Children of Albion Rovers: An Anthology of New Scottish Writing

An excellent introduction to "new Scottish writing" this collection features one short story each from Irvine Welsh (Filth, Trainspotting, Ecstacy Club, Maribou Stork Nightmare), Alan Warner (Morvern Callar, These Demented Lands,The Sopranos), Gordon Legge (The Shoe, In Between Talking About the Football), James Meek (Drivetime), Laura Hird, and Paul Reekie. Gordon Legge's "Pop Life" is a gruffly tender portrait of three friends who've grown up and apart. Alan Warner's "After the Vision" is typically long on tone and atmosphere as it follows a stranded raver trying to find a place to sleep until the morning train. James Meek's "Brown Pint of Courage" amusingly depicts a trio of parking ticket writers who blow off their job. Paul Reekie's "The Submission" was perhaps the lesser of the six stories, written as a long rambling letter to a friend. The most "sexy" story is by the lone female entrant, Laura Hird, whose "The Dilating Pupil" is about a middle-aged teacher and a female student who have designs on each other which are derailed in a night of booze and drugs. Irvine Welsh's "The Rosewell Incident" is the shallowest, but possibly funniest read of the lot. It throws together alien abduction and "lads" in an unholy alliance to rule the world. A bit silly but fun. The collection as a whole is well worth checking out if you want to see what the Scottish kids are up to.