough. Without uncertain terms, without half ways: a book for hard stomach people that behind its filth layer makes much sense.

"Filth" comes close to living up to its name. Welsh's central character, Bruce Robertson, is a detective placed in charge of the investigation of a murdered young black man. Robertson, however, has other things on his mind. First there is his planned vacation to Amsterdam where he goes every year for drugs and debauchery. Then there is his desire for a promotion and the various "games" he plays with his fellow officers, attempting to pit them against one another and knock out his competition. On top of that are the numerous affairs with women in which he is engaged, his bouts of drinking and doing drugs, and the depression and sickness he feels from his wife being away and the tapeworm he has growing inside him (whose monologue occasionally interrupts the text). Robertson is a pretty terrible person, exerting his power and doing really cruel things to his friends, colleagues, and lovers for his own entertainment. He is sexist, racist, physically disgusting, and overall a personification of the title.

"Filth" is a really interesting read. The first 100 pages are kind of slow, but once Robertson gets going, there is quite the lurid, morbid fascination of what his next action will be as he engages in ever more crass and risky behavior. Much of the book is about his various antics, which are often quite amusing, and less concerned with his ostensible investigation. Although that investigation serves as the backbone to the story and leads to some rather fantastic revelations at the end. The story propels toward its stunning conclusion, which really made the book for me personally. The last 80 pages or so are terrific as Welsh ties together everything from the preceding pages. He throws in a number of twists and surprises, you even begin to view Robertson in almost a sympathetic light, which considering his actions, is quite an amazing feat.

A couple of minor notes: Welsh writes in Scottish slang, which at first is a bit intimidating, but you get accustomed to the terms relatively quickly, especially if you've read any of his previous works. Many of the words are phonetic, and if you sound them out you can figure out what he's saying. Also the Cockney rhyming slang is quite fun to decipher.

Also, the interrupting tapeworm monologue seemed to me like a stupid idea, but it actually kind of works. It serves a greater narrative purpose toward the end, and you actually start to wonder what will happen to it as it struggles to survive. I think it also serves as a physical manifestation of the filth that is Robertson and the evil that is inside him.

Overall a really good read. A bit rambling in the beginning, the book picks up speed as we become immersed in this sordid world. That said, I was kind of glad to finish the book and get this character out of my head.

utterly wretched. however, i ended up loving this book. it was brilliantly written and despite the main character being such a loathsome human being, welsh made me feel some compassion towards him. like many have said before getting into the scottish lingo was tough at first but once i did i couldn't put the book down.

One of those compelling books that are so absurd in the level of disgust that you find it brings that it's hard to read but also impossible to put down. Yuk! But great.

Not the most disgusting book that I have read, but close. Very funny, and it was also fun to watch an asshole's life unravel page by page.

I don't know why Welsh would create a character so utterly brilliant only to kill him off at the end of the book. It's as if he felt he had to kill him off to get away with writing that sort of thing. 1-0 to the loony left, I'm afraid.

If there is a man in the world that deserves his end, it would be Bruce Robertson. The unravelling of a narcassitic , misoginistic, and downright evil monster.

A good book by all accounts but Welsh is clearly working out the kinks with the new style he's adopted.

Amazing. Never has a title let you know so much what the book is about without being completely cliche. A must read! You've never read every genre until you've read Irvine Welsh. Filth is a great place to start and not to be taken lightly. The title is the greatest warning to what's in this book.

One of the most tragic and disturbing stories I have ever read. Hitting rock bottom has never been portrayed better. Themes like sexism, drugs, racism, prostitution, corruption, womanizing and so much more left me gasping at the end. Amazing book, and that is why Irvine Welsh is my favorite author.