Marabou Stork Nightmares by Irvine Welsh

About the Book

Roy Strang is engaged in a strange quest in a surrealist South Africa. His mission is to eradicate an evil predator-scavenger bird, the marabou stork before it drives away the peace-loving flamingo from the picturesque Lake Torto.

But behind this world lies another: the world of Roy's bizarre family, the Scottish housing scheme in which he grew up, his mundane job, a disastrous emigration to Africa, and his youthful life of brutality with a gang of soccer casuals. As one world crashes into the other, this potentially charming story of ornithological goodwill mutates into a filthy tale of violence, abuse, and redemption.

Editorial Reviews

A superbly talented writer...anarchic and entirely invigorating― Scotsman

A wonderful success: a funny, cleverly composed, genuinely exciting and assured leap of a novel ― New Statesman

Extremely funny... As clever as Alasdair Gray, as elegant as Jeff Torrington, as passionate as James Kelman, Welsh has got it all - Tibor Fischer

Mind-bendingly good ― GQ

Our most vital of contemporary authors ― i-D

About the Author

Irvine Welsh

Probably most famous for his gritty depiction of a gang of Scottish Heroin addicts, Trainspotting (1993), Welsh focuses on the darker side of human nature and drug use. All of his novels are set in his native Scotland and filled with anti-heroes, small-time crooks, and hooligans. Welsh manages, however, to imbue these characters with sad humanity that makes them likable despite their obvious scumbaggerry. Irvine Welsh is also known for writing in his native Edinburgh Scots dialect, making his prose challenging for the average reader unfamiliar with this style.