A cult classic that has stood the test of time
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Originally published in 1993, Irvine Welsh's seminal novel about a group of Edinburgh junkies is still as forcefully mesmerizing today as it was the first time I read it some 12 years ago. The characters - Renton, Sick Boy, Begbie, Spud et al, who have become immortalised and entrenched in the collective consciousness of the nation's movie-watching public, thanks to Danny Boyle's 1996 film - are every bit as captivating and pathetic as their celluloid counterparts, as hideous as they are hilarious, and yet they are rendered far more realistic - and terrifyingly so at that - by Welsh's masterful pen. The use of multiple narratives, for example, with each character contributing their own, unique take on events is a stroke of genius, and an approach to fiction-writing that has since become common-place. Seldom has it been done better, however. Similarly, Welsh's use of dialect in his writing is nothing less than poetic, despite - or perhaps because of - the explosion of profanities and the baseness of the activities it describes. This novel is not without humour or tenderness, but it is used sparingly and in the same way as, say, television's The Royle Family occasionally brings a tear to your eye amid all the inanity, Welsh reminds the reader that these are, in fact, real people about whom he is writing.
If you've seen the film, then you really should read the book, and if this is your first encounter with the works of Irvine Welsh, it's also the obvious starting point. His other books - especially Acid House, Marabou Stork Nightmares, and Porno, which re-visits Trainspotting's characters a decade on - are well worth checking out too.
Matt Pucci
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Quite amazing
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I,like a lot of people, saw the film a few years back. I really enjoyed it, and as part of my course I had to study the book. It was only then I realised how much longer (and MUCH BETTER!) the book was! Its a very, very dark read but its so good, you find yourself reading huge sections of the book in one go. Some may find the phonetic, scottish language hard to grasp at first but you soon get into it and it helps you relate to the characters and certainly makes it realistic. The book is quite graphic at points and very disturbing, so those of you who thought the film was bad be warned....the book does not glamourise a thing. For Welshs' first book, its a masterpiece. If you read any book next week, make it this one!!
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Amazing - visceral slices of life from the Edinburgh streets
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The first thing to point out is that the book is very different from the (excellent) film. This is an amazing book; essentially a collection of vignettes about Edinburgh street life among the heroin users strung together by a common cast and a narrative about Renton escaping. Making heavy use of the local patois, the book can be difficult to read but it is well worth preserving because the language is an essential element in bringing the amazing cast of characters to life. The film does have an impact here - as the casting affects your image of the characters - this is not really a problem as the casting was generally excellent - Ewan McGregor and Jonny Lee Miller fitted my mental images of Renton and Sick Boy very well. Robert Carlyle did not conform to my mental image of Begbie but that doesn't really matter as in many ways he was even more terrifying. Also note that this is not a book for the faint-hearted - it is often graphic and disturbing in its portrayal of drug addiction (particularly the places you might stick needles) and violence (you will certainly think twice before insulting a waitress). Essential reading
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Addictive!
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As Renton, the main character, describes perfectly within the novel, this story is about several people who could have chosen to live the normal, everyday mortgage-and-two-kids type of life. Instead they chose not to choose life. They chose smack.
Without a doubt, addiction is the central theme of the book, and it is the linking point to all of the characters within it.
Welsh cleverly details how the addiction pulls them together as a group, causes their perception of the world to be completely different from the "clean, living" characters, and eventually the smack that they live for ends up being the wedge that drives them apart. Obviously, it's not one for those of a sensitive nature... but it is a book that makes you feel like you just jumped into this surreal world. I have read this book over and over again. It's truly worth reading.
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Disturbing.... I wish id read it years ago
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You must have seen the film. It made a big impression on me as a kid but now im all grown up and I thought id give the book a go I was expecting it to be better books always are.
Forget the film, in no time at all you'll have forgetten about comedy pyscho begbie and harmless idiot boy spud. Mark Renton has bushy ginger hair and bad skin, he is never going to be a sex symbol. His ordeals are too traumatic to ever be realised on camera. This is dark reading even if you liked the film you might find this too heavy.
Comprised of a series of short stories you could pick it up and digest each character at a time, personally I think I read it all in just over 48 hours I found it unputdownable.
A hugely different bunch the most memorable in my mind is a mild mannered and well spoken hiv victim, understandably never featured in the film as his story is barely connected to the other characters other than him knowing Tommy caught hiv after getting into drugs through Renton. The characters speak in the first person, in their own sometimes hard to understand dialect, throughout most of the chapters. This really adds to the closeness you feel to the characters, as repellent as they all are.
To choose life isnt an option any of these people have it is insulting to them to suppose they have such a luxury. Choose the book, and the velvet underground and nico to accompany it, rather than a DVD with watered down sequences chopped and changed to fit into 120 minutes of britpop culture.
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