Boyracers

‘There is real emotion here, and gustiness . . . a feeling for language so passionate it shames the dullness of so many sentences that make it into print’ – Rosemary Goring, Sunday Herald

‘A breakneck dash through the backs streets of Falkirk . . . a comedy, almost a tragedy, a caustic look at what has passed for culture in the last decade’ – The Big Issue

‘An inspired look at life, in all its relentless tedium and occasional, glorious promise’ – The List

‘One of the best things I’ve read in ages’ – Ali Smith

‘Required reading for those who understand and live its message’ – The Herald


A breathtaking joyride through the formative years of four Falkirk teenagers, Boyracers races us through the main drag and suburbs, the pubs and clubs, and even the high-school precincts of Falkirk and its satellite towns. From Pink Floyd and peach schnapps to car crashes and Tom Cruise, Boyracers is an infectious, giddy journey based on acclaimed author Alan Bissett's own teenage years.

Born in Falkirk in 1975, Alan Bissett attended Falkirk High School before going on to gain a first-class degree in English Literature and Education at the University of Stirling. He then taught English in various secondary schools before returning to study at the University of Stirling. He then became a lecturer in creative writing at Bretton Hall College, part of the University of Leeds. Alan now lives in Glasgow. He teaches on the University of Glasgow’s MPhil creative writing course.

Alan Bissett is the author of two novels, Boyracers (Polygon, 2001) and The Incredible Adam Spark (Hodder Headline, 2005), and editor of a collection of gothic short stories, Damage Land: New Scottish Gothic Fiction (Polygon, 2001). Both his novels are set in his hometown of Falkirk and combine elements of popular culture and socialist politics with Scottish vernacular and idiom. He is currently writing his third novel.