Trainspotting

[katrina]

I was shocked I couldn't find thread for this book, maybe it ended up lost after the crash.

I' ve been reading this novel over the last few days and I really loved the dialect and the phonetially written words. I found that I quickly developed a Scottish accent in my head and after a few pages I was able to read just as quickly as if it was written in standard English.
I remembered a few key scenes from the film - the baby, and the toilet namely, but I found that the book seemed to go much deeper and that those horrifying scenes merged in amongst all the others. A great book to read.

[Atom]

A really terrific book and so much more than the film. I'm a great fan of Welsh's work. Filth I think is his most powerful, making you concerned for such an awful character.

[Jen]

I remembered a few key scenes from the film - the baby, and the toilet namely, but I found that the book seemed to go much deeper and that those horrifying scenes merged in amongst all the others. A great book to read.
I read the book after seeing the film and agree that the book is much deeper and even more grim. The toilet scene in the book is especially...memorable. I've been reluctant to read any other books by Welsh by the mixed reviews that he gets and the harsh subject matter.

[Grammath]

IThe toilet scene in the book is especially...memorable.

Indeed, in fact the film version of it is something of a cop-out. Its probably the only piece of fiction that's ever made me feel physically sick whilst reading it, which is an achievement of sorts.

I've also read "The Acid House", but don't remember a lot about it; it was a long time ago. I've bought most of Welsh's other books over the years, but somehow never got around to reading them.

[Minxminnie]

Yes, the toilet scene is something else, isn't it?
I read the book first and I just couldn't see how they could film that scene.

For me, Tommy's demise is the most affecting part.

[Radders]

I've been reluctant to read any other books by Welsh by the mixed reviews that he gets and the harsh subject matter.I have read all of his books (I think all anywy) and have to say that Trainspotting was the only one I liked. The others I found too grim, blue and not particularly great reading.

[Jen]

The others I found too grim, blue and not particularly great reading.
I think the potential blue element was what put me off a number of them. Not what I look for in a novel!

[katrina]

Well I am tempted to add another one to my wish list on Amazon but I haven't had tme to check any of them out yet, I'm sure he has written a new one recently.

[Grammath]

There's two in the 3 for 2 type offers in the bookshops at the moment, "Bedroom Secrets of the Master Chefs", which I remember got a very dismissive review in "The Times", and a short story collection called "If You Liked School, You'll Love Work". This title is a lie.

[roddglenn]

A grim and powerful book. The film was still very good, but I agree that it did miss some of the substance of the book. I have The Acid House, but I haven't gotten around to reading it yet.

[Minxminnie]

I se the film is on FilmFour sometime this week - in case anyone hasn't seen it, or like me fancies seeing it again.

[dizzydip]

I agree that the book is a lot better than the film. I found it quite a slow read ... but in a good way.

Have any of you read Porno as well? I liked that even better.

[Webby]

I have to admit, I actually prefer the film.

Was happy to jump on the cult bandwagon surrounding the movie, but then a friend kept badgering me until I'd read the book as well, seeing as she loved it so much.

I think it's always dangerous trying to directly compare a book and film, because they are such different mediums, but I found being able to see and hear certain scenes, such as Renton's going cold turkey, more effective than trying to imagine a feeling almost unimaginable to me. The thumping baseline used throughout that scene forces you to experience it all at an uncomfortable tempo, an experience I just couldn't replicate while reading about the same experience.

The film also made me like Renton as a character, whereas going into the book with this attitude led me to a disappointed feeling that he was simply a bit scummy rather than a lovable rogue. I also found characters such as Begbie more effective on the big screen somehow. However, I did appreciate having other such as Sick Boy developed to a greater extent.

I really didn't dislike the book, and would happily read it again, I'd think I'd just built it up to such an extent that I was shocked when it didn't quite match my expectations.

[leyla]

I read Trainspotting in 1995 and loved it. I found The Acid House more mixed - some of the stories were a bit lame, I thought, although some were great.

Malibu Stork Nightmares disturbed me a little - I seem to recall there's a rape scene in it which I found upsetting.

I carried on reading Welsh for some years but I think Filth was the last one I enjoyed at all. I thought he had become formulaic, trying to shock and churning out the same old outrageous stuff. I think the penultimate one I read was the one I enjoyed least - it was the one composed of three different stories - one I think may have been about a necrophiliac, one about thalidomide victims, and the third equally self-consciously shocking. The casual sex and swearing had become gratuitous by then. I still managed a s****** at Filth, but stopped buying his stuff after that. He reminds me a bit of Damien Hirst in that they both discovered their art could shock and make lots of dosh so they now churn it out conveyor belt style.

But I did love Trainspotting. It was such a breath of fresh air - almost like discovering punk.

[Claire]

This stayed on my shelf for ages, as the dialect looked so off-putting. It was an "Ought to give it a go, but looks too much like hard work" thing. But actually, once I started, the dialect was easy, if you just pronounced it to yourself internally, it was obvious. In fact, I got so used to it that when a third-person narrator began to address us half way through the book, I found his "proper English" jarring and wierd!"

I loved this book - such a vivid experience of the lives of these screwed up, hopeless losers - and yet you couldn't help feeling a fair bit of warmth for them. Well - some of them, anyway.

It felt much more loosely structured than the film. It was more like a patchwork or kaliedascope, than a linear plot, but to me that worked very well for the disjointed, directionless lives of the characters.

A very good read.