The Long Knives (The CRIME series, 2)

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Our November/December issue i s available in bookshops as well as Waitrose, WHSmiths, Booth’s and Easons. The Long Knives is the second in a trilogy about Edinburgh detective Ray Lennox, following 2008’s Crime. 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) If I’m just sitting there typing away thinking ‘this is nice, this is nice’ and nothing’s happening, then nothing’s going to happen for the reader either,” he said.

And you absolutely cannot beat the feeling when one of the Trainspotting boys makes a cameo appearance. The excitement when I realised was similar to the feeling of him winking at me when I was sitting waiting for the Trainspotting stage show to start. Unreal. 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. 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. Welsh shows us a lot of human affliction here; a classic offering from him. We visit transphobia, substance abuse, sexual assault, and see a range of political commentary. We’re shown the climate by anti-establishment folks trapped in a system which won’t allow them to behave how they like, and we’re treated to effective demonstrations of how those on the higher rungs are protected. Cosa succede quando un esponente politico conservatore piuttosto noto viene brutalmente assassinato attraverso l'evirazione? E quando qualche tempo prima un altro pezzo grosso stava per subire la stessa sorte? Qualcuno tende a mettere i bastoni tra le ruote a chi indaga per non scoprire altri altarini sordidi. Ha senso andare avanti? Alla fine chi ha il coltello dalla parte del manico sembra farla sempre franca, a meno che non incontri qualcuno che ha parecchio da vendicare.

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Suscita inoltre un certo fastidio o quanto meno un distacco di partecipazione (ma forse è solo una mia personale idiosincrasia…) il fatto che il nocciolo dell’intera trama poliziesca sia costruito sul tema dei crimini sessuali più disumani, la violenza sui minori e la redenzione affidata a una vendetta perseguita per anni e messa in atto con una ferocia non inferiore a quella dei criminali primari.

No, I’ve learned how to do that down the years. I didn’t know how to write a novel when I wrote Trainspotting. I had these loose stories that seemed to be heading somewhere; the start was going on too much about how they became junkies, so I cut it and went straight into their world and ended it with a heist ending I thought would be dramatic. Then I went on to The Acid House – more stories. Marabou Stork Nightmares was my first attempt at a conventional novel but it turned out quite experimental. I was just messing around in those first few books. They were probably the best ones, because then you learn how to write and you end up writing like everybody else [laughs].

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After the life Gulliver has led, the suspects are many: corporate rivals, political opponents, the countless groups he's offended. And the vulnerable and marginalised, who bore the brunt of his cruelty - those without a voice, without a choice, without a chance. 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. Certain things did change. There’s certain things I just got wrong; I’m happy to be corrected. Other things [other responses] were quite affirmative. It was nice to have the motivation for what I was doing understood. 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.

You have the book out and a few days later we start filming [it]. We’re in pre-production now, so it’s kind of record time.” 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. The story goes that Trainspotting stood to be Booker-shortlisted in 1993 until two judges threatened to quit. Do you ever think what might have been?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…