Irvine Welsh, The Sex Lives of the Siamese Twins

I'm a fan of Irvine Walsh (see my reviews of Filth and Skagboys) but if I ever got the opportunity to meet him I think I'd be a bit scared, his novels are so dark and violent that I'd be worried that he'd be a bit of a bruiser. His author photo in he inside cover doesn't hep, he looks tough.

Anyway...

 The Plot: Lucy Brennan is a personal trainer in Miami, she has no patience for obesity or laziness and is obsessed with her own calorie count. When she disarms a gunman, she is touted as a have-a-go-hero by the media, and the publicity attracts offers of a tv show. Lena Sorensen witnessed Lucy's heroism and in a bid to emulate Lucy and improve her own life, the overweight and reclusive artist becomes her client.

Rating: 3.5/5

Irvine Welsh, Filth

Picked up for an absolute steal at Hylands House, I intended to read Filth on my journey to Edinburgh, but didn't get round to it. I've read a few of Irvine Welsh's novels, (click for my review of Skagboys) so I knew what I was in for, but I must admit I did find this novel a bit much.

The Plot: When the body of a young black man is discovered on the Playfair stairs in Edinburgh, it is the duty of Detective Sergeant Bruce Robertson to investigate. Bruce is a thoroughly unpleasant man and a corrupt officer.  Racist and violent Bruce's main concerns are his upcoming trip to Amsterdam and his schemes to secure a promotion rather than justice for the deceased.

Rating: ««««¶ (4/5)

For my review, click under the jump *spoilers warning*:

Book Haul

Here is my recent book haul from Hylands House, they're second-hand but look like they've barely been read and I got them for a grand total of £3.10! 

1. Jeanette Winterson, Weight: I'm a big fan of Greek mythology, so I put this short novel in my basket as it is about a deal made between Atlas and Hercules.

2. Irvine Welsh, Filth: A novel about a corrupt police officer investigating a racially motivated murder (highly topically at the moment, with the recent Stephen Lawrence inquiry). For my review of another Welsh novel click here

3. Elizabeth Wurtzel, Bitch: I felt slightly embarrassed about handing this over to the sweet, old ladies behind the counter. It is a collection of essays about 90s feminism and how bad girls have more fun.  

Irvine Welsh- Skagboys

I've a big Irvine Welsh fan and Skagboys has been on my reading agenda since it came out last year. Skagboys is the prequel to the phenomenally successful and critically acclaimed Trainspotting.

A word of warning- Skagboys includes graphic depictions of drug taking and substance abuse. There are adult themes throughout, including violence, rape, molestation and death. It is not a book for people who are squeamish or easily triggered.

just like to point out, the white power is flour, and the tablets are either vitamins or prescriptions meds. 

The Plot: Charting the turbulent lives of four Scottish lads in the 1980's, from youthful optimism and potential to a downwards spiral of  fractured relationships, petty crime, violence and addiction, Skagboys revels in both the hedonism and deprivation in Thatcher's Britain.

I've read a few of Irvine Welsh's novels and in my opinion Skagboys comes closest to equalling the brilliance of Trainspotting. The novel is energetic and raw, the speed of the narrative is fast-paced and restless, which perfectly mirrors the impulsive and reckless behaviour of the protagonists. Towards the end of the novels the tone becomes more introspective and considered, as Renton reflects on his addiction.

Irvine Welsh is very clever in the way he doesn't glorify substance abuse or offer simplified explanations or solutions for addiction.  Skagboys manages to be politicised (Welsh is clearly no fan of Thatcher) without being sanctimonious.

SkagBoys is written in phonetic Scots, which may take some getting used to. Personally, I think it is effective and an integral part of the novels authenticity. There a section that comes quite late in the book where Renton discusses why he is writing his rehab diary in phonetic Scots, although I think Irvine Welsh is being tongue-in-cheek, I think he does raise valid point about dialect representation in literature.

For a novel that deals with such a grim subject, there is also a lot of warmth and humour. Although the friendship between Renton, Sick Boy and Spud is toxic as they act as enablers for each others drug use, they also have camaraderie and in-jokes. I'm sure people who were young in the 80's will relate to the riffs on music, clubbing and making cassette mix-tapes. Even the names of the characters, 'Second Prize', 'Spud', are of the era, most of my parent's school friends seems to have incomprehensible nicknames.

fear rises up ma spine like mercury touched by heat up a thermometer

"Fear rises up ma spine like mercury touched by heat up a thermometer. Then it's gone. Ah smile at Jonny. Just as the thought forms: is that aw tae it? ah get a sudden rush and a glow, then ma insides, body and brain, are like a fruit pastille, melting in a huge mooth. Suddenly everything that was burning in ma heid, every fear and doubt, just dissolves, ah can just feel them receding intae the distance...."

- Irvine Welsh, Skagboys