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The Long Knives (The CRIME series, 2)

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Ma, a prescindere da ogni considerazione, I lunghi coltelli è un romanzo che mette in discussione ogni valore morale e che punta a squarciarti la pancia (e non solo...) a causa dei tuoi errori e delle tue debolezze. Irvine Welsh travalica i confini del bene e del male per raccontare - a modo suo - una storia fatta di dolore, rabbia e ingiustizia, dove i buoni diventano cattivi perché tutti sono andati troppo oltre e non si torna più indietro. The Long Knives’ is the second novel in which DI Ray Lennox is the main protagonist, the first being the novel ‘Crime’ and he also featured in the novel ‘Filth’ too. I had read Filth but hadn’t read ‘Crime’ prior to reading this novel, as it can be read as as a stand alone but I actually went and watched the television series, ‘Crime’ which was based on that novel and it gave me a bit of a flavour of what had went on prior to the events in this outing. I really got into the actors and how they’re performing, so I thought ‘I’ll just sandwich another book in’ and that’s become the season.

A critical consensus has built up over the years that there is Good Irvine Welsh and there is Bad Irvine Welsh. Good Irvine encompasses such generation-defining works as Trainspotting, The Acid House and Filth, while Bad Irvine covers such sloppy, repetitive, self-parodic novels as A Decent Ride and the many sequels and prequels to Trainspotting. His 2008 novel Crime, which follows the exploits of Edinburgh detective Ray Lennox as he hunts down paedophiles in Florida, was definitely Good Irvine, with its contorted moral dilemmas, fast-paced action and rich characterisation. Recently adapted into a television drama, Crime was the first part of a proposed trilogy centred on Lennox. The Long Knives is the second instalment. It’s definitely Good Irvine. Addomesticati, rassicurati dai toni mansueti del giallo all’italiana, per il lettore italiano l’impatto con un vero noir è come uno schiaffo in faccia. Un effetto doccia fredda che si verifica puntualmente con le storie ideate da Irvine Welsh, il 64enne scozzese dagli occhi di ghiaccio, il creatore di Trainspotting, con il suo nuovo libro, I lunghi coltelli (Guanda, pp.384 €19,80) At the end of the novel, Welsh even tries to give up on understanding any of it, with one of the detectives having the revelation that all this trans stuff is 'a distraction, mate, a petty diversion from the real farking issues.' Really he would've been better off focusing on all the stuff about elite Tory abusers. He had some good lines about all of that, but it felt like his heart wasn't really in it, which is strange and sad because his previous work he was really able to dig into this kind of thing. Crime isn’t one of my favourites, and I blame the Miami sun for that. I prefer Welsh’s characters to be floating in the grey setting of Edinburgh, leaning into the darkness of the culture, and operating on familiar territory. So this sequel taking place on its rightful soil was a huge draw. Not that I’d have given it a miss otherwise, ken.Welsh said: “I was a bit wary about that at first because I thought it was kind of a layer of censorship, but actually it was very enlightening for me, very educational.” Lennox non si è mai davvero ripreso da un’aggressione che ne ha marchiato l’infanzia e i suoi incubi sono destinati a peggiorare, dovendo indagare sull’omicidio del deputato Ritchie Gulliver, brutalmente mutilato. Era un politico corrotto, razzista e pieno di nemici ma, rapidamente, i cadaveri si moltiplicano e il modus operandi non cambia, lasciando intendere la mente perversa di un serial killer. Finché, con la scomparsa di Fraser, il nipote dell’ispettore, tutto diventa dannatamente personale e i buoni propositi di Lennox per restare sulla retta via, vacillano pericolosamente. Probably what might have been is that it might’ve been shite. I can’t think of a working-class British writer who’s done massively well out of winning the Booker prize; it didn’t do [James] Kelman much good. A mio parere l’operazione gli riesce solo in parte, perché se l’atmosfera edimburghese è come sempre rappresentata in maniera ineccepibile, l’autore non sembra del tutto a proprio agio con gli stilemi del giallo/poliziesco: in primo luogo appare controproducente e fin troppo sfruttata la scelta di intervallare alla narrazione capitoli in cui uno degli efferati killer ripercorre in prima persona vicende ed antefatti. Così si svelano prematuramente gli aspetti più misteriosi delle azioni criminali, del loro movente e degli immancabili rituali connessi con gli omicidi seriali. Dopo un promettente revival con gli ultimi due romanzi ( L’artista del coltello[2016] e Morto che Cammina [2018]), Welsh mette ancora da parte, speriamo provvisoriamente, i personaggi che gli hanno conferito successo, fama e fans appassionati, cioè la banda di Trainspotting, seguiti e dintorni…

Irvine Welsh has described politicians as “grotesque” as he revealed his latest novel is already on its way to screens. Our November/December issue i s available in bookshops as well as Waitrose, WHSmiths, Booth’s and Easons. Premessa: con questo libro io e Irvine Welsh abbiamo festeggiato 30 anni di grande e smisurata amicizia. Correva infatti l'anno '93 quando ci conoscemmo grazie a Trainspotting. Questo solo per dire che ogni mio giudizio può essere influenzato da fattori quali l'affetto verso quel mondo e la conoscenza dei suoi personaggi e delle sue storie.The Long Knives (2022) is a sequel to Crime (2008) which in turn was a follow-up of sorts to Filth (1998). It works fine as a standalone novel. Ray Lennox pulls in a long breath. This fans rather than extinguishes the burning embers in his chest and calves. Fighting past the pain, he forces himself into a steady rhythm. At first it’s galling, then lungs and legs start working together like seasoned lovers rather than first-time daters. The crisp air carries the fresh whip of ozone. In Edinburgh, autumn often seems the default setting, no more than a rogue isobar away. But the towering trees are yet to shed, and weak sunlight dances through a canopy of leaves above him, as he bombs on down the footpath along the river. He told STV current affairs show Scotland Tonight at the Edinburgh International Book Festival: “We shot the first season based in part on the original book.

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