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Filth (Paperback)

by Irvine Welsh (Author) "Woke up this morning ..." (more)
3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (79 customer reviews)
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Product details

  • Paperback: 393 pages
  • Publisher: Vintage, London (5 Jun 1999)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0099591111
  • ISBN-13: 978-0099591115
  • Product Dimensions: 19.6 x 12.8 x 2.8 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (79 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 9,886 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in this category:

    #6 in  Books > Fiction > Cult Authors > Welsh, Irvine

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Product Description

Amazon.co.uk Review

Irvine Welsh has produced more than his share of revolting characters in his short yet spectacular writing career, but in the creation of Detective Sergeant Bruce Robertson he has surpassed himself. The protagonist of Filth is, both personally and professionally, utterly corrupt; a thief, drug user, misogynist and racist, with standards of appearance and personal hygiene that are simply beyond belief. It goes without saying that his wife and children have left him but, oddly, he still has few drinking mates, and even some of the women he so hideously abuses are still prepared to give him the benefit of the doubt. "The undeniable sexuality which is part and parcel of the complete dominance over another human being", opines the viciously selfish Robertson, is just part of what makes, "poliswork such a satisfying career." But, strangely, as we chart his inevitable decline...from what is admittedly a very low baseline--a solid, almost conventional, underlying morality begins to assert itself. Amid the degradation we come across a hint of reason as Welsh's stunningly direct dialogue and hideously imaginative plot combine in a thrilling, undeniably unsettling novel. --Nick Wroe --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.


Product Description

With the festive season almost upon him, Detective Sergeant Bruce Robertson is winding down at work and gearing up socially - kicking off Christmas with a week of sex and drugs in Amsterdam. There are irritating flies in the ointment, though, including a missing wife, a nagging cocaine habit, a dramatic deterioration in his genital health, a string of increasingly demanding extra-marital affairs. The last thing he needs is a messy murder to solve.Still it will mean plenty of overtime, a chance to stitch up some colleagues and finally clinch the promotion he craves. But as Bruce spirals through the lower reaches of degradation and evil, he encounters opposition - in the form of truth and ethical conscience - from the most unexpected quarter of all: his anus. In Bruce Robertson, Welsh has created one of the most corrupt, misanthropic characters in contemporary fiction , and has written a dark, disturbing and very funny novel about sleaze, power, and the abuse of everything. At last, a novel that lives up to its name.
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Customer Reviews

79 Reviews
5 star:
 (28)
4 star:
 (25)
3 star:
 (10)
2 star:
 (6)
1 star:
 (10)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
3.7 out of 5 stars (79 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Really filthy, 20 Jul 2006
By Cheeky Monkey (NW England) - See all my reviews
  
This was my first Irvine Welch book and once I'd got used to the Edinburgh dialect I soon got into the swing of it and the whole sorry tale of Bruce, the rancid, corrupt, loathsome, sexist, racist, homophobic beast who masquerades as an officer of the law. They say no man is above the law, but Bruce is a law unto himself and he exploits his position to cheat, swindle and seduce all the way through the story... all the way to getting his comeuppance.

This is not a nice story but as you would expect from Mr Welsh, it's a darkly comic tale of one man's descent into madness and enduring crapulence. At times it made me laugh out loud, at others it churned my stomach and I think that is what Welsh intended. Bruce is never so bad that you can't hate him completely, but on the rare occasions when he does something right you still can't quite warm to him.

The book is easy to get into and has sufficient twists to keep you guessing, but the use of the tapeworm as a plot device just gets annoying after a while.

