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Irvine Welsh


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Does anybody know anything about this author from reading his books? I am particularly interested to know what genre he typically writes in. I think he is quite controversial, but my interest lies in my recent appointment as manager to someone who is starting to write a book. Any help would be appreciated.

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He's a Scottish writer, generally very highly regarded, who writes about hard-hitting subjects, such as drug abuse. Personally, I donn't like his style all that much - there's so much swearing that ever other word seems to begin with F - & the controversy is that he seems to glamourise drug-taking. His stories are often very surreal (a la The Acid House).

 

His most famous two are The Acid House & Train Spotting.

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I kind of enjoyed Trainspotting, and Marabou Stork Nightmares has possibly the grimmest subject matter and scene in any book I've read. He definitely works the dark nasty underside of Scotland. I'm not sure, though, whether he's actually any good. The style of Glasgow/Edinburgh patois that he writes in gets very, very grating.

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I love Irvine Welsh and I would have to disagree with one of the comments.

 

Far from Trainspotting glamorising drugs, I think it should be read in schools, as a deterrent.

 

Never have I read a more hard-hitting book on the perils of drugs, and specifically heroin. It contains dark humour throughout and the Scottish dialogue gives it authenticity. This is a writer who writes what it

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Far from Trainspotting glamorising drugs, I think it should be read in schools, as a deterrent.

 

I would agree with you there. I don't think Welsh is glamourizing drugs in any way. The book will show you that you can get HIV from sharing needles, that once you try heroin you won't stop "trying" it all the time after that and so on. The lives the addicts live are horrible and focused on one thing only: getting your next fix. Once you've tried drugs and experienced the "exstatic" way they make you feel and view the world, you're non-drug period seems very dull and pointless, and who would want to try drugs knowing that after that you'll hate your current lifestyle?

 

I watched the movie years and years ago and I remember our highschool went to watch the movie in the theater. It was one of the best movies I've ever seen. After that I've read the book at least two times before reading it just now, both in Finnish and in English. I still really enjoyed the novel and was happy to see there were loads of scenes I'd forgotten about. I definitely want to read the sequal at some point.

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Irvine Welsh is probably my favourite author.

 

As far I'm concerned he can do no wrong. I've never read anything of his that I could put down.

His work is funny, intelligent, dark, grizzly, grim, horrifying and a thing of weird poetic beauty.

I love that a switch flicks in my head and my brain changes its accent. I love that sometimes I have to read a line a few times before it makes any sense and I was brought up with broad Glaswegians and I can listen to old Billy Connolly albums without translation.

 

He takes me to places I really don't want to be. Tells some of the most horrific tales about the human condition, but has me totally riveted from page one.

 

I think you need quite a weird sense of humour to appreciate Welsh, and sometimes a strong stomach.

 

I showed my son the Trainspotting movie as an anti-drug teaching aid when he was 14. I showed it to college students as part of a lecture on drugs. None of them thought it glamourised drugs.

 

Irvine Welsh books are probably not on the list of books I'd present my mum on Mother's Day.

 

If you liked Trainspotting, stick with him. He rarely disappoints.

 

Did anyone see the TV special he made called Wedding Belles on Channel 4 a couple of years ago. Its on 4 OD. That's really good too. :roll::D

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I have only read Trainspotting, very recently. Worth the effort. It evokes emotion.

After you finish the book certain passages keep coming back to memory time and again.

It has the ring of authenticity in the writing, like he has really been there and lived it. I will read something else of his when I come across it. That's all I can say.

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Welsh is a genious. No doubt about it.

 

Yes the language will put people off. The dialect, the slang, the swearing, he isn't for everyone. Don't lend his books to your gran unless she's a real tough old bird.

 

But boy does he know how to get a response from his reader. You'll feel like it were you that grew up on a council estate in Scotland, even if you're from LA and have never seen a poor person other than on TV.

 

Maribou Stork is one of my favorite books of all time. Such an ambitious plot but he totally nails it.

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I absolutely adore Irvine Welsh.

My favourite is definitely Marabou Stork Nightmares and my second favourite a short story he did for the collection Speaking With The Angel edited by Nick Hornby. His story in this collection is absolutely brilliant.

I prefer his short stories to his novels as a whole, especially the Ecstasy collection and think he writes fantastically.

I know he isn't to everyone's taste but his style and subject matter definitely works for me. I can't think of anyone who writes in a similar manner, except perhaps Niall Griffiths.

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I have heard lots of good things about Irvine Welsh so I picked up one of his books, but I have to say I really struggled with it. I'm not sure if he does this with all his books, but in the book I read (sorry, can't remember the title now) it was written in Glaswegian slang and I couldn't really follow it. I found I had to keep re-reading it to work out what had happened. In the end I gave up :smile2:

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News for all Irvine Welsh lovers, there's a new book that is a prequel to Trainspotting called Skagboys (lovely fluffy title), and I just found out that they're making a movie of Filth starring James McAvoy. I might actually go to the cinema for the first time in ten years to see this.

 

Can't wait.

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I have Glue on my tbr, although admittedly I only bought it because I spotted it ridiculously cheap in a charity shop. Irvine Welsh was on BBC Breakfast last week, talking abut his new book - he read a bit from it, although I imagine he struggled to find a part without swearing or drug references (the bit he read could only have been about three lines at most!). He seemed like a very intelligent and nice man. I wouldn't mind reading Trainspotting, but the phonetic writing puts me off a bit. One to consider for the future probably.

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