strangedaze

From the wee cunt who wrote Trainspotting, Porno, Filth, Glue, and so on. A collection of short stories scraped from some unsanitary gutter, all unmistakably Welshian in their content and style.

And how would I define Welshian? Well, for starters, there's the drugs. Lots. Like in the title story - after a bad LSD trip a junky finds that his brain has been switched with that of a toddler. And sex, like in the Sexual Disaster Quartet - four pieces of microfiction that are short, sweet and dirty. There's violence - the novella A Smart Cunt gives us a bit of that - and of course, there's plenty of vernacular explosion.

While many of the stories flop, others fly. Welsh definately takes a lot of risks, both with his content and aesthetic. A Smart Cunt sucked me right in, The Acid House made me laugh, and some others really left me feeling nihilistic and loving it. Others, well, others fell short. But even those that did were breathtaking to read. I don't care what anyone says: Welsh's voice and style are addictive.

Though the collection doesn't live up to Trainspotting, it's still worth a read, specially if you're a fan of Welsh and like the sketchy urban setting of Edinburgh.

7/10

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Space Monkey

Nice review, daze; I agree. I loved the title story, but others fell short.

I've tried to get into Irvine's work, having read Glue, Trainspotting and about three quarters of the Acid House, but ultimately he disappoints. Welsh doesn't know how to make sympathetic characters; he just makes abusive rejects.

strangedaze

Trainspotting will remain a favorite of mine, but I think you make a good point. I'd like to see him evolve, but I'm not sure I can see it happening. I hear Porno is one of his better works, which is nice, but I'd imagine that it's just another recycled work of dehumanized drug addled 'rejects'.

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Space Monkey

I believe Porno is the sequel to Trainspotting, but set in the future when the characters are all in their middle age.

Mike C

He writes real people, and there is no room for sympathy in his world.

If you've ever mixed with junkies and addicts, you'll know they occupy a different world to the rest of us; the pressures are different, everything's different, and I doubt any writer ever has painted the picture more accurately.

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Stewart

Have you ever read James Kelman? He's a Glaswegian author and an obvious influence on Irvine Welsh. Kelman paints exceptional monologues for philosophical down and outs. His How Late It Is How Late won the Booker in 1994.

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Mike C

I never have; I'll seek him out. Thanks!

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