The Cutting Room

"Oh purity: Is it still possible? Is it possible still to be pure again?" The question is asked by the poet Rainer Maria Rilke in one of his letters, but it is also the theme of this book, whose hero in the antiques auctioneer known only as Rilke. Rilke is a deeply flawed piece of work: he is not above misappropriating money or goods entrusted to him in the line of work. When circumstances warrant, he's perfectly willing to convey some drugs as a quid-pro-quo to a friend. And yet Rilke is ultimately, a very engaging, self-reflecting protagonist. In the course of clearing out the antiques from a home, he stumbles on some pornography that shocks him. (this in itself is no easy matter-his sex life consists of three anonymous encounters-in a park, a tavern's toilet and an rented room) The photos show what seems to be a sexual murder and Rilke is touched by compassion for the girl who appears to have been the victim. Even though the pictures are fifty years old, he decides to find out who this girl was and what happened to her. Unsurprisingly, his curiousity leads him to a world even less pure than his own and to the heart of a reality that is more chilling than death. Set in Glasgow, the book crackles with local color and language that lends a pleasant exoticism to the story. The writer's familiarity with the details of transient sexual encounters adds a certain gritty dailiness to our unlikely hero and this perfectly engaging tale. A skilled story-teller at work here in a place that's well past purity. --Lynn Hoffman, author of THE NEW SHORT COURSE IN WINE and the forthcoming novel bang BANG from Kunati Books.ISBN 9781601640005

This is the most thrilling, enjoyable book I've read in years. The writing is terse, mood-filled, vivid, darkly funny. An original and abstract-sounding conceit (narrator obsessed with old photos owned by a dead guy he never met of a woman he doesn't know) turns out to be unexpectedly riveting. I loved it and my partner loved it, too. I read her followup novella, TAMBURLAINE MUST DIE, which is very good. But CUTTING ROOM is BRILLIANT.

Crime novels seldom qualify as literature because as a genre, crime fiction is said to be manipulative and hence considered a lower written art form. Not so, with Louise Welsh's stunning debut, "The Cutting Room (CR)". Welsh is undoubtedly a fresh new talent but already she shows such craft, style and maturity in her writing it would be a shame to pigeonhole her as a crime novelist so early in her writing career. She has the stylistic versatility to cross over.As several reviewers have noted on this site, it isn't the plot that makes CR such an impressive and riveting novel. If truth be told, plot is possibly the one weak element in Welsh's story. The premise is certainly fascinating. An aging gay auction house dealer turns investigator after stumbling across possible evidence - from among a rare collection of pornographic books - of a snuff murder being committed in an earlier time. He and his firm needs the money from the job to survive. Before he completes the job, his client dies and he and his boss are tempted to make off with the collection including the evidence but is stopped by an inquisitive and awakening conscience. Rilke is an enthralling anti-hero figure. He is jaded, depraved and dissolute. He cruises bars and parks after work to satisfy his lust for young flesh but his conscience remains alive, buried beneath the stains and ravages of smoke, drugs and drink. Here, Welsh shows her natural talent with characterisation. Rilke's associates and the other lowlife who make up the human landscape are also utterly real and believable. But that's not all. Welsh delves deep into the art auction business and emerges with an authentic and vividly assembled picture of the trade. She's great at scene setting and creating the right atmosphere for her story. What's possibly lacking is a sustained interest in plot development. Often it seems she might have a different bee in her bonnet and this is most evident in the way she engineers the denouement. Suddenly, in a blink of an eye, it's all over. It's as if you sneaked out to the loo and found you missed the ending when you came back. "The Cutting Room" is nevertheless a formidable debut and one of the most impressive (crime) novels I have ever read. It would be unfairly limiting to consider Welsh simply a budding crime novelist. I think she has potential to produce literature of enduring quality. CR is just the beginning. I'll be looking out for her next. Highly recommended.

I loved this book. From the start it gripped me and pulled me in. It was so original to have what has been described as a crime book, based around not a detective nor policeman, but an auctioneer - Rilke. The whole setting was fascinating; I could completely imagine the scene of the big old house that was the subject of the clearance, the furniture, the antiques, the mysterious and spooky attic containing someone's past life and history. It was in the attic that Rilke discovers the photographs upon which the whole story is based - a woman lies bound in ropes, tortured, bleeding, dead. But are the photographs genuine? Was this woman really murdered or is she the subject of a sick but clever photographer? Rilke's journey to unravel and resolve the authenticity of the photographs is fast paced and incredibly intriguing, I couldn't stop reading, desperate to find out what fascinating fact would be stumbled upon next. As a main character, I really liked Rilke, I had a soft spot for him. I was compelled by his life, his world, the people he knew. Along the way we meet many other beguiling characters, Rose - Rilke's feisty business partner; Les the dealer and TV; Anne-Marie the stripper; Anderson the sober policeman who shares a secret history with Rilke; and the illegal `ring' of dealers. These are just a few, there are many more. But with each character Welsh manages to make us feel as if we personally know them, each is a distinct individual, even the ones we have only a fleeting encounter with - I really felt that I might bump into these people on the street!There are also some great underlying themes to this book, the seedy underworld of prngrphy, the gay scene, religion, drugs, illegal immigrants. All are cleverly entwined and so much a part of the story that I didn't even regard them as separate themes. Although to many of us these worlds are perhaps not viewed as part of our everyday lives, this book realised them as actual and very much alive, if still not wholly accepted, in our society.I would definitely recommend `The Cutting Room'. Not just for crime readers, this is for anyone looking for a modern, fast paced, atmospheric read, full of intrigue, insight and great characters.

As a Glaswegian abroad, I was delighted to read this book, which captures the feel of my home city so convincingly. The writing style, description and dialogue seem to draw heavily on the noir tradition, in literature but also I suspect in movies - I wasn't surprised to read that this is being made into a film in the UK. I loved the central character, Rilke. He was a true original, and for me, an old fashioned hero, flawed but deeply moral. This has been billed as a thriller, but I think that's missing much of the point of the book. Yes, the plot will keep you reading, but it's the vivid atmosphere and superb characters that will stay with you long after you put this book down.