The Acid House, by Irvine Welsh (Vintage, £6.99 in UK)

The inevitable failure of the misguided film of the same name, which sought to weave four of these weird, wild stories into a coherent narrative, will probably persuade potential readers to avoid The Acid House like the plague. Which is a pity, because Welsh's merry band of lunatics, junkies, drunkards and psychotics sweep through these tear-stained pages on a wave of anti-social anger which, chopped into bite-sized pieces and combined with Welsh's delight in experimental narrative forms, makes this collection an exhilarating read.