Some novels are worth reading as the plot is great, even if the writing style is a little suspect; others feature superb writing, even though the plot isn't much to write home about. McIlvanney's The Kiln falls into the latter category.

The book begins with a man sitting alone in his flat in Warriston, Edinburgh and reflecting on what he views as the formative year of his life - the summer of the Kiln. That year he left school, had a summer job making bricks, began university and embarked upon his first meaningful relationships with women. He began to move from his working class, 1950s childhood in the West of Scotland and towards a writing career. That storyline may sound, and is, unremarkable, but the quality of Mcllvanney's writing, his insight into human emotion and motivation, his eye for detail and and twist of phrase ("a self-fulfilling idiocy") that makes this a novel well worth reading. ( )