The Young Team: Granta Best of Young British Novelists 2023

Product Information

The Cry” producer Synchronicity Films has optioned the rights to Graeme Armstrong’s acclaimed debut novel “The Young Team,” with BAFTA-winning “The Last Czars” helmer Adrian McDowall on board to direct. Graeme Armstrong is a vital voice in Scottish fiction deserving of the recognition and accolades afforded to a young Irvine Welsh. I first came across this author a few months back when he was presenting a BBC documentary, which then drew my attention to this novel.

The Young Team - Graeme Armstrong - Google Books The Young Team - Graeme Armstrong - Google Books

This book is about the people that the system leaves behind and the different paths they might take.Armstrong brings them all to life and really nails why they are stuck in this cycle of drink, drugs and violence. The story turns on 15-year-old Alan ‘Azzy’ Williams, who joins the Young Team (YTP) just as a brutal conflict with their rivals, the Young Toi (YTB) escalates. People were interested in my story and the authenticity but some were very hesitant to commit to a novel in that dialect. From the days of sitting in the Orange, watching Rangers win the title in ‘05, that feeling of belonging and brotherhood, the forging of those ties on scorching summer evenings, passing the Buckie round with the tunes blaring.

Graeme Armstrong on The Young Team, gang - The Skinny Graeme Armstrong on The Young Team, gang - The Skinny

Would you agree that there’s a certain nostalgia for your time in gangs that comes through in the book? I could almost have been there as the tension built around this violent and unpredictable life of drink, drugs, raves and fights, sometimes with tragic consequences.There are a lot of really interesting insights into classism in Scotland and Graeme emphasises that the people in this situation are no less intelligent than anyone else, even though people treat them like they are. Graeme often finds himself looking back at one of his proudest moments; his retired headteacher Mr McIver turning up to the launch of The Young Team at Waterstones last , his face beaming with pride. He then enrolled in a Masters in creative writing to develop his novel with author Janice Galloway as his mentor. Set in the Lanarkshire housung schemes and centred around Azzy Williams, the narrator and a member of The Young Team, he draws you in and you have no way of escaping. Azzy is as vulnerable as any young man, suffering in silence when asked to express his feelings: “A’m a young Scottish male n A’m supposed tae be hard as nails.

The Young Team by Graeme Armstrong | Goodreads

That readers can associate so closely with the characters and the lifestyle shows this books is steeped in reality and is authentic, and not a fictitious or unnecessarily embellished series of situations says a lot about the skills of the author.He has created a raw, unflinching dissection of modern masculinity, brimming with honesty and humanity, painting vivid pictures of a rare slice of Scottish life, that seamlessly translates into everything I love about the televisual and cinematic experience.