''Boyracers'' is the

debut novel A debut novel is the first novel a novelist publishes. Debut novels are often the author's first opportunity to make an impact on the publishing industry, and thus the success or failure of a debut novel can affect the ability of the author to p ...

of Scottish writer

Alan Bissett Alan Bissett (born 17 November 1975) is an author and playwright from Hallglen, an area of Falkirk in Scotland. After the publication of his first two novels, '' Boyracers'' and ''The Incredible Adam Spark'', he became known for his different t ...

. It was first published in 2001 by Edinburgh-based

Polygon Books Birlinn Limited is an independent publishing house based in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was established in 1992 by managing director Hugh Andrew. Imprints Birlinn Limited is composed of a number of imprint (trade name), imprints, including: *Birlin ...

. The plot concerns four male teenagers growing up in the town of

Falkirk Falkirk ( gd, An Eaglais Bhreac, sco, Fawkirk) is a large town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland, historically within the county of Stirlingshire. It lies in the Forth Valley, northwest of Edinburgh and northeast of Glasgow. Falkirk had a ...

, exploring the influences of

popular culture Popular culture (also called mass culture or pop culture) is generally recognized by members of a society as a set of practices, beliefs, artistic output (also known as, popular art or mass art) and objects that are dominant or prevalent in a ...

global capitalism Capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their operation for profit. Central characteristics of capitalism include capital accumulation, competitive markets, price system, priva ...

and

social class A social class is a grouping of people into a set of Dominance hierarchy, hierarchical social categories, the most common being the Upper class, upper, Middle class, middle and Working class, lower classes. Membership in a social class can for ...

on the lives of young people in contemporary Scotland. A tenth anniversary edition was produced in 2011. The same year, Bissett announced that he had finished work on a sequel entitled ''The Pack Men''.

Summary

The narrative centres on 16-year-old

resident Alvin and his adventures with three slightly older friends. Alvin’s formative development is tracked in the context of the group’s activities, including boy-racing around the town in a car called Belinda and engaging in debates about film and music. He spends much of his time at school attempting to gain the attention of Tyra, his love interest, but is constantly hindered by Connor Livingston, an upper-middle class prefect who mocks Alvin and sneers at his social class, whilst also being interested in Tyra himself. As the most intellectually gifted of the group, Alvin struggles with the dilemma of choosing to continue his generally enjoyable local life or to leave his friends and the town behind and attend University.

Critical reception

The book received a positive reception from critics in Scotland. ''

The Sunday Herald The ''Sunday Herald'' was a Scottish Sunday newspaper, published between 7 February 1999 and 2 September 2018. Originally a broadsheet, it was published in compact format from 20 November 2005. The paper was known for having combined a centre ...

'' said: "Full of youthful brio, Boyracers has become with the passage of time an unexpectedly bittersweet portrait of the world before 9/11”. ''

The Scotsman ''The Scotsman'' is a Scottish compact newspaper and daily news website headquartered in Edinburgh. First established as a radical political paper in 1817, it began daily publication in 1855 and remained a broadsheet until August 2004. Its par ...

'' noted that, upon publication of Boyracers, that Bissett “was hailed as the voice of a new generation in urban Scots writing”. '' The Herald'' said that the novel was “required reading for those who understand and live its message”. For the ''

Scottish Review of Books The ''Scottish Review of Books'' is a quarterly literary magazine published in Scotland. It was established in October 2004 with the support of the Scottish Arts Council. In 2009 it became a limited company with a board of directors, Scottish Rev ...

'', along with some of Bissett’s later works it “dramatised the tragicomic gap between media mirages of the good life and the cold reality we live in”.

Film adaptation

In 2009, it was reported by ''The Scotsman'' that the novel was in the process of being adapted into a feature film. On his official website in 2011, Bissett stated that the film had received funding from

Scottish Screen The Moving Image Archive is a collection of Scottish film and video recordings at the National Library of Scotland, held at Kelvin Hall in Glasgow, Scotland. There are over 46,000 items within the collection, and over 2,600 of these are publicly av ...

and would be produced by Hopscotch Productions. Hopscotch Productions described the film as “a fast and furious coming of age tale set in small town Scotland”, and announced on their website in 2011 that it would be developed in partnership with Scottish Government arts agency

Creative Scotland Creative Scotland ( gd, Alba Chruthachail ; sco, Creative Scotlan) is the development body for the arts and creative industries in Scotland. Based in Edinburgh, it is an executive non-departmental public body of the Scottish Government. The o ...

. He has visited some schools in the Falkirk area and read chapters of the book to them and asked for their opinion. He wrote about Hallglen in the book because not many people write a book about a place like Hallglen.

Editions

References

External links

Boyracers at Alan Bissett official website

Boyracers 10th anniversary edition at Polygon Books
{{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110929104725/http://www.birlinn.co.uk/book/details/Boyracers-9781846971785/ , date=29 September 2011 2001 British novels Scottish novels Novels set in Scotland Novels by Alan Bissett Scottish bildungsromans Culture in Falkirk (council area) 2001 debut novels Polygon Books books