When reading this book what struck me the most was not the alcohol and drug abuse that can be read in many of Welsh’s other books but the social depression that is inflicted on to the people through experiences which can then lead them on to drugs, alcohol and smoking in an attempt to sooth their emotions.

A good reason seen from the chapters ‘The First Day of School’ and ‘Pished, Drugged, Laid’ for this depression would be the attitude towards women, as some of the characters portray them as toys either sexually or socially, leaving them feeling degraded and with a low self esteem. This can be thought as the cause towards the decaying thinking in the area having a knock on effect towards future generations through broken homes.