"As Starlight Grows Cold" by Conrad Xavier

This is a no-holds-barred account of life in an impoverished town in south-east England in the late 1990s. Karen 'Starlight' McCarthy lives with her alcoholic father; her friends are lesbian Rebecca and stripper Linda. Stalker and his gang of skinheads beat up Asian men and subscribe to Nazi ideologies. At the local hospital, porter Jonboy and manager Peterson (who has a weakness for cocaine and underage girls) vie for the affections of nurse Jenny Jenkins. 

It's raw, it's visceral, it's in your face. There are countless uses of the c-word and the f-words; there are scenes of racial abuse; there is endless misogyny and (mostly abusive) sex. This is not a book for those who are easily offended. 

There's a lot of dialogue which means that it often carries the burden of the narration. This often meant that the dialogue felt stilted and artificial, reducing the feeling of verisimilitude. There were dialogic markers to distinguish some characters (Jonboy, for example, had a distinctive way of talking) but by and large the characters sounded much the same. 

There was a clear distinction between 'goodies' and 'baddies'. This gave a feeling of one-dimensionality. Perhaps the only slightly complex character was Stalker who was a brutal thug but capable of surprisingly articulate argument but his intellectual side was only apparent so late on in the book that, rather than adding to his character it sounded out of character. With this exception, no-one had a character arc. These weaknesses tended to undermine the power of the narrative.

It might have been a better book if the cast of characters had been reduced so that the author could have concentrated on bringing them to life. There was a lot of incident, it was certainly action-packed. I read the book very quickly so it was, for me, a page turner.

Selected quotes:

• "I've walked through the turnstiles of life, seen the match and now I want a bleeding refund." (Ch 1)
• "The once thriving shopping centre had a large number of empty premises whilst those that still traded had worried owners staring out at each passer-by as if willing them to come in." (Ch 7)
• "A bare lightbulb hung precariously from the ceiling illuminating a landscape of broken boxes, castaway furniture, pieces of old piping, chains and a few long blades." (Ch 8)

Although I never quite believed in any of the characters, this is down-to-earth fiction with attitude. It's honest and brutal and packs a punch. 

This review was written by the author of Bally and Bro, Motherdarling  and The Kids of God