Reviews

Falls Out In The Middle

I found the beginning of Meantime to be interesting, humorous and full of classic Frankie Boyle character, but somewhere in the middle it lost me. It became boring and tedious and lost the charm of the start. The ending was good enough for me to finish, but I don't feel any excitement or eagerness for more and don't really feel any attachment to the characters.

Unless you're interested in the Scottish setting or are desperate for a mediocre crime story, I'm not sure if I'd bother with this one.

sophieadair's review against another edition

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3.0

I loveeeee Frankie Boyle, and there's so much humour in this book i did enjoy it. Although with so many themes going on, conspiracy theories, political theories, drug problems and outlining the struggles in scotland I really felt like the murder (the subject of the book) was kind of lost along the way.

seanantrob's review against another edition

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5.0

It was a challenging read. But in an excellent way! I wanted to gulp the book down in great draughts but had to force myself to breathe and savour every moment, fearful I'd miss one of the gems of insight, wisdom or humour that glitter on every page. A true delight to read. As a recovering addict myself, the drug scenes, though comical, shine a light on how harrowing and chaotic dependence can be. Frankie deals with addiction with great humour and a deft, knowing touch while leaving us in no doubt of the torment it leaves in its wake - or, indeed, the torment that informs the addiction in the first place. The evolution of the characters works wonderfully, especially Felix: piecing together his personal story is on a par with trying to solve the crime he's investigating. Even the bit-part characters have immediate impact and Greg, in particular, made me laugh out loud more than most (and laughing out loud at a book is rare experience for me). Genius work. Clever, funny, compassionate and satisfying. I hope he writes another.

leewreads's review against another edition

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2.0

I attempted this book on 5 separate occasions, before relinquishing to listening to it in Audiobook form. I recommend it highly.

This was a gift to me, and one of those “I need to finish it, since someone bought it for me” situations.

2/3’s of this book were a struggle for me, which was crazy considering my admiration for Irvine Welsh, and the like. When asked by the gift-buyer what was not great, I could not find a solid answer, but it just felt off. It could have been there “here’s a drug I took, here’s what it does” sub-stories, or the fact that even at the end of this book I did not have a scooby what truly made Marina be murdered.
The best of this book comes in the Edinburgh Castle - Danny sections.

Additional note - every time Beloved Intelligence, or AI was mentioned I wanted to take bite out of my page, boo.

rocket_frog's review against another edition

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I couldn’t follow the plot; it takes place in 2015 Scotland and many of the references went over my head.

Content Warnings

paulh1's review against another edition

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funny informative reflective sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

kpcrossy's review against another edition

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3.0

3/5 ⭐️: started well and drew me in. Does move more slowly towards the middle/end. Plot isn’t very tight, but this is still an enjoyable story with some good Scottish humour!

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