3.25 rating as a book overall, but in the ouvre of Welsh, it's more of a 2. There is definitely a hump you must get past, as the 1970/80s era narratives are so steeped in mindnumblingly horny no-gooder-boy inner dialogues that get tedious. Past halfway, the characterizations become much richer and you get a more satisfying picture of the Terry et. al universe. Too bad that ultimately, Juice Terry is such a vile and boot-worthy character (on par with Welsh's entertaining skill set) and the character of Kathryne the chanteuse is a bit embarassing in its single-dimension portrayal.