The Blade Artist is a 2016 novel by Scottish writer

Irvine Welsh Irvine Welsh (born 27 September 1958) is a Scottish novelist, playwright and short story writer. His 1993 novel '' Trainspotting'' was made into a film of the same name. He has also written plays and screenplays, and directed several short fil ...

. The story follows on from Welsh's previous novels, '' Trainspotting'' and '' Porno'', catching up with Begbie's past and present.

Synopsis

Begbie, going by the name of Jim Francis, is now a Scottish expatriate artist in California and returns to Scotland for his murdered son's funeral. His wife Melanie slowly comes to terms with Jim's dark past.

Critical reception

The novel was reviewed in many newspapers. It received mostly good reviews. In a review for ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was f ...

'', Orlando Bird called it "lean, clever and propulsive". Meanwhile, Hannah McGill of ''

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 pare ...

'' commended Welsh's perceptive description of the "divisions that rend families, and the minor lies and delusions that sustain relationships" Writing for ''

The London Magazine ''The London Magazine'' is the title of six different publications that have appeared in succession since 1732. All six have focused on the arts, literature and miscellaneous topics. 1732–1785 ''The London Magazine, or, Gentleman's Monthly I ...

'', Erik Martiny called it a "resourceful, engagingly lively novel", but stressed that its "main interest derives less from its detective novel scenario than from Welsh’s ability to explore his protagonist’s inner struggle to contain the beast within." In the ''

Oxonian Review ''The Oxonian Review'' is a literary magazine produced by postgraduate students at the University of Oxford. Every fortnight during term time, an online edition is published featuring reviews and essays on current affairs and literature. It is ...

'', Callum Seddon suggested the novel was "a take on the established trope of ‘ the double’ in Scottish literature". Meanwhile, Sunil Badami of ''

The Australian ''The Australian'', with its Saturday edition, ''The Weekend Australian'', is a broadsheet newspaper published by News Corp Australia since 14 July 1964.Bruns, Axel. "3.1. The active audience: Transforming journalism from gatekeeping to gatew ...

'' assessed that the novel was "lean and purposeful", and a quick read. Reviewing it for ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'', Sarah Ditum suggested the characters were "unconvincing". She added, "As detective fiction it’s shakily assembled, as a horror novel it can’t outpace cinematic torture porn, and as social realism it routinely sends its own plausibility up in smoke."

Adaptation

In December 2021,

Robert Carlyle Robert Carlyle (born 14 April 1961) is a Scottish actor. His film work includes '' Trainspotting'' (1996), ''The Full Monty'' (1997), ''The World Is Not Enough'' (1999), ''Angela's Ashes'' (1999), '' The Beach'' (2000), ''28 Weeks Later'' (20 ...

confirmed that he would be reprising the role of Begbie in a spin-off miniseries which would be based on ''The Blade Artist''.

References

2016 British novels Novels by Irvine Welsh Novels set in California Novels set in Scotland Trainspotting Jonathan Cape books {{2010s-novel-stub