Darren McGarvey Luath Press Ltd, 2017, PB, 224pp, £6.29, 978-1912147038
It is often said that statistics are human beings with the tears wiped away. Halfway through Poverty Safari: Understanding the Anger of Britain’s Underclass, the first book by the Scottish rapper, writer, and columnist Darren McGarvey, the author provides us with some statistics.
Now in his mid-thirties, he looks back at his upbringing in Pollok, a so-called ‘deprived’ area of Glasgow, with his four siblings:
‘Four out of five have experienced alcohol or substance misuse problems at some point. Five have experienced long term financial problems which involve debilitating debt or defaults and poor credit history.’
The list goes on:
‘Five have experienced abuse and neglect at the …