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The Seal Club
The Seal Club is a three-novella collection by the authors Alan Warner, Irvine Welsh and John King, three stories that capture their ongoing interests and concerns, stories that reflect bodies of work that started with Morvern Callar, Trainspotting and The Football Factory – all best-sellers, all turned into high-profile films.
In Warner’s Those Darker Sayings, a gang of Glaswegian nerds ride the mainline trains of northern England on a mission to feed the habit of their leader Slorach. Frustrated, cynical and a big disappointment to his family, Slorach is also a man of great intelligence and deep knowledge, a British Rail timetables call-centre guru who just happens to be addicted to gambling machines. And pubs. Welcome to the world of the quiz-machine casual.
In Welsh’s The Providers, a terminally ill woman’s family gather in Edinburgh for her last Christmas, but everyone needs to be on their best behaviour, and that includes her son Frank, recently released from prison and trying to forge a new life as an artist. Also present is his brother Joe, who arrives in a state of alcoholic dissolution. The ultimate nightmare family-Christmas looms, where secrets and lies explode like fireworks.
In King’s The Beasts Of Brussels, thousands of thirsty Englishmen assemble in the EU capital ahead of a football match against Belgium, their behaviour monitored by two media professionals who spout different politics but share the same interests. Meanwhile, a small crew of purists run the gauntlet in Germany, eager to join the fun. As order breaks down and the Establishment rages, we are left to identify the true beasts of the story.
The Seal Club is maverick, outspoken fiction for the 2020s. It will make you think and it will make you smile.
In Warner’s Those Darker Sayings, a gang of Glaswegian nerds ride the mainline trains of northern England on a mission to feed the habit of their leader Slorach. Frustrated, cynical and a big disappointment to his family, Slorach is also a man of great intelligence and deep knowledge, a British Rail timetables call-centre guru who just happens to be addicted to gambling machines. And pubs. Welcome to the world of the quiz-machine casual.
In Welsh’s The Providers, a terminally ill woman’s family gather in Edinburgh for her last Christmas, but everyone needs to be on their best behaviour, and that includes her son Frank, recently released from prison and trying to forge a new life as an artist. Also present is his brother Joe, who arrives in a state of alcoholic dissolution. The ultimate nightmare family-Christmas looms, where secrets and lies explode like fireworks.
In King’s The Beasts Of Brussels, thousands of thirsty Englishmen assemble in the EU capital ahead of a football match against Belgium, their behaviour monitored by two media professionals who spout different politics but share the same interests. Meanwhile, a small crew of purists run the gauntlet in Germany, eager to join the fun. As order breaks down and the Establishment rages, we are left to identify the true beasts of the story.
The Seal Club is maverick, outspoken fiction for the 2020s. It will make you think and it will make you smile.
288 pages, Paperback
First published November 12, 2020
6 people are currently reading
106 people want to read
About the author
Alan Warner
80 books187 followersNote: 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.
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.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
November 20, 2020
If you’ve been feeling like the London Books section of your shelving needs to sag a wee bit more, The Seal Club will be a very welcomed addition. These three novellas -- one each from Alan Warner, Irvine Welsh and John King -- are as rollicking as they are masterful, and engaging enough to leave the reader wishing each were full-length novels thick enough to satisfy the longest attention spans. It’s impossible to rate and rank them, though inevitable that many will do, but I’m with Peter Lennox in Alan Warner’s Those Darker Sayings when he said “I have no interest in competition because I have no interest in winning.”
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December 18, 2020
Two Scotsmen and an Englishman walk into a bar, and between them tell three of the greatest stories ever told to man.
November 30, 2020
A completely legitimate book about the underbelly of white working class culture. Each story is outstanding, revisiting old friends ( from a distance).
December 31, 2020
Great collection - Warner's story (Those Darker Sayings) is a must-read. Interested in finding more of his work.
October 30, 2022
This is almost a sequel of sorts to the enjoyable and diverse “Children of Albion Rovers” collection from back in 1997, which also featured the talents of Warner and Welsh. This reminded me how much I enjoy reading Warner’s work.
