Irvine Welsh's latest novel is a prequel to his first (Trainspotting) and introduces us to a group of young working class men coming of age in Edinburgh at the dawn of Thatcherism. We find Mark Renton studying at Aberdeen University, seemingly divided between his new student life and his old friends from 'the schemes' – docile Spud Murphy, Simon 'Sick Boy' Williamson and the monstrous Frank Begbie.  Personal tragedies and political failures create a perfect storm and when  Renton and friends start dabbling in heroin they find out just how hard it is to say no....

The quality of Welsh's writing in this book blew me away and I found myself wondering which authors had influenced him. A bit of internet research revealed the answer – surprisingly – to be Jane Austen.

Granted, there's a huge difference in subject matter – one author writes about heroin addicts living in 'schemes' (housing estates) in twentieth century Edinburgh, the other concerns herself with young ladies of marriageable age in Regency England but what both authors share is an acute observation of social interaction and discourse, a talent for characterisation and a wry sense of humour.  Just as Austen depicts a certain type of society in the seventeenth century, with a keen eye and dry wit, so Welsh brings those same talents to bear for a somewhat different type of society in the twentieth.