3.3 stars if I can do that... :)A really gut-wrenching story and that speaks to the author's abilities that he made everything so real and emotional.
However, while I appreciate the attempt to make the story as life-like as possible with the Scottish vernacular, that is the main reason this book is not a 4 or even 5 for me.
I had to read this whole book "out loud" to myself in my head - which meant it took twice as long as normal and there were places where I didn't entirely understand every word.
Usually, I don't even "notice" that I'm reading, the story is just going on in my head - and here, the constant struggle to understand took a lot of the potential emotion out of the story for me.
And I actually used to live in Scotland, so I do know the slang and the different pronunciation :)
I think this would have been perfect as a radioplay or something similar. I must shamefully admit that I never saw the film, but I imagine it a much better medium for the story.
All in all, I thought it was a well-written book in a "bad" language!