The trick is to keep breathing by janis galloway

[skimmedmilk]

The trick is to keep breathing describes a drama teacher in Glasgow and how she manages to cope with the love of her life leaving her and then how she copes with the death of her newer lover on holiday.
She is bulimic and depressed and ends up in the psychiatric ward in a hospital, trying to get back to her own life.
I really enjoyed this book, though the style is very complicated to read. Don't give up on it. Once you get past the beginning, it becomes utterly beautiful. I promise.
7/10

[Purplerose]

its an amazing book Janice Galloway is one of the best Scottish writers I have read

[iscariiot]

i really didn't like it, i considered it for my dissertation, but thn i decided it wasn't anything to the likes of 'wasted' by marya hornbacher, stunning book...effin stunning, along the same lines, but much much deeper.

[REVOL]

originally posted by skimmed milk
Don't give up on it. Once you get past the beginning, it becomes utterly beautiful. I promise.

hmm... not sure I can agree. There's plenty of innovation in this book which makes it textually interesting (use of various fonts, sizes, words careering off the page, words you can't make out, etc. etc.) but as a novel, as a story to be read, I found it both depressing, and dull.

Often I can take depressing, (though I'd prefer books which arouse different responses, intrigue, suspense, humour, whatever) but I can't take dull. I read this as part of my fourth year at uni last year, an' all the time I was reading it I wanted it to be over.


Hasn't put me off her though, 'cos like I say, I liked her use of different styles and so on, so I have 'Foreign Parts' to read as well.

[Purplerose]

am just about to read foreign parts

[REVOL]

Would race ye... but you'd win.

[Henry Chinaski]

I read this years ago, and one of the interesting things for me was that the setting in North Ayrshire was very acccurate. Not really helpful to the broader audience who don't know the area, but it gave it a little extra something for me.
I can't honestly say I remember much more than that, but that's not necessarily a reflection on the book as much as it is on me, and the mountain of books I've read since then. I remember it being a bit heavy going for spells though.

[sylvianorth]

I read a good bit of it and I thought it was very draining. I might give it another go but....meh. To whoever mentioned "Wasted" I read a little bit of the sequel to it, and it seemed excellent. Is it any good do you know?