The Papers of Tony Veitch (Laidlaw Trilogy Book 2)

Who would dislike the old man enough to do that or what did he know that posed a threat to someone. What was the connection between him and the missing wealthy student Tony Ve I liked this even more than the first Laidlaw book, and that's saying quite a bit. What was the connection between him and the missing wealthy student Tony Veitch? It's a good story, complex and well thought out, but the best things about the book are the main characters - Laidlaw and Glasgow. We learn more about Laidlaw's character - why he left the University after passing his first year. Coming from a background not dissimilar to Lawrence's, he thought he saw fairly clearly how Lawrence had put out his eyes with visions rather than grapple with reality that was staring him in the face And after the tour of Glasgow high and low, wealthy and destitute that the case involves, "Rectitude is a sanctimonious bastard, Laidlaw thought.

It would unravel the jumpers from its shivering children's backs to knit gloves for public charity. It's an excellent book on its own, but even better as the companion to Laidlaw. Recommended to Xabier by: St Ninians Library Book Club. I have heard many times that sentence of being more fun a funeral in Glasgow than a wedding in Edinburgh, and I could not be certain about what was first, if Glasgow as a myth of a city of violence, gangs and humour, summarized in that comparison between the two rival cities, or Laidlaw and McIlvanney's novels; it looks to me as hard to split one of the other as it is to separate Scotland from Scott.

As I really love Glasgow, this is a novel I also must love. Violent, and very hard to read for a I have heard many times that sentence of being more fun a funeral in Glasgow than a wedding in Edinburgh, and I could not be certain about what was first, if Glasgow as a myth of a city of violence, gangs and humour, summarized in that comparison between the two rival cities, or Laidlaw and McIlvanney's novels; it looks to me as hard to split one of the other as it is to separate Scotland from Scott.

Violent, and very hard to read for a non-Glaswegian speaker I wonder what would happen to a reader that had no contact whatsoever with that city and its language. But, hey, do not take too seriously that violence, physical, linguistic, economic, as this is fake too. As one of the Book Club members, Barbara, said this morning, that "eerie faerie" philosophy of a policeman is irritating, but only if we consider it true. This is not just fiction, but a series of genre motifs, like the policeman-philosopher, the loving woman, the Marxist student, and that city of violence and humour.

The Papers of Tony Veitch - Wikipedia

I am very glad for having read it. The foundations of the Tartan Noir lay on this novel on its trilogy , apparently, and I cannot be surprised: May 04, Alex rated it really liked it. I think WM maybe one of the very best English-language crime writers alive That said, I had a bit of a problem following the plot here. And I'm willing to take resp. It wasn't super-clear to me why the papers of Tony Veitch were impt, and I have to say, keeping the rival Glasgow gangs, and their complicated allegiances, straight, was a challenge for me. Cdn't they have worn, like, pinneys, or something?

Jul 29, Steven rated it it was amazing. Descriptions to die for. Bella sorpresa questo thriller di William McIlvanney e una nuova umanissima figura di detective da aggiungere ai nostri preferiti. Jun 27, Joe Kosarek rated it it was amazing.

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The second book was as lyrical as the first. Feb 05, R.

The Papers of Tony Veitch (Laidlaw Trilogy 2) by William McIlvanney

The second Laidlaw from the 'Godfather of Tartan Noir'. Laidlaw with his existential angst is a wonderful creation. The novel itself is compelling with its marvelously drawn characters. McIlvanney is particularly good at painting villains and the menace they exude. A lesser writer would give you cliches and explain too much. McIlvanney trusts his readers to follow his intricate plots. The writing is superb. The crime novel elevated to literature. He writes on page It's so neat, it's like a preconception. One thing you can be sure about any preconception. If there's a God and he tried to preconceive the world, he got it wrong.

If you tried to imagine taking a walk down the street you know the best, you couldn't come near the reality of doing it. There's always the bit of paper blowing you couldn't have imagined. May 14, Roger Brunyate rated it liked it Shelves: Cops and Crooks on the Clyde Detective work was a delicate symbiosis with the criminal world, a balancing of subtle mutual respects.

