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The Shoe focusses on Archie and his group of friends - The Mental Kid, not quite as unstable as his name suggests; Davie, settled with his fiancee, but not yet completely domesticated; and Richard, a friendly if aloof music snob. Stuck on the dole - or in Davie's case a back-breaking job beside some serious nutters - in a small town between the capital and the former city of culture, there's nothing to do but lose yourself in sport and music. The Shoe explores urban alienation, but without ever doing so in a deliberate way. It doesn't answer any questions, but does touch on many issues: some universal, such as frustrated political opinion stifled because of the lack of a political voice, and some specific to Scotland, such as The Mental Kid's umbrage at football sectarianism, except when denigrating 'the huns'. The only flaw is that some of the dialogue seems a little unrealistic when compared to, say, Irvine Welsh, and the characters can seem a little over-articulate. However. the way that bands are discussed, football teams criticised, and local thugs dissed more than compensates for this. It's written so effortlessly that it's possible to believe that Legge just decided to write about a typical Grangemouth weekend. If so, he picked a good one. Album reviews often highlight stand-out tracks, so for a book so obsessed with music, it's fitting to pick out Chapter 11 as the best part here, consisting of Archie's internal monologue as he strolls around town. Gordon Legge has praised Booker prize-winner James Kelman as an influence, and parts of The Shoe, especially here, are a little like Kelman-lite - not a criticism, as Kelman can be a touch dense to get to grips with. The Shoe, despite on the surface being a little book about not-very-much, is an excellent read that deserves as much recognition as Trainspotting or Laidlaw as a modern Scottish classic.
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