I have read Brass, and bought it just because Helen Walsh's piece in The Observer was so fantastic. I felt that she really captured the feelings of any young female who got caught up (willingly) in the whole club culture. As someone who went to my first venture into that world- a warehouse party at the tender age of 14, and subsequently letting it take over my whole life, indeed sacrificing everything from school to family just to keep going out- i really felt she hit home in that article just how empty you feel when it is over. I loved her heartfelt and honest emotion, the way she openly admitted to treating her mother so badly in her quest to be part of something so special. I can clearly remember my mum's anguish when i would climb out of my bedroom window on a friday evening (armed with nothing but all my babysitting money, some deodarant, a can of hairspay, and of course the obligatory dewberry oil) not to return till late sunday night. Like Helen i was ignorant to others feelings- all that matterd was to be at my friends for pick up time. She echoed my sentiments exactly when she said she felt it was a secret she did not want to share, yet i times i remember almost bursing with pride and wanting to tell everyone what exactly i got up to at the weekends. But unfortunatly the warmth and compassion that she displayed in that article did not happen with 'Brass'.
The predominant problem with Brass was the main character 'Millie O'Riley', I did not like her, i saw nothing but anger and hatred. I disliked her to the point where i actually did not care what happened to her. I think that this was intentional on Walsh's part, she wanted the character to be so messed up from her years of clubbing that she was left drained and bitter, but unlike writers such as Irvine Welsh who sucessfully manage to create distasetfull charachters such as Juice Terry in 'Glue'- who although you find abhorrent you still feel some pull towards. I think that the problem is that Millie was not built up enough, Walsh did not elaborate on why she was fucked, Walsh simply portrayed her in my eyes as an annoying middle class brat with an attitude problem and an unremitting desire for underage female prostitues.
I am guessing that the whole underage thing was a direct link to what Walsh felt happened in her own life. I am presuming that by making Millie a sexual deviant in this way she is making a parrallel between entering the whole culture at puberty, and as the scene inevitably took over every aspect of her life, she feels in some way robbed of those initial sexual expeiriences that she missed, hence the desire to be sexual with a young girl (a subsitute, a mirror maybe for her former self). I apreciate this, but felt it was not explaned enough. Instead Millie came across as a sadistic perv who actually took pleasure in almost assaulting very young girls.
Overall i felt that the book relied far to heavily on shock tactics of sex and drugs. It was graphic on both accounts, although sometimes i felt that it was purley to be considered 'gritty' and 'raw', when in actual fact the sex scenes just came across as a Jackie Collins book set in Toxteth.
The ending was crap, really poor- like a hollywood film that might as well have 'to be continued' as the credits closed. I will read the follow up though, as the other lead character in the book, 'Jamie', Millie's best freind was a good bloke, belivable etc so i would like to know how his life pans out.
I would give this book 6 out of 10, saved from a bellow 5 by the good descriptions of freindships formed whilst clubbing, and the few good referrences to the aftermath of feelings that can occur after something amazing had ended.
And before anyone does any crazy qouting re: grammer/spelling (
) all i can say is its down to the fact that double english was on a monday morning and a friday afternoon
. I do not care, lol my english is weak but my memories are strong. And given the chance- i would do it all over again
you capture yr reader 
