Boyracers

by alan-bissett

...being a book about Alvin, Frannie, Dolby, Brian, Belinda (doing eighty), Tyra the Beautiful, Connor f***ing Livingstone, Stephen King, Pink Floyd, peach schnapps (and lemonade), hope, dreams, Scotland, death-defying driving, Goodfellas, Irn-Bru, tenpin bowling, FHM, love and money, Alvin's Dad, American Psycho, car-crashes, paranoia, The Lord of the Rings, U2, infinity, Brian's nipples, noddies, text-messages, barmaids, virginity, Radiohead, The X-Men, exams, Frannie's patter, the death of punk, Tom Cruise, night-club bouncers, Falkirk High School, Clive Barker, the emptiness at the heart of it all, weapons, Spider-Man, Han Solo, a desolate future in which no-one loves anyone else, Hotel California, the universe, Blur, Prontaprint Lisa, and everything under the sun is in tune, as the sun is eclipsed by the moon... "Bissett is one of the new wave of young Scots writing talent not seen since the early Nineties". The Herald "One of the best things I've read in ages" - Ali Smith

Genres: Fiction, Scotland

249 pages, Paperback

First published March 15, 2002

Reviews

[Carolina Fidalgo · Rating 3 out of 5]

I left Scotland four days ago, and the referendum for independence will be held in less than a week. So I figured this would be as good a time to read this as it will ever be. If there is something I've learned in my total of a year and four months spent in Scotland is that there aren't many things as Scottish as discussing why a can of Irn-Bru doesn't fall to the back of the car when dropped in the front.

If you want to read the true Scotland, read this rather than Highlanders' erotica. Trust me. Reading this made me feel sad about having left, but also happy because, turns out, I carried a piece of Scotland with me.

Last note, I had the chance to meet the author and he signed the book for me:



So I guess all there is left to say is... good luck, Scotland!

[Jace Bryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really interesting book, kind of caught me off guard with how unique the writing style was. It was a whirlwind to read, fast-paced and constantly shifting from scene to scene. Felt it captured the experience of being a teenage boy in central Scotland pretty well, and it gave me similar vibes to Graeme Armstrong's The Young Team.

I'm defo planning to read more of Bissett's books in the future.

[Stefan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is beautifully written, although the usage of grammar is unconventional, it serves to further the tone. The book describes 4 young lads growing up in Falkirk and although the general themes behind the book are not particularly original, the writing style is highly imaginative and extremely poetic. There can be no doubt that this book is going to go down as a classic bit of modern Scottish writing.

[Steven Pilling · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is fantastic , i started it unaware that it was the prequal to Pack Men.

Bissett has an ear for dialogue and an understanding of the mind of young men. The novel is his debut novel and so later novels are better as literature but it works at a high octane pace, feels real and honest.

Read all his books start here and enjoy a writer who understands characters, dialogue and plot.

[Simon Mac · Rating 3 out of 5]

Unique take to writing with phonetic spelling of the Scottish accent and wild and haphazard flow of paragraphing and sentence choice.

The story gives an outlook on a life that is original. An average read.

[Paul Freeman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Heddy-haw!

[Mads · Rating 4 out of 5]

this book is genuinely about how shit my hometown is. naturally, i have thoughts. buckle up.

the bit about looking at the town plans and thinking you'll see a boyracers' loop's been playing on my mind. nobody leaves falkirk, really - we moan about everything, we bitch about everyone, we have fuck all to do (i was quite darkly entertained by the fact that none of the shops on the high street mentioned here still exist. even consumerism can't thrive in falkirk; what hope do humans have?), but we don't leave. hotel california might as well have been written about california up the braes, to be honest.

but back to the boyracers - they can drive as far as they want, but they have to come home eventually. false freedom, barriers to growth and mobility, etc etc. and i know that belinda being written off is, for alvin, at least, a sign of breaking patterns, breaking the loop, giving him an out, but - for me, nowadays - reading his decision to move to stirling uni as a sign of growth and optimism is... aye. i get the point that geography is a big part of exploring class and opportunity in the novel (for those who don't know, the distance between hallglen and albert road is not a large one whatsoever), and you don't necessarily have to go miles away to grow as a person, but in applying to uni in 2018 one of my main reasons for not wanting to go to stirling was because that's where everyone from falkirk went. like, i truly did not believe growing and developing as a person was possible if i was surrounded by people i'd sat with in double moddies, and i'll stick with it forever.

now, this is by no means a criticism of the novel (stirling is a good uni, with a lovely campus, and - of course - i know loads of people who had a great time studying there), just an interesting observation from someone with more of a personal connection to it than other people might have. and if anyone was curious, if we use the boyracers in falkirk as an accurate representation of social mobility in the town, then we're fucked - they don't even race anymore, they just congregate in the retail park car park, stuck firmly in the centre of the town with their shite tunes and their elfbars. no driving, no attempt made whatsoever to even try to go anywhere but here; just stuck in the shadows of glasgow and edinburgh, caged between hills and refineries, forever and ever, amen. what a depressing thought

[. · Rating 4 out of 5]

'Naw,' Dolby says, shaking his head seriously. 'Spider-Man's Bono. He's got the patter and the charisma. Batman's dark and tortured. Batman's Thom Yorke.'

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not quite as good as Death of a Ladies Man but still an enjoyable read. Based on the author's actual experience as a teenager in Falkirk he uses his own nickname 'Alvin' for the central character. The anniversary edition has an additional piece written by Alan Bissett ten years on which is interesting.

[funkgoddess · Rating 5 out of 5]

this is one of my most favourite, favourite books, there's a sheer wantonness about it. it makes me laugh with joy; squirm with embarrassment and sad with jealousy, because i'll never be a boyracer.

[Gregor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tremendous,I could not put it down. I didnt realise a the rubbish I spoke as a teenager was being spoke by others as well . I really loved this book. Wish I had read it before Pack men though. Got the real urge to track down a copy of "Weaveworld" now and read it again .....

[Nick Nillo · Rating 5 out of 5]

This will go down as one of my all time favorite books. I picked it up by mistake and surprisingly, I was not disappointed. Great writing style and phonetics too.

[Jamie Bell · Rating 4 out of 5]

very very enjoyable book , I was never part of that culture but it reminds me of home

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

The best novel I've ever read about what it was like to be a boy from a small Scottish town in his late teens in the late 1990s.

[Steve Stewart · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you grew up in a small Scottish town and you liked being a bit of a Car-Dick then this will appeal to you.

Pretty good. Pretty good, like.