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. 

This book meant so, so much to me.

Easily a top ten addition to the collection of 33 1/3 books I've read in the series. Kinda like meeting with an old friend from high school. I'm surprised at how much I enjoyed the format of everyday narratives from misfits in Ohio and Pennsylvania experiencing the goth/industrial movement in the 90s/00s, interspersed with chapters of non-fiction text. And I would have never imagined this would contain a deep-dive into the birth and evolution of the Hot Topic franchise. Delightful!