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—Scotland on Sunday
“One of the most original writers in Britain. He writes with style, imagination, wit and force.”
— Nick Hornby, Times Literary Supplement
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Most helpful customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Entertainment Plus...one Mad Cool Book,
By Jerry Heine (Halifax, Nova Scotia) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Trainspotting (Paperback)
This is simply one of the best written, laid out, and especially entertaining books I've ever read. "Trainspotting" is basically one of the only books that I've ever read that had the ability to actually capture the characters, which is I think, the most important part of the story.The best thing about "Trainspotting" is that it allows you, the reader, to see everything not only from Renton's eyes (as it was in the movie) but also all the other characters. And it's this that gives you that insight into how all the other characters actually think. Then to top it off, Irvin Welsh, (the writer) went ahead and wrote most of it as if they were actually talking to you. So, when all these Scottish people are talking to you they don't say, "I drank down twenty beers and got drunk," they say, "Ah drank doon tweinty bevvs and got bevvied." It's a writing style that I haven't seen very many other times, and was greatly impressed/entertained with it. Other than the incredible writing, it's an overall cool story. The best part, is that it's not confined to one set plot. When hearing 'Trainspotting' you probably just thought about heroin. In truth, the book also has a whole lot about drinking in bars, getting along with 'yer mates' and just living. It's just a story about a bunch of guys, their problems, their needles, their beers and how they manage to get away with most of it. Yeah, so this book is definitely worth reading. It's now in my top ten list, but try it for yourself! Pick up a copy! Another book I need to recommend -- completely unrelated to Welsh, but very much on my mind since I purchased a "used" copy off Amazon is "The Losers' Club" by Richard Perez, also an exceptional, highly entertaining little novel I can't stop thinking about.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Better than Bible!,
By Daniel Morton (Melbourne, Australia) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Trainspotting (Paperback)
In the darkest corner of a drug fuelled Scottish sub-culture, its members being sociopaths of the highest order, Irvine Welsh exposes the truth about societies fringe, delving from personal experience as an unemployed, drug using Scot. He, and his characters, resemble "normal" more than the common man dares to allude. Trainspotting is undoubtedly aimed at the general population in Western society who are so willing to prejudge members of certain sub-cultures. Heroin is tool unto which the protagonist, "Rents", uses to kick against society- his philosophy being, "ah choose no tae choose life". He and his "associates" habituate in the working class city of Leith, Scotland. The mentality unto which the heroin users live is that, "nothing exists in ma life except masel and Michael Forrester (heroin)". It is a sub-culture where nothing else in the world matters but getting to the next hit, which Rents claims to be virtuous, as it is an escape from reality...life.Trainspotting is a post-modern novel. It the narrative is a series of disjointed anecdotes unlike a carefully constructed novel in literary traditions. This allows it to aim at a wide range of people within society who it is attempting to communicate with, each of them being able to relate to Trainspotting on their own individual levels. Every anecdote is a narrative of events, in both first and third person perspectives. The novel rotates through perspective, giving a voice to the unheard people in our society. Trainspotting gives us a unique perspective on ordinary events in ones life through the eyes of unordinary people. This is important, as it allows Trainspotting is an important way Trainspotting relates to a broad audience. The characters are not narrating the story; it is simply a digest of their thoughts. Trainspotting chronicles how what may seem as exceptional and anti-social behaviour occurs to the junkies, and their subsequent acquaintances, as normal. For instance, throughout the book the character drink alcohol with the sole purpose of intoxication and regularly solve disputes through violence. When Trainspotting is being narrated in first person perspective it is written in phonetic Scottish. The character all speak in a distinctly Scottish sociolect of the lower class, using words such as ken, radge, scoobied, likesay, giro and bairn. Their speech is also filled with expletives. This could possibly isolate non-Scottish readers with little tolerance for other cultures- the type of people Trainspotting is seeking to enlighten. Rents is Welsh's authorial voice, which he has cleverly setup so that it is conceivable that Rents has a sophisticated vocabulary (because he was a university drop out). This is mixture of language aptly communicates to many levels of audience and also serves as breaking certain clichés and stereotypes of lower socio-economic sub-cultures by the fact the author of the book, which would be considered in some circles "high brow", is (or was) a member of this sub-culture. Trainspotting's social ideology is vehemently disestablishmentarianism,. The characters, particularly Rents, reject all of societies institutions such as education, parenthood in the traditional sense, employment and politics. "... them all," asserts Sick Boy. The characters themselves are constructed in a way where really on the rejection of institutions to live their lives, the reason that they become a sub-culture. Society, in Rents opinion, is filled with "boring middle class ...". People in Western society who are willing to pre-judge people are almost always tied into institutions, particularly political institutions. It is an imcredibly powerful book that indeed does "deserve to sell more copies than the Bible".
5.0 out of 5 stars
the end of meaning,
By ROGER SATTERTHWAITE (California) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Trainspotting (Paperback)
Trainspotting affected me as did "Black Like Me" - now I understand. I think that this book conveys true cultural insight - difficult task, rarely accomplished. Made me afraid to have a pint in Edinburgh, though.
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