Did not read for not downloading the ARC before the archive date. Which breaks my heart because I was incredibly excited to read this book. Nevertheless, here's a 5 star rating for compensation. I do apologise for the inconvenience and the unprofessionalism; best of luck.

It was very interesting to see people's lives in this way, it felt like reading a diary and seeing beneath the surface for everyday people.

as someone who loves regional fiction, particularly from the north, i had very high expectations for this! while i do think this is a very unique and poignant short story collection, i unfortunately didn’t love it as much as i hoped to and struggled to connect with some of the stories. i think this is partly because many of them are so short: they’re more like snapshots or sometimes even seemingly unfiltered diaries rather than fully-fledged stories. they do manage to pack a lot of emotion and authenticity into such short pieces of writing, though. the language too, feels very real and does really take you to the streets of manchester. i also loved the focus on working class lives and the everyday, which really suited the style and format of the writing. moreover, the theme of the city changing beyond recognition and losing part of its identity in the process was also dealt with in a very meaningful. while not all stories spoke to me, there was definitely a few that really struck a chord: last chance power drive, the shortage of black suits and sold out city in particular. either way, it’s always great to see northern voices in fiction!

As a Northern myself, this was great fun to read. It felt like I was on the train/in a cafe/walking down the street overhearing someone’s conversation. The accent was spot on and the phrases were nostalgic and made me smile. A great short story collection that highlights the many variations of the North.

An amazingly varied short story collection, at times it felt like I was transported back to childhood and listening to conversations my Nan would have at bus stops. Other stories were unsettling, amusing, joyous and brutal in turn. By plumbing the depths of mundanity Campbell shone a raw, unflinching light on the human experience.Or maybe I just feel that because I’m Northern!

Thanks to Salt Publishing and NetGalley for this ARC of Neil Campbell's 'Saying Dirty Things in Regional Accents.'

I would describe this as a collection of micro stories, vignettes (as opposed to short stories - the longest being just a few pages) that deal with the mundanity but genuine challenges of everyday life for working class individuals in Manchester. These men and women of various ages see their city changing beyond recognition both in terms of the physical and the social structures without any thought for the working classes. Skyscrapers full of students replace Victorian streetscapes and family restaurants replace pubs with the working class existing in damp flats on the edges.

As I say, these are all very short - some of them a paragraph - but they nearly all pack a real punch and Campbell has a real knack of carrying us along with a fairly routine anecdote and then, literally with the last sentence, drop a real bombshell.

Some of them are almost diary entries and it's hard to imagine how/why they make it into the collection but he really and truly captures the sadness, tragedy, and anxiety of living from payday to payday as well as the small joyful moments and the little victories, even naming one of the stories, 'Little Victories.'