Trainspotting

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A cult classic that has stood the test of time - Rated
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

One of the best Welsh stories. - Rated
An excellent story by Welsh told with a gritty scottish text. An classic book far better than the film based on the novel.

Trainspotting - Rated
I read Trainspotting after I had seen the film and I think having read it that it's the best thing to do. The story is a realistic and hard-hitting story of drugs and social activity in Edinburgh, however I found it hard to get into as most of the book is written in a Scottish dialect using slang, and each chapter switches between which character is talking, but doesn't tell you who it's switching to.
Having prior knowledge was definitely helpful to keep track of the story, but nevertheless I thoroughly recommend this book.

Brilliant!!! - Rated
A modern day urban classic about drugs, sex, violence, and rock and roll. Funny yet harrowing in equal measure this book is not for the faint hearted or prudish but for everyone else its a joy. The characters jump off the page at you and the language (although it does take getting used to) is genius. Not a whole lot happens but does it ever to junkies. One I know I'll go back to again and again.

Trainspotting wonderment - Rated
I had not seen the film before i picked up this book, which was good as i had no expectations of the story. Once you get used to the Scottish dialect it is written in, you find yourself emersed in harsh, hard hitting reality. Because the book and the film offer different approaches to the story, i could not say that one was better than the other. Since reading this, i have become a huge Irvine Welsh fan, and highly recommend some of his other works. If you loved this book, you wouldnt want to miss out on the next installment of the characters, as they appear in a book entitled "Porno".
If what you want from a book is drugs, sex, violance and a scottish accent, then by God you've stumbled onto the best.