The Bigot, The Paperback – 1 Aug. 1995

1 of the funniest books ever. If you get it you get it

What a laugh great book very fast post thanks

Brilliant definitely of its time

Quick and easy X

Don't read if you get offended easily. Very funny.

Great book well written.

It's not difficult to see what James Barclay is trying to do here. Unfortunately for him, it would be better if you didn't. This poorly-written book is a shallow attempt to deal with the insidious evil of bigotry in an insidiously bigoted manner; attempting to use the disguise of humour to attribute blame for Scotland's social divisions anywhere but at the doorstep of his own malign house.Make no mistake here, this is anything but a flippant observation of Scottish society. Barclay shows himself to be nothing more than a bigot himself by pointing his poisoned finger at one side of the fence while absolving the other. People like Barclay perpetuate bigotry in Scotland and I'd recommend avoiding this book at all costs.

You can see what James Barclay is trying to do. The trouble is he might be better off if you didn't. Using humour to pull the wool over everyone's eyes while addressing endemic bigotry and doing so in such a way that he essentially absolves one side of the social equation (his own side) is both cynical and pathetic. If cheap and nasty social engineering is your thing then James Barclay will serve it up to you. On the other hand, if you want to retain either self-respect or an open mind, I'd advise leaving this trash in the gutter where it stems from. Oh, and by the way, it's about as funny as child abuse.