Trainspotting by Irvine Welsh
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Book Reviews of Trainspotting
Book Review: Book that depicts brilliant realism
Summary: 5 Stars
'Trainspotting' is a book that has suffered from becoming a sucessful film. Many readers will only come to the book after seeing the film itself and will therefore be forever comparing the book with the movie. However, as a book it screams comedy, realism and social comment. At first difficult to read, as it is written in Glaswegian dialect, it creates a real sense of being young in 1990s Britain, facing the prospect of lifelong unemployment and seeking escapism from reality through the use of drugs. 'Trainspotting' is brilliant in the way that it addresses social problems, creating some funny moments that are always somehow tinged with sadness and thus requiring the reader to use their minds and challenging them to face the realities of the situation. Welsh explore social attitudes and doesn't hold back in expressing any views about the wider cultural problems that face the youth of Britain today. I would recommend eveyone to read this book, to stick with the unusual writing style as it does get easier to follow, and to enjoy the book for what it is and to abstain fromn the temptation to constantly compare it with the film starring the gorgeous Ewan McGregor.Book Review: Super
Summary: 5 Stars
Top quality stuff. Not for anyone who can't cope with 'vulgar' words, graphically detailed (not-very-nice) scenes or with phoenetic spelling, which I have to admit took a bit of getting used to, but provided you can get past all of those, it's the best book you'll ever read (probably).The storyline, as mentioned before, is almost impossible to understand until you're near the end, when everything makes sense, which ultimately makes the book soooo good, as it seems completely random. Living in Edinburgh for a few years helped quite a bit with knowing the geography of the place - getting an A-Z or generally living there makes it more enjoyable. It's worth remembering a couple of things, though:
1) Edinburgh (or anywhere else in the UK) is not filled with junkies - they do exist, but that's no reason to think that it's everywhere. Besides, the book is set in the early 80s/late 90s: Leith's changed a lot (the MTV music awards will be held there this week!)
2) You CAN go for a drink in Edinburgh without getting stabbed. Honest. In fact, I think I'll do just that the night ...
Well worth it, though. 'Dugs' is like THE best chapter ever IMHO. Very funny.
Book Review: Grim and accurate portrayal of the drug scene in the UK
Summary: 5 Stars
If you like the movie and you've also got the soundtrack cds then go the whole hog and give it a read. It consists of a series of vignettes that were woven together superbly for the film. Readers might be put off initially by Welsh writing in a scottish dialect, but once you suss it out, it works most effectively in setting the scene and the characters - and there's a almost complete dictionary in the back. Some of the scenes are a tad grimmer than the film portrayed - hence the beauty of books allowing character development etc. But that said the film captured the essence of the book very, very well. The cover shows the cast of the film, and I think they did a grand job matching up the characters to the actors especially Begby.
Welsh indicates how easy it is for the disenfranchised of the western world, and probably all cultures, to find themselves trying drugs "just the once, I can handle it" and then caught in the embrace of addition, needing the next fix and how to fund it etc.
A very powerful protrayal of the sad and seedy world of drug addiction. (The "Mile End" track by Pulp captures it perfectly).
Recommended!
Book Review: More realistic characters than Coupland's!!
Summary: 5 Stars
It's not a book for everybody. Yes, it was dark. Yes, it had naughty, naughty language. Yes, parts of it depressed the hell out of me. But parts of it also touched me and even made me cry....
The characters were more real than those in any other book I have read to date. I have finally found an author who can rival Douglas Coupland at people-making! Mr. Welsh deserves a hurrah for his incredible talent for seeing and writing people as they truly are. Everybody knows somebody from Trainspotting, whether or not said someody is a heroin addict.
I think that, for many, the attraction to this book lies in the fact that we are all addicted to something...people, places, books, love, hate...and we have all been "kicking" something. Therefore, this novel can speak to anybody...if you listen to it.
Oh, and it's the first time I have actually been attracted to a literary character. C'mon, ladies, wouldn't Renton be just the IDEAL man if he'd just kick that nasty habit of his???
Read this book! If nothing else, you will feel that you are prepared to travel to Scotland and talk with the natives.
Book Review: A great ride.
Summary: 5 Stars
I read trainspotting in about three days, which, for me, a semi-literate, self-absorsed, junkie teenager is pretty good. I didn't have a bit of difficulty with the dialect, in fact Welsh has a much better writer's ear than noted "greats" Pynchon or Burroughs. All you have to do is hear it in your head, a skill which comes naturally for those of us who move our lips when we read. And nobody puts you in the picture like Irv. Of course he steals from his predecessors, but that just shows he has good taste. As for a lack of a plot; here's the plot: Margaret Thatcher's Tory Administration served to seriously damage Scottland's (and working class England's) economy. Once well-payed and well respected workers were now often broke or on the dole (that's "slang" for welfare). Pour newfound poverty and strife into ill-considered project-style tenement housing (they call them "schemes"), add Heroin to the mix and you end up with this tragic generation of self-absorbed, absurdist junkies. If you understand the context, the resultant ride is fascinating. And entertaining as hell!