Filth - Irvine Welsh

“Filth” is perhaps the most aptly titled book I have come across as a reader, being a dark and perverted comedy that somehow manages to balance shock and humour while still maintaining an air of unfiltered reality about it.

The novel follows Detective Sergeant Bruce Robertson of the Edinburgh “polis” as he: works on a murder case; goes whoring in Amsterdam; deals with a tapeworm; competes for a promotion; and fucks half the women in his depraved life. (No spoilers as usual. This is all established more or less from the start.)

Though there are some elements of the plot, particularly in the second half of the book, that seem a bit far fetched and unrealistic in terms of action, the whole book seems firmly rooted in the real world in a way that few novels are. There are no flowery literary features or poetic beautifications here. Instead, Welsh depicts the world as it really is, albeit the grimy and filthy side of it, and manages to capture the essence of those guilty thoughts and fantasies that we all have, and brings them to life through this uniquely depraved protagonist of his.

Of course it must be said that for all my talk of reality, Robertson is a character who is far more “fucked up” and perverted than you or I. Make no mistake about it. But what is striking is the brutal honesty with which he narrates the story. The novel is ostentatiously not politically correct in its treatment of women, gays, minorities and the like, but this is used to the effect of showing the “filthy” nature of Robertson and his associates rather than pushing the author’s own agenda.

And this effect is only further built up through the language that Welsh uses. Narrated by the protagonist in a stream of consciousness, first person style, the novel is written in the Scottish English vernacular, Scots, and rhyming slang, adding to the novel’s authenticity.

But the novel’s best feature is the use of the tapeworm who becomes a second narrator of sorts and helps in the exposition of Robertson as a character by revealing details that Robertson himself hides from his own inner monologue. Even the way the tapeworm is used in an almost voice-over type of style creates a strangely cinematic experience in the way it pushes Robertson’s narrative to the literal background without getting rid of it entirely.

Moving onto the actual experience of reading the novel itself, the story is not very gripping until it nears the end, where the pace picks up, but nevertheless it is not tedious either and always remains entertaining.

Although he does drop little hints here and there, Welsh seems to save all the twists and serious exposition until the very end of the novel, which can be rewarding to the reader in that we finally get some much sought after answers, but it also takes away from the rest of the novel a little bit. But I give you my word that the twists at the end are definitely total mindfucks that hit you out if nowhere and so make up for the rest of the novel.

All things considered, it is a wonderful and refreshing read, although it is most certainly not child friendly, becoming down right pornographic at places. But then again, what do you expect from a novel titled “Filth”?

Nevertheless, it is a good book, though it lacks that certain something that makes modern classics “great” books. But it kept me entertained, gave me a little insight into human nature, and made me reconsider my hesitancy towards reading newer novels (by which I mean after the early 20th century. I have, as you may have noticed, a fondness for classics.). What more could you really ask for from a book?

And so, I would definitely recommend this book to anybody except a child, provided of course that you’re not easily offended, and I give it a solid (8/10).

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Ps: I realised while uploading this that the whole thing reeks of boredom. And yes, that is partly (or perhaps entirely) my fault in writing a boring review. But I also think that it might say something about the novel itself. It feels like a cheap, and temporary piece of entertainment, like some Hollywood action movie of sorts. You are definitely entertained and amused while reading, but it has no profound or lasting impact on you once you finish it. You get a little kick out of how depraved it is, but that's largely it. It doesn't evoke any strong emotion in you. You like it, but it does not make you love it so much that you get excited talking about it. Nor does it make you hate it or despise it so much that it gets you excited about how bad it is. For a novel that takes a lot of risks with its "un-PC" content, it feels strangely average and middle-of-the-road once you finish it.

Perhaps you can't get much worth or meaning out of this little vague remark at the end, but I though it was worth sharing all the same.

Anywho, thank you, fellow bookwyrm, for making it to the end of the review. You can fuck off now :)