by Irvine Welsh: The author of Trainspotting comes through with an astounding tale rife with violence, family strife, hallucinations and a bird that is carnivorous (no, it actually exists!). Though the book came out in 1995, it reeks of nothing nostalgic or dated. It's written from two perspectives (from the same character): one is a dream-like state, where the character is hunting the bird of the title, with great lethal determination. The other tells the story of a Scottish lad, bursting with anger, who, not unlike the characters in A Clockwork Orange, vents that rage randomly on the public. Irvine writes a major part of the story in a Scottish dialect, which is at times tedious to decipher, but well worth the effort. One of those reads that leaves you hungry for more. —SJA
“Marabou Stork Nightmares”
by Irvine Welsh: The author of Trainspotting comes through with an astounding tale rife with violence, family strife, hallucinations and a bird that is carnivorous (no, it actually exists!). Though the book came out in 1995, it reeks of nothing nostalgic or dated. It's written from two perspectives (from the same character): one is a dream-like state, where the character is hunting the bird of the title, with great lethal determination. The other tells the story of a Scottish lad, bursting with anger, who, not unlike the characters in A Clockwork Orange, vents that rage randomly on the public. Irvine writes a major part of the story in a Scottish dialect, which is at times tedious to decipher, but well worth the effort. One of those reads that leaves you hungry for more. —SJA