Welsh and King both find themselves in very familiar territory, with Welsh contributing a Begbie story and King bringing a soccer hooligan tale to the party. Overall all three of these novellas made for satisfying and entertaining reading and are sure to please fans of the writers, as well as offering something worthwhile for newcomers too.
Welsh and King both find themselves in very familiar territory, with Welsh contributing a Begbie story and King bringing a soccer hooligan tale to the party. Overall all three of these novellas made for satisfying and entertaining reading and are sure to please fans of the writers, as well as offering something worthwhile for newcomers too.
November 12, 2020
With "The Seal Club", Messrs Warner, Welsh and King have earned their places in the literary equivalent of the Premier League team of the season. Darkly amusing and slyly imaginative, their book possesses all the power, precision and deceptive spin of a great free kick.
January 8, 2021
Three fantastic stories with Warner’s being my personal favourite. I had never read any of King’s work before, being put off by The Football Factory movie and Danny Dyer. That looks like being a mistake because his novella here is an outstanding piece, full of wit and insight into class, culture and football. Can’t recommend this book enough.
February 15, 2021
The Warner and Welsh novellas were great, I particularly found the Alan Warner one ‘Those Darker Sayings’ fascinating and fully recommend this book for that novella alone. It’s plot is so dynamic and fresh, and has a really great sense of time and place. The characters are well written, though some of the physical descriptions of these characters made me roll my eyes. It’s a story that I could really imagine being adapted either for a limited tv series or film.
The Irvine Welsh story ‘The Providers’ was a great ticking time bomb of a story, and a very quick read. It was tightly constructed and gripping. If the book considered solely of these first two novellas I would have given this a solid 4.5 rating, however:
On the other hand, the John King section ‘The Beasts of Brussels’ really was not my kind of thing- it’s a very fragmented narrative that has multiple characters and we read events from these different characters’ points of view resulting in multiple subplots. As a result, it ends up very hit or miss, with some sections being almost unreadable while others were pretty intriguing. Unfortunately those more unreadable sections overshadow the novella.
The Irvine Welsh story ‘The Providers’ was a great ticking time bomb of a story, and a very quick read. It was tightly constructed and gripping. If the book considered solely of these first two novellas I would have given this a solid 4.5 rating, however:
On the other hand, the John King section ‘The Beasts of Brussels’ really was not my kind of thing- it’s a very fragmented narrative that has multiple characters and we read events from these different characters’ points of view resulting in multiple subplots. As a result, it ends up very hit or miss, with some sections being almost unreadable while others were pretty intriguing. Unfortunately those more unreadable sections overshadow the novella.
February 13, 2023
Three short stories, the first by Alan Warner. Set in the 80's a tale of a group of British Rail employees travelling round the country on their free BR cards rinsing pub quiz machines. Some brilliant characters and a thoroughly enjoyable story. The second by Irvine Welsh is a Christmas family party with Begbie (Trainspotting) returning home, hilarious. The third by John King about football lads on the rampage in Belgium. The main reason I gave this 5 is as well as being entertaining they all give a positive view of British working class life.
February 5, 2021
Good set of 3 novellas. I mainly got it for the new Irvine Welsh short story & that was my favourite (of course) but the other authors were great too. I have heard of them both but had not really read any of their work but now I have I definitely want to check out some of their other work.
August 16, 2023
I really enjoyed this, three authors I've read and enjoyed in the past, one of whom is a personal favourite.
The Welsh novella was great, but the others stand up to scrutiny in their own right too.
Can't wait for the next installment!
The Welsh novella was great, but the others stand up to scrutiny in their own right too.
Can't wait for the next installment!
December 12, 2023
started with Welsh's newest Begbie short - fantastic
next was Warner's tale - enjoyable writing and characters, will be looking up more of his work
still need to get to King's story
next was Warner's tale - enjoyable writing and characters, will be looking up more of his work
still need to get to King's story
September 14, 2023
Good short stories
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews