David C

It's a curious aspect of life in the western world that while people's circumstances have, until recently at any rate, become more and more comfortable, readers also seem to have found themselves more and more in need of escape. The most obvious example of this - the ever rising popularity of fantasy fiction - has been well documented. But detective fiction, however gritty its details, still imposes a pattern and resolution on experience that it never really possesses. ..read more

Given the subject matter of Irvine Welsh's other books, you could be forgiven for misunderstanding the title of his novel, Glue. It actually refers not to substance abuse but to bonds of friendship and focuses on four main characters from Edinburgh: Terry Lawson (‘Juice Terry'), Billy Birrell (‘Business Birrell'), Andrew Galloway (‘Gally') and Carl Ewart (‘DJ N-Sign'). ..read more