Reading 1001 discussion

Full disclosure: I switched to audio (which is brilliant!) because I was struggling with the dialect on the page. Also, I have loved the movie since college, so I knew what I was getting in to.

That said, I freaking loved this book! It’s sad, dark, and disturbing, but it’s also hilarious, sarcastic, and completely capable of pulling at your heart strings. All while approximately every other word is profanity, and much of it makes you gag.

This was my TBR takedown book for April. I gave it 4 1/2 stars. I definitely recommend the audio... I think it’s best experienced with the Scottish accent!

I loved this book, too.

I agree, I loved this book too. And it must have been good to have this on audio to get the dialect correct! I also struggeled a bit with the dialect and keeping track of all the persons in the beginning. I knew the storyline from the movie, but it's been many years since I last saw it so it was not fresh in my mind.

The book is brutal, sore, sad and sometimes even funny. And very scary. And very Scottish. Who can forget about Begbie boy. Kinda rough being in his head (and the others as well)..

This was also my TBR takedown book for April, solid 4 stars!

I love accents, and knew some Scottish slang going into reading this book. I also read a few other books involving heavy drug use (A Million Little Pieces by Frey, and Casual Vacancy, by Rowling came to mind while I was reading this one.) I did not watch the movie, and don't think I really want to. I felt sorry for some of the characters, because so much of their criminal behavior was due to their need for drugs. I still didn't like any of the characters, though, at all. I suppose reading about people who are addicted to heavy drugs is good for making it easier to be empathetic when dealing with real people addicted to drugs. I doubt I'll ever recommend this book to very many people though, and I am not convinced it needs to be read by everyone before they die.
I gave this book 3 stars on Goodreads.

read Nov. 2021

I suspected this would be a challenging book going in, and it was – not the least because a great deal (most?) of it is written in Scottish slang and dialect. Luckily I’ve known enough Scottish people and heard just enough Scottish spoken to get the gist (most of the time – some slang is very opaque).

The story is told episodically from different character’s point of view. They are all mates who grew up in Leith (a part of Edinburgh). It is set in Thatcher era UK, and there is little opportunity for the working class and AIDS has become prevalent in gays and IV drug users. They spend their time chasing their various highs (heroin, alcohol, speed, hash, sex, fighting…..). Much of the story is told from Rent Boy’s (Renton) POV, and he is a mostly on/off again heroin addict.

Welsh tells a raw, real story. This was real life (and still is for some) and boy is it shitty. There is some really graphic content (mostly to do with drug use), and sad endings for some. I think this is a book you need to spend time away from to digest it’s content. There is a lot of underlying social commentary (about Britain and Scotland of the era, and the UK in general). It’s also a story about choices made in a life – to stay in school or not, to stay where you grew up or not, to be friends with people even if you don’t particularly like them but they are practically family. I think Welsh did a good job with all of this, especially considering this was his first novel. 4*

Once I worked through the Scottish/Leith dialect and found the rhythm of it, I didn't have much difficulty with understanding the written word. I found the back and forth between different characters with the main focus being on Renton/Rent Boy, worked really well. I was particularly impressed with the author's ability to make me feel some empathy with many of the people in his cast of characters. Although it is a relatively small ensemble of characters, I did get a larger overview of the desperation of the Thatcher era among the working class.
However, I can't say that I really enjoyed reading the book. I did not find any of the action to be funny although there are lines of dialogue that are extremely amusing. ("Might as well try tae combat third world famine wi a packet ay frozen peas". ) I did not enjoy the profanity and I didn't enjoy the narrow constricting life that I was sharing with the characters. I admit that the author was successful in getting me to feel the lack of choices, the desperation of the need for sex, fighting and especially heroin and that is all to his credit but I did not want to be reading this book and I am glad to be done with it.
Perhaps if I had seen the movie...
And perhaps I have to live with it for a bit. We will see

Reason read: 1001 book, Word for the month. I had this on my Nook reader since 8/2021. A gritty novel, written in Scottish dialect about the Skag Boys. The young men together are an identity. Drug using from heroin to alcohol. Some characters are empathic and some are violent. A lot of swearing and derogatory words and I mean a lot but I do have to say that the writing fits the story. Not a fast read because of the dialect, not a nice read because of the base, gutteral lives on heroin users and the violence towards animals and people. The themes are addiction and its impact on the individual and society, escapism and identity. Marginalized and impoverished communities set in the 80s. What drives people to use drugs, the book might be implying that lack of opportunity and a feeling of hopelessness is what drives the individual to addiction. These young men did have opportunity to work and the book tells us that they chose to be on the government aid. "...he claimed benefits at all five different addresses, one each Edinburgh, Livingston, and Glasgow". The setting is working class town of Leith and visits to London. It explores Scottish identity and it's relationship with England. Symbols include the trains and mirrors. A book worth reading if you can take the violence, The dialect while challenging also gives a lyric tone to the story.