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The Sex Lives of Siamese Twins
The Sex Lives of Siamese Twins
Irvine Welsh | 2014 | Contemporary, Fiction & Poetry
3
3.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Not a pleasant read
Having recently read and enjoyed Trainspotting, I decided to give this book a go as I was intrigued to see how Welsh writes when it’s not in Scottish. Sadly I think I prefer the Scottish!

This is not a pleasant read, in more ways than one. The main character Lucy is a horrendous person, which is intentional but it doesn’t make for a nice read. There’s nothing redeemable about her at all and the longer the book goes on, the more repulsed you become by her behaviour. She’s not meant to be massively likeable, but I really didn’t enjoy reading a book where the main character is that disgusting. It’s a shame as the actual plot itself is quite decent and has a lot of interesting aspects and developments. The problem though is the characters and the fact that this is far too explicit and crude, it’s entirely unnecessary. The writing style also grates a lot in this. It seemed to work for Trainspotting but in this it just seems inappropriate - why Welsh can’t write conversation and paragraphs with proper punctuation and paragraphs I’ll never know. And finally the ending in this is just laughable. After such a horrific story the ending seems so out of place and so undeserving for such characters. If you want to read Irvine Welsh, read Trainspotting. Don’t bother with this.
  
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Sarah (7800 KP) rated Brassic in TV

Sep 1, 2019  
Brassic
Brassic
2019 | Comedy, Drama
8
6.8 (9 Ratings)
TV Show Rating
Daft and quintessentially northern
I didn’t really fancy this show, as I’m not particularly a big fan of Michelle Keegan. However the trailer full of silly escapades and northern accents kept tempting me in and in the end, I’m rather glad I watched it.

This comes across as a rather silly farcical comedy with a few crude jokes and in some parts it is, but it’s actually so much more than this and a much more sensitive and heartwarming side. Yes it’s funny, mainly thanks to Joseph Gilgun and his rather inept gang of petty thieves, and his entirely inappropriate GP played wonderfully by Dominic West. Being northern myself, this is part of the reason why I found this series so enjoyable. You can almost imagine things like that happening in certain parts of the world up here. But despite the humour, this has a deeper story which works in well amongst all of the wacky exploits and chaos, and it provides a nice balance.

Unfortunately I’m still not a fan of Michelle Keegan even after watching this, and I’m afraid I found her part in the story and episodes the weakest and most boring of everything. But fortunately this didn’t ruin the rest of the show too much and it was still a rather fun and entertaining series.
  
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Awix (3310 KP) rated A History of Heavy Metal in Books

Jan 7, 2020 (Updated Jan 7, 2020)  
A History of Heavy Metal
A History of Heavy Metal
Andrew O'Neill | 2017 | Humor & Comedy
6
6.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Knockabout trot through the history of the genre makes up for in enthusiasm what it lacks in objectivity, probably. Full disclosure: I'm not a huge fan of metal, but I'm always interested in learning new stuff , and you'd think that would make me the ideal audience for this book. However, there's an in-jokeyness here, a level of gushy fannishness, and a way in which the book prioritises jokes over facts, that leads me to suspect it's aimed at the devoted rather than newcomers.

It is good on the origins and early years of the music (or so it seems to me), but as it gets closer to the present day the narrative becomes increasingly fragmented and coloured by the author's personal tastes. Do you really need to try to be funny when writing about a genre featuring artists like Ozzy Osbourne and Lawnmower Deth? The book keeps the one-liners coming regardless. The blokey familiarity of it also feels inappropriate sometimes - subjects are referred to by their first names, even when they are white supremacists and convicted murderers (oh, the metal lifestyle). It's okay, but I didn't learn as much as I hoped and am not even that inspired to listen to more of this music after finishing the book.

(It may be a bit more satisfactory if you just approach it as a comedy book for metal fans. Didn't really make me laugh though.)