Filth

‘A serious, perceptive and hideously funny study of reactionary temperament . . . As a humourist, a moralist, and a violent horror writer Welsh is firing on all cylinders in this one . . . probably the best thing he has done since

Trainspotting’

Sunday Times

‘There is an energy and vigour in Welsh’s invention and his handling of prose that reminds that reminds one of the great, coarse, vivid novelists of the 19^th century . . . there is no denying that [this novel] has a peculiar kind of brilliance’

Sunday Telegraph

‘Filth provides yet more evidence that Irvine Welsh is a uniquely exciting and gifted writer’

Financial Times

‘Better than Ecstasy and equal to Trainspotting’

GQ

‘As haunting as his psychological masterpiece, Marabou Stork Nightmares . . . The lav’d up Filth beats the luv’d up

Ecstasy hands down’

The Face

‘Written in the trademark Welsh vernacular, Filth is a wonderfully black and funny novel about sleaze, power, and the abuse of just about everything’

Himself

‘The writing and structure are obscenely stylish, and Welsh’s wrecked way of looking at life is compelling’

Mail on Sunday

‘A masterful piece of comic invention . . . superb’

Yorkshire Post

‘One of the joys of this new novel is that it reminds us of his strengths as a storyteller . . . Detective Bruce Robertson is assigned to the case and it is his monologue that unfolds to reveal a heart of darkness that would make Joseph Conrad blush. His character is driven solely by misanthropic hate, a devil’s brew of every prejudice known to man and a few that are uniquely his own. He is consumed by his fury to the point of implosion, unable to function without a target for his loathing. He is plagued by tapeworms and scabrous rashes, metaphors for a self hell-bent on devouring its own bile . . . It is an exploration into the fragility of conscience, a tale of how memory and imaginings can make madmen of us all’

Express

‘Filth marks a return to form for Irvine Welsh . . . In a toxic, chemical generation way, Welsh is our best writer of surreal social satire’

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