A gamey, pungent, vulgar sprawl of a novel, somewhere in the hinterland where Damon Runyon meets James Joyce

Swing Hammer Swing! is a great novel

A crazily good read... this [is a] fantastic first novel

It is such a good novel, with such energy of language and gift for striking off memorable scenes, that its appearance at any time would be welcomed . . . It prompts reflection on how much it would have benefited Scottish writers if 20 years ago a novel had been published with Jeff Torrington's absolute lack of compromise or temporising explanation in the use of Glasgow material and dialect

This might be the Gorbals, and the banter might be exchanged on the steps of tramp-haunted urinals, but the reference points are Nietzsche, Pascal, Chekhov and Sartre'

Strikes a blow for Scottish literature in particular and non-metropolitan writing in general... Jeff Torrington has made language new. Hats off!

This is the rare sort of novel that a reviewer resents not being able to quote in its entirety

Torrington has a wonderful eye for this abandoned underworld, but above all this is a triumph of dialect, poetry, obscenity and high culture. Another great Scottish novel

A beautiful and moving novel, as sweeping, intimate and mysterious as life itself

The most extraordinary work of fiction I've read in a long time... If you're looking for a book that's simple and subtle, warmly human and at the same time utterly pitiless in his rendition of the vicissitudes of an ordinary existence, here's one you will read again and again

Unquestionably one of the finest novels of the 20th century, its genius lies in its candour and in prose that simmers with subtle intent.

The word-of-mouth hit of the summer. Read it and you’ll see why

It’s as if this novel is about all of us: our hopes, disappointments and sorrows… a lesson in values, told with love and awe

A wonderful novel, rich and sombre, a record of pain and less but also of moments of vision and tenderness... flawless

This short-but-striking novel quickly reveals itself to be…crime fiction, yes, but also a subtle and deeply introspective consideration of the inertia of lonely middle-age, its philosophy existentialist in the manner of Jean Paul Sartre, Ingmar Bergman and certain novels of Georges Simenon. The result is a highly complex and accomplished work

Intriguing tale… Solstad expertly navigates the bizarre mind of a clever but lonely man locked in an existentialist nightmare

This is no straightforward crime novel…an exploration of guilt, inaction and moral quandaries