Dare top read this book and you'll be giving yourself a treat if you can stomach it. If buying for a friend, make sure he/she is very broaded-minded. Not for the squeamish.
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4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Worms, 14 Sep 2002
Filth is the odious depiction of one man's antipathy towards his fellow human beings, whether they be colleagues, supposed friends, or complete strangers who happen to have been born into one of the many groups he surreptitiously discriminates against. In the 'games' he plays as an escapism from his daily, worm-ridden existence, no one is exempt, not the public he has been assigned to protect, nor his beleaguered best friend, Bladesey. As DC Bruce Robertson puts it, 'Same rules apply.'
We follow our anti hero from the beginnings of a race related murder which Bruce intends to use as a springboard to a well deserved promotion, through the ups and downs of 'polis work', across the waves for a week of drugs and decadent debauchery in Amsterdam, finally steaming towards a conclusion which reveals our narrator for what he really is.
Perhaps the most disturbing thing about this book is that Robertson, despite his vile antics and personal hygeine, establishes and retains a warmth in the readers heart. Or perhaps it is that he is not an individual, that there are others like him with a simular aversion that we rely on to protect and maintain us in our daily lives.
Welsh succeeds in creating a monster, and it is also by his hand and insight into modern society that he slays this monster, reducing him to the pathetic, shadow of a human that he really is. An outstanding achievement.
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3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Absolutely amazing - Irvine Welsh has done it again, 20 Jul 2000
By A Customer
After the relative disppointments of Acid House and Ecstasy, Irvine Welsh has written a book that is almost as exhilarating, hilarious, enjoyable and expertly structured as Trainspotting. The book initially appears to be a cheap stab at the police by portraying an officer in such a derogitary manner. As you read further you realise this is not the intention at all as Welsh sucks you into Bruce Robinson's conciousness and you actually find youself admiring him in a very twisted and screwed up way. I normally read Welsh novels the day they come out but I have just completed an English Literature degree and thus have been unable to read anything but module texts for the last three years. This could not have been a better welcome into the real world. My love of Trainspotting has remained with me since its publication and I keep a copy by my toilet to pick up and read little bits whenever nature calls. One of the best essays I wrote for my degree was about Irvine Welsh's use of heteroglossia in the said novel. Filth matches up to the genius of his first novel and I implore anyone out there reading this to get your hands on a copy as soon as possible.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars Filth by name and nature.
This is one book that CAN be judged by its cover, or more accurately its title. The content is both rude and crude and includes lots of sex, spunk, crust, poo and dirty... Read more
Published 5 months ago by MangoChesney

5.0 out of 5 stars Gripping, devasting, hilarious and beautiful
There are lots of reason why not everyone will like this book. Bruce Robertson for the most part, acts in the type of manner befitting a sadistic, emotionally retarded bully whose... Read more
Published 6 months ago by A. M. Reaney

3.0 out of 5 stars interesting........
I have read my share of misanthropic novels - I frequently enjoy journies to the dark side of life. This novel, though, belongs to a different genre entirely. Read more
Published 16 months ago by P. Davie

5.0 out of 5 stars A sick Irvine Welsh character...
Both Bruce Robertson and the tapeworm are sick, classic Irvine Welsh characters. Like a lot of Welsh characters, Robertson shows signs of good as well as evil, and you're never... Read more
Published 17 months ago by D.Watts.

5.0 out of 5 stars oh yes, it's filthy...
In this book, Welsh brings out something that is not so often shown to the open world: Filth. He shoves it into our face, eyes, ears, hands and hair. Read more
Published 17 months ago by E. Falaise

1.0 out of 5 stars rubbish
I was not appaulled by this book, i am no prude at all. But to me it seemed like before writing it he wrote a list of "things that catch people attention" and then tried to... Read more
Published 21 months ago by J. Byfleet

5.0 out of 5 stars A relentless journey into the pits of debauchery
Irvine Welsh's Filth is a fantastic book which manages to gracefully hold the reader's attention whilst relentlessly elucidating some of the most harrowing and disturbing... Read more
Published on 10 Oct 2007 by Michael Saker

4.0 out of 5 stars amazing.
This is the first Irvine Welsh book that I've read, so wasn't sure what to expect. Like him or not, you can not deny that he is totally uneque and this book is unlike anything... Read more
Published on 22 Mar 2007 by Michelle Routledge

4.0 out of 5 stars This book ruined my life!
for like a week....now i know this isn't as good as Trainspotting, i'm sure we're all mature enough to accept that. Read more
Published on 25 Feb 2007 by Euan Wallace

3.0 out of 5 stars mixed
Very easy to read and very humourous in parts. Equally disgusting and distasteful, but has a tendancy to want to keep you reading, until about the 3rd chapter from the end. Read more
Published on 27 Oct 2004 by Mr. W. Sinclair

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