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A Working Class State of Mind

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A Working Class State of Mind

By: Colin Burnett
Narrated by: Patrick Wallace
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About this listen

Written entirely in East Coast Scots, A Working Class State of Mind, the debut book by Colin Burnett, brings the everyday reality and language of life in Scotland to the surface.

Colin's fiction takes themes in the social sciences and animates them in vivid ethnographic portrayals of what it means to be working-class in Scotland today.

Delving into the tragic exploits of Aldo, as well as his long-suffering best friends Dougie and Craig, the book follows these and other characters as they make their way in a city more divided along class lines than ever before.

©2021 Colin Burnett (P)2021 Peter Burnett City Life Fiction Genre Fiction Urban World Literature Scotland

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brilliant debut novel by Colin Burnett. Witty, intelligent and full of great social comment.. The characters are strong and he sets the scene of Working Class life in Edinburgh superbly. can't wait to hear the next set of adventures by Aldo, Dougie and Craig. This gives Trainspotting a run for its money.

Fantastic listen

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Absolutely loved this book. Listened to the whole thing in one day. Perfectly captured the lives of working class men in the communities many of us grew up in. I was in tears of laughter at times, and was stopped dead in reflection at the “working class autobiography”. And all in the language we speak too. Brilliant. Simply Brilliant.

Gives Trainspotting a run for its money!

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Draws you right in to the working class world of people you actually relate to. From start to finish differ class!

Brilliant listen

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hilarious from start to finish a true description of working class Britian.LONG LIVE ALDO 🤣

a working class hero

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This was a joy to read and a delight to listen to. Despite the dark material, it is also hilariously funny with laugh out loud moments galore. The stories about anti hero Aldo goading a junior fitba goalkeeper, and caring for a dug are modern classics of the Scots Gothic genre, where you laugh but feel slightly guilty about laughing because of the subject matter. Scottish literature has always prided itself on its democratic pedigree - giving voice to sections of society which go unrecorded in many other countries. Colin Burnett is a new and bright young star in contemporary Scots letters, and I look forward to more excellent writing from him in the future. Read the book and/or listen to this brilliant narration. Whatever you do, don’t miss out on experiencing life through Aldo’s eyes. Scary but memorable. Billy Kay, February 2022.

A gallus anti hero is born.

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Despite my Glorious Glasgow accent this book represents Scotland

I understood every word and nuanced hate for Westminster ennobled fekwits.

Loved this

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Amazing book; outstandingly performed. I tried the printed version but my internal narration voice was inconsistent at best ( being, as I am a soft Londoner) the accent and dialect needed realising so, for me, this is a perfect example of where audio version wins. Some of the scenes ( eg job centre ) are so evocative and powerful. Laugh but also get angry.

Hilarious, brutal, moving

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Absolutely loved the book. It is so refreshing to read about working-class lives written by someone who 'feels' the oppression. My mum used to say, given a chance we could do more - 'we just accept our lot'. It brought a tear to my eye when I listened to that statement.

My only critique is that I wanted to listen longer, the characters made me feel like I had gone home.

Funny and heart-wrenching at the same time.

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Pure dead brilliant listen - youse’ll be crackin’ oop & carin’ a mint for th’ exploits of Arlo & Dougie. An dinnae forget aboot Broose!

Belter!

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Just as I was getting to know the characters, the story ran out. I really hope there’s more to come from Colin Burnett.
Written in Edinburgh Scots, this was really brought to life by the narrator, Patrick Wallace.
Forget the Trainspotting comparisons. These characters are just the sorts of folk you’d encounter on Edinburgh. I’m away to Tweet Colin to ask when the next book is coming out!

I really enjoyed this.

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