The View from Poacher's Hill

by Alan Warner, Irvine Welsh, John King

288 pages, Paperback

Published August 12, 2023

About the author

Note: There is more than one Alan Warner, this is the page for the award-winning Scottish novelist. For books by other people bearing the same name see Alan Warner

Alan Warner (born 1964) is the author of six novels: the acclaimed Morvern Callar (1995), winner of a Somerset Maugham Award; These Demented Lands (1997), winner of the Encore Award; The Sopranos (1998), winner of the Saltire Society Scottish Book of the Year Award; The Man Who Walks (2002), an imaginative and surreal black comedy; The Worms Can Carry Me to Heaven (2006), and The Stars in the Bright Sky (2010), a sequel to The Sopranos. Morvern Callar has been adapted as a film, and The Sopranos is to follow shortly. His short story 'After the Vision' was included in the anthology Children of Albion Rovers (1997) and 'Bitter Salvage' was included in Disco Biscuits (1997). In 2003 he was nominated by Granta magazine as one of twenty 'Best of Young British Novelists'. In 2010, his novel The Stars in the Bright Sky was included in the longlist for the Man Booker Prize.

Alan Warner's novels are mostly set in "The Port", a place bearing some resemblance to Oban. He is known to appreciate 1970s Krautrock band Can; two of his books feature dedications to former band members (Morvern Callar to Holger Czukay and The Man Who Walks to Michael Karoli). Alan Warner currently splits his time between Dublin and Javea, Spain.

Reviews

[Stace · Rating 5 out of 5]

‘The View from Poacher’s Hill’ is the second book in a trilogy by Alan Warner, Irvine Welsh and John King. They have put together an eclectic mix of three contemporary novellas giving an insight into various aspects of modern life.

In ‘Warner’s Migration’ we meet Lily Hansford, her family and friends. Lily is an only child of materially successful yet over-indulgent parents. Lily has a mobility problem which is hinted at in the first section and described in rather brutal terms from the perspective of a would-be boyfriend in the middle section. The final section fills us in on Lily’s subsequent life and her decisions with their consequences for others from the point of view of her best friend.

‘Real Life’ gives a snapshot of the lives of some deprived young people in Edinburgh. We meet Lita and her less than committed boyfriend, Jayden, along with their foils. Packed full of social messages, its vivid descriptions of the apathetic superficial existence of this amoral cast, is powerful. Whilst it could be interpreted as depressing and fatalistic, it is interspersed with dry and, at times, dark humour. The narrative is written in British English with the thoughts of the characters, along with the dialogue, conducted in local dialect which made for slow progress. Whilst I had significant reading challenges, using this literary device certainly adds to the overall impact.

‘Grand Union’ is the tale of Merlin an ex-lorry driver and Gary the goat who live together harmoniously on a narrowboat which may actually be a barge. They travel around Britain’s waterways and plan to rendezvous with some old friends of Merlin in Uxbridge, after a gap of many years. After receiving some photos of the goat, there is speculation amongst Merlin’s friends that everything is not what it seems. We then spend time with the friends and witness the complex dynamics of the intertwined relationships. Unfortunately, the references to football teams and players were completely lost on me.

It is difficult to create depth of character in the novella format but I congratulate the authors for each achieving this to some extent. The language and content might be rather too colourful and explicit for some readers but the synopsis should alert anyone of a sensitive nature that this collection is uncensored.

The stories are filled with references to real events, people, places and songs to embed the characters, allowing the reader to identify with a shared culture. The stories complement each other and readers who are in tune with the writers’ styles will no doubt appreciate this compilation.

As a reviewer, I read across many genres and value being taken out of my comfort zone, which was certainly the case with these stories. Each author has produced a strong, well-constructed and competent piece of work; objectively therefore, I award 5 stars.

[Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this sequel to "The Seal Club". Once again, it features a bracingly varied trio of short novels by Messrs Welsh, King, and Warner, who are probably best-known for "Trainspotting", "The Football Factory", and "Morvern Callar", all of which were adapted into high-profile movies. By turns lewd, sensitive, charming, witty, and lewd, "The View From Poacher’s Hill" reminded me of why all three writers became such big literary stars during the 1990s. Hard to imagine today’s censorious and proscriptive literary culture so eagerly embracing comparably daring talents.

[Gary K · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thankfully the bulk of this book was Irvine Welsh’s story. That was good apart from the ‘scottish’ dialogue that he always does.

Could not get into the Alan Warner story. Girl moved abroad and came back , that was about it. Boring.

John King’s story was about a mob of England fans meeting up, it had the potential to be a good story but was ruined by a load of nonsense about the main characters goat.

[Iain · Rating 5 out of 5]

Every bit as good as the original. In fact, I think the longish Irvine Welsh novella here steals the show and tips the book as a whole into being better than the original.

Definitely want to read more Warner... and King if I get a chance too.

[Peter Sinfield · Rating 3 out of 5]

As per the first book. Alan Warner I really enjoyed, Irvine Welsh I enjoyed. Sadly, John King I didn’t enjoy.

[Ian · Rating 1 out of 5]

Alan Warner story was good, the rest was rubbish!

[Chris Orme · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mainly read it for the Irvine Welsh stories but the others were good too. Glad the IW story took up most of the book though.