In other words, with a foot in each camp. Which pretty well sums up the attitude of both McIlvanney and his detective, Jack Laidlaw. Except that the words "delicate" and "subtle" apply incongruously to Glasgow, a tough but vibrant city that "danced among its own debris. The drunkenness and dereliction, certainly, the simmering mayhem, the fact that "you never knew where the next invasion of your privateness was coming from.

But I have no familiarity with the dark bars in dangerous corners of the city, run by one criminal kingpin or another, and used as meeting places by their henchmen. I noted in McIlvanney's first novel of the series, called simply Laidlaw , that he approached his story from both ends: In this one, though, the proportions are much more even.

In the first part of the book at least, until cops and crooks begin to get involved with one another one on one, there might even be more time spent with the criminals than the police. And such a range of them: Big John Rhodes and Cam Colvin, the two rival bosses, and almost a dozen followers, wannabes, and hangers-on. My main trouble with the book is that I found it difficult to distinguish between them all as personalities, and could see relatively little psychological interest in people driven equally by violence and differing only in their ability to control it.

The case hardly matters. Three people are dead: Their deaths seem connected, though maybe it is only Laidlaw who thinks so. Certainly, he is the only one who refuses to wrap it up. That line amazed me, because I did not think it simple but well-night impenetrable. Indeed, it was the ultimate solution that I found simplistic, and certainly not enough to resolve the many psychological issues of the book, which required another three chapters to put to rest. For William McIlvanney is not only a very good writer, but psychologically acute too.

This is the greatest strength of the book. It is full of remarks like "The more desperate the talker, the more effectively he defines his own silence. And what he wouldn't give her, a sense of her own worth separate from him, was precisely what would nail her to him.

So, from just a couple of pages: Feb 05, Antenna rated it liked it. The second in a series of novels involving Detective Jack Laidlaw, this can be read as a freestanding novel. Laidlaw is no saint: Linked to this is the powerful sense of place, bringing Glasgow alive even for those who have never visited it. Examples of the striking prose: I used to tell him daft things. Like eating porridge out of a drawer. I agree with reviewers who have suggested that the book would have benefitted from being longer.

I often found the use of different viewpoints clunky, the dialogues artificial, the characters caricatured, the plot somewhat plodding. Feb 28, Peter Pinkney rated it it was amazing. This is so much more than a crime novel. This is a study of life in Glasgow, and the people who inhabit that city.

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Having lived near Glasgow nearly forty years ago, I can recognise the types. McIlvanney puts you inside the characters' heads, and makes you feel a part of the story. The book is littered with great metaphors, very like Raymond Chandler does. In fact he is often compared to Chandler, and known as the Scottish Chandler. Great though Chandler is, I think he should be known as the Americ This is so much more than a crime novel. There are also some very funny and poignant lines-" my mother was so soft, she'd get in extra cheese if she knew there was a moose in the hoose".

Sep 06, Wal. Schottenrock Ein Obdachloser wird schwerkrank in die Klinik von Glasgow eingeliefert. The Best Books of Check out the top books of the year on our page Best Books of Looking for beautiful books? Visit our Beautiful Books page and find lovely books for kids, photography lovers and more. Other books in this series. Strange Loyalties William McIlvanney.

McIlvanney lays bare the soul of Glasgow, capturing every nuance of its many voices -- Alex Gray McIlvanney paints a world of harsh reality, but does so in language that is strangely beautiful and hauntingly poetic. Every time you mention the Laidlaw series I swear I will get hold of the first one and then forget.

The Papers of Tony Veitch

That will make me read it. I hope you enjoy it — in fact. The second, The Papers of Tony Veitch, came very close to matching it in quality. So for me, this one had a couple of hard acts to […]. You are commenting using your WordPress. You are commenting using your Twitter account. You are commenting using your Facebook account. Notify me of new comments via email. Notify me of new posts via email. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

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A hodgepodge of happenings… Friday Frippery! Book spine poetry… Friday Frippery! William McIlvanney But oddly, what this story is most about is love. Previous Post Waterstones Event: Next Post Tuesday Terror! Okay, so the professor now knows why FEF is always mean with the professor. I may want to, actually! Of course you can. Girls can risk such things. Good — my brainwashing must be working… Not Glasgow girls!!