The Black Dog: The life-affirming debut novel from one of Britain's most-loved comedians

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A truly brilliant book, the best ARC I’ve read this year, a sure in for my top 10 books of the year. The language used is very Glasgow but not over done, it is one the few books set Glasgow that uses language that is widely spoken in Glasgow.

Le illustrazioni sono qualcosa di fenomenale, ricchissime di dettagli ed estremamente suggestive, proprio come in una fiaba. Si potrebbe guardare ogni disegno per ore, perché i dettagli sono così numerosi e particolareggiati, interessanti, curiosi, simpatici che anche il più piccolo angolo della pagina racchiude una storia in sé. Le illustrazioni colorate sono bellissime, con il loro contrasto tra i colori caldi e saturi degli interni e il freddo delle ambientazioni esterne, dove a prevalere sono il bianco della neve e il nero del cane ,con la sola eccezione del puntolino giallo che è il cappottino di Small Hope, che sembra quasi dipingere con i suoi saltelli e le sue corse il paesaggio, portando il colore e il calore della famiglia anche nei luoghi desolati e freddi dove si trova il cane nero.I’m a huge fan of Kevin Bridges’ comedy, which tends to feature comedic tales. Based on his stand up, I viewed him as a gifted storyteller. So I was beyond excited to read his first work of fiction and I was not disappointed! Depression had been in and out of my life since my late 20’s and I invested huge amounts of energy in covering it up. People warned me against creating such a book, that I would lose my job, respect from others, responsibilities and even friends but I have to say that apart from marrying my wife and having my children; this was one of the best things I’d ever done with my life. Not only did it set me free but I began to live my life authentically. The biggest lesson in all this for me was helping others is one of the greatest ways we can help ourselves. This is an odd, but entertaining story about a family who perceives a dog to be bigger and bigger until the smallest child finally goes out to meet him. It is a wonderful tale about confronting fears and how some things can appear to be more terrible than they really are. For me Glasgow is captured perfect in this book, it is not over the top with the no mean city stereotype or doesn’t romanticise places he just writes like it is, your slightly overbearing maw who loves you dearly but would boot your arse gladly.

However, people like Richard Osman and now Kevin Bridges have convinced me that it is not always a bad thing. That some people's talents can move away from their day job into a new field and can be a success. Also, the final scene is beyond words. An absolutely, unexpected but hilarious ending which is just what the book required. Levi Pinfold was born in the Forest of Dean. From a young age he loved books and comics and spent many of his days drawing and writing his own stories. I just LOVED this book – it’s written in large chunks, from each of the main characters’ points of view, rather than in shorter chapters and this works really well. There’s an openness in the characters that an alternative format might not have allowed.Both Declan's and James's lives are in trouble but maybe a chance meeting will give them both an opportunity to inspire each other to greatness..... Wonderful story about how fear can cause something to grow out of proportion and about confronting fears. The name of the heroine, Small Hope, is a little obvious but works nonetheless. Kevin Bridges has made a name for himself as a stand-up comedian and grew up in Clydebank - so not technically Glasgow , but close enough to have a good understanding of the kindof lives described in this story. The are elements of humour but very much from the darker end of the spectrum, and some of the language and behaviour reflects the toxic masculinity and misogyny that can be rife in small town communities in the west of Scotland. A life-affirming debut novel from one of Britain's most-loved comedians, Kevin Bridges - exploring dysfunctional friendships, family, and how to face your problems head on. There's a couple of slight downsides with the plot for me. Everyone is scared of a massive dog outside the house. The tiniest child goes out to befriend the beast. As this is a book aimed at small children I wasn't sure this was an altogether good message, there's a massive dog that everyone is scared of so you could be seen as a hero to go and make friends with it? However much you love dogs small children do need to know that you can't just go up to a dog you don't know like that. A good opportunity to discuss this maybe. Another part where the child lures the dog onto thin ice is a bit problematic too, not a good idea for little ones to walk on frozen ponds and there is some name calling about the dog being fat and having a big tum. I do get a bit tired of the clever child/ silly adult storyline, I think this is patronising to children and misleading, they do need to listen to adults sometimes, especially in dangerous situations. But those things aside this is a lovely and inventive story of a child befriending a dog. The change of size throughout the story was fun and the illustrations of the dog are very endearing.

And although I was eager to find out the fate of our characters, the plot sometimes felt as though it dragged along without purpose. A strong start and an excellent ending, but somewhere in the middle I began to lose concentration. Overall, we thought this was a very humorous tale and we enjoyed reading it together. I liked it even more when I read it a second time the next morning. There are so many details in the pictures that I simply overlooked when I read it the first time. Such a charming little story. As I said, there is a focus on mental health, and especially the kind of poor mental health that comes out of modern life – I will leave you with the quote from the book that I felt most distilled what I’ve often tried to articulate:Some the observations made are bang on and further show that Kevin has far from forgotten where he is from I particularly like the c##t comment and irony about the westend. The more deeper observations about the male mental health struggle, the social mobility in our society, the moral issues of crime and general state of Scotland are subtle but make the point clear, this for me a real skill and is hard to achieve for even well established authors. I’m not saying it’s a bad book or the writing is bad or anything like that, it’s just not my type of thing. I enjoyed the characters but I also felt like I had no idea what the book was trying to achieve until I got to the second half.

Our list of contributors is second to none, and includes numerous award-winning authors and scholars. Some of our past contributors include F. Paul Wilson, Bill Pronzini, Robert Weinberg, James Reasoner, Bill Crider, Robert J. Randisi, Gerry Conway, and Will Murray. I love this book. Brilliantly drawn, believable characters of raw heart and honesty. Cannot recommend enough.' Matt Coyne One of Glasgow’s most strongly held opinions is that Kevin Bridges is an excellent storyteller. As you sit in the audience at one of his shows, you are being taken on a journey through Kevin’s mind as he weaves hilarious tales for you, bringing you along with him to familiar places and introducing you to people who you would come across anywhere in Scotland. This book is funny, heartwarming, touching, moving, smart and just brilliant in both terms of the plot and characters. I am still laughing at the ending, a true laugh out loud read. WONDERFUL children's book. This would be a joy to read aloud. The family's dialogue has a comforting feel to it, with just enough repetition so kids can get familiar or help in the storytelling. There are even a few rhymes that could be put to a tune, if you chose to do so.This book is a character lead novel,for sure, although the story/plot itself would still be good even without such well written characters the fact the characters are so well developed is a added bonus.