The Black Dog: The life-affirming debut novel from one of Britain's most-loved comedians

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I’m sure that Kevin Bridges can do better; his autobiography was hilarious and he remains one of my favourite comedians. There’s been a lot about Kevin Bridges in the press at the moment, thanks to the release of this, his debut novel, and he has been very upfront in talking about his own struggles with poor mental health, so that perhaps gives you an indication that this book features mental health very heavily as the motivation behind much of what the main characters do.

The Black Dog by Kevin Bridges | Hachette UK

It’s not laugh-out-loud funny – although most characters talk and think with a mordant wit, and the conclusion is certainly a strong comic image. Don't get me wrong, there are plenty of f***ing b******s and c***s in this book however it did not come across as gratuitous but in line with typical Glaswegian humour and language. Indeed, he’s spoken about his mental health struggles as part of the pre-publication publicity for this title.His only mates are the level-headed Doof Doof and his pet Labrador Hector… a more literal black dog. Kevin Bridges is a comedian I find absolutely hilarious and this book isn’t actually what I expected. This brings him into conflict with a couple of local drug dealers, including a former friend who now acts like he doesn’t know him anymore.

The Black Dog: The life-affirming debut novel from one of

The are elements of humour but very much from the darker end of the spectrum, and some of the language and behaviour reflects the toxic masculinity and misogyny that can be rife in small town communities in the west of Scotland. Like he’s trying too hard to show off his literary skills, and forgetting it’s story that readers want.There’s nothing I love more than reading a book written by a comic as they are (99% of the time) incredible storytellers. Immensely readable, fast moving and an insight into two sides of Kevin Bridges, I really enjoyed it. I’m his greatest fan, I seriously split my sides at his observational commentary stand-up routines, and recognise he’s a genius at earning millions from laughter. Watching Kevin, I was sure he was born to be a stand-up comic, but reading his book it is clear he can do absolutely anything he sets his mind to.

The Black Dog : Book reviews 2022 : Chortle : The UK Comedy Guide The Black Dog : Book reviews 2022 : Chortle : The UK Comedy Guide

There, his path crosses Cavani’s, as the star is visiting his sister, who struggles with drug addiction. Instead it’s a multiple character study, conveyed with warmth, understanding and an optimism that even if circumstances seem bad, no conclusion is inevitable in life (even if Bridges does deploy coincidence to resolve things, it is at least credible coincidence). Given it’s the author’s first proper novel, it gets the benefit of the doubt as being OK, as it had a few decent parts. It has all the nuances of a piece of Glasgow fiction – the language, the passion for football, drugs, and a dream of becoming something more. He cancels his meeting and interviews, to the fury of his agent, and books the next flight to Glasgow.Anyway, after delivering it, he is mortified and gets drunk and does something stupid to the wrong person in the pub which sets off a chain of events which kinda spirals out of his control. We meet him at Dunkin Donuts in JFK airport as he awaits a flight back to London for the press junkets to promote his latest release. The more deeper observations about the male mental health struggle, the social mobility in our society, the moral issues of crime and general state of Scotland are subtle but make the point clear, this for me a real skill and is hard to achieve for even well established authors. Arriving in London to promote his latest film, he gets a text saying his sister has been taken to hospital unconscious after a drug overdose.

Kevin Bridges on The Black Dog: Drug deaths no laughing Kevin Bridges on The Black Dog: Drug deaths no laughing

This book is funny, heartwarming, touching, moving, smart and just brilliant in both terms of the plot and characters.The scenes with Declan are almost readable, the ones with James are not; the end reveal with Lisa is silly (who didn’t see that coming? Maybe I was expecting this book to be funny, or even a dark portrayal of Glasgow subculture à la Irvine, Welsh. I found Cavani the more interesting character here even if Declan did grow on me in the later parts of the book. This was actually a darker, more serious story than I expected (even though I thought the title was a reference to depression). If, though, a character is sitting at airports and on flights and in cars, or in therapy, for a huge chunk of the book, as poor Cavani does, then the writing must be vital and original for the reader to make the journey, too.