book data
377 ratings,
3.24
average rating, 81 reviews
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published
July 5th 2007
by Jonathan Cape
(first published 2007)
details
Paperback, 320 pages
isbn
0224081268
(isbn13: 9780224081269)
description
These five stories remind us that Welsh is a master of the shorter form, a brilliant storyteller and, unarguably, one of the funniest and filthiest wr…more
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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 697)
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avg 3.24
editions: all | this edition
editions: all | this edition
Read in December, 2007
recommends it for:
People who don't like work and didn't like school
I was quite excited about reading this book and it did get off to a pretty good start with "Rattlesnakes". The ending managed to at least trigger some sort of emotion (even if it was revulsion), but "Dogs of Lincoln Park" just left me feeling cold. Alas, my attention started dwindling half way through until i ended up just shelving it. The impression I got was that Irvine has lost his touch, and he is now just a filthy old perve with a massive boring chip on his shoulder...
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Read in April, 2009
There were five short works of fiction in this one volume. Longer than a short story, I guess you could call them novellas. The first four were decent enough, but the last story was just about unreadable. It was written in a phonetic Scottish Gaelic, interspersed with sections in plain English. But, after struggling just to imagine how the stuff was supposed to sound, I discovered I had read twenty pages and did not have a clue what was supposed to have happened, who the characters were, or wher...more
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Read in January, 2008
The novella is exceptional. One of the short stories is okay. Two are very poor. One is the worst thing I have ever read by an established author.
Rattlesnakes is built around a gay panic joke which is inherently lame because it's a gay panic joke and lamer still because it's not even an original one.
The title story does not make me ashamed to believe that Trainspotting is the greatest novel of the last 25 years. Beyond that, however, not much can be said.
The D...more
Rattlesnakes is built around a gay panic joke which is inherently lame because it's a gay panic joke and lamer still because it's not even an original one.
The title story does not make me ashamed to believe that Trainspotting is the greatest novel of the last 25 years. Beyond that, however, not much can be said.
The D...more
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Four stories and a novella in one volume. Three of the stories are set in the US (the first of Welsh's work set here other than brief parts of "Bedroom Secrets"), and one in the Canary Islands. It turns out that Welsh doesn't have a good ear for American English. His American characters frequently use British slang and mannerisms of speech: air conditioning is referred to as "air con", a woman phoning in an excuse for missing work says that her sister has been in a "road...more
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Jan 28, 2008
Tony
added it
I know there are certain pop cultural works that I'm supposed to like just because that's part of my generation. And "Trainspotting" was one of those seminal pieces of film that had everyone in my age group holed up in dorm rooms crowded around small tv screens on odd nights. But, I just couldn't get into it. I know, Hollywood said I should dig all things Scottish and Irish at the time. But, I failed the test. I just never understood the whole point of the baby on the ceiling and ...more
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recommends it for:
Hardcore Welsh fans.
To be quite honest, I didn't enjoy this book a huge amount until the final story. It is too based around the American culture which Welsh has been experimenting with more recently. I shouldn't complain too much really though, at least he's branching out a bit. The novella that finishes the short story collection is great though, it's set back in good old Scotland, Fife to be exact, and the lead characters even visit my hometown of Hawick.
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Read in June, 2008
recommends it for:
Welsh fans that were disappointed with Bedroom Secrets
Dakrness faws like a workin hoor's keks: sudden but yet predictable...good welsh, alot better than his bedroom secrets, the book before this. This book is 3 short stories, and a novella. All were great, the three shorts where actually set in the states and written in proper american english which was a nice change of pace. The novella is back on Scottish turf, "The Kingdom of Fife". It was a little depressing since i could relate to the masterbating/stalker main character Jason. ...more
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Read in January, 2010
Gross, but less repulsive than Chuck Palahniuk's Choke. At times hilarious. Short stories you regret coming to an end too soon.
Yet, I can't evaluate the last story... I can't read it. It's written in ... what I assume to be phonetic Scottish..?
I'm not a native English speaker, so it's simply too difficult.
Nevertheless, this collection invites to read more of Irvine Welsh.
Yet, I can't evaluate the last story... I can't read it. It's written in ... what I assume to be phonetic Scottish..?
I'm not a native English speaker, so it's simply too difficult.
Nevertheless, this collection invites to read more of Irvine Welsh.
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Read in December, 2009
Picked it up in an airport in New Zealand, intrigued by the blurbs on the cover (which turned out to be total lies). Poorly written, unnecessarily crude, inauthentic dialogue...it is truly sad that trees had to die for this piece of crap. Even trapped in a plane for 13 hours, I couldn't bring myself to finish it
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Read in March, 2009
3.5 stars, truly. Welsh can write dialogue like few people I've read, you just have to get the accents running in your head. I often find myself reading him aloud so I can tune my ear to what these crazy brogues would sound like. And after I read a Welsh book- every single time- I find myself talking like one of his characters, over-the-top accent, attitude, colorful phraseology and all. Aye sor.
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A bunch of bundled short stories. All the plots are good and it’s written decently. However, the last story I didn’t finish because the author uses a dialect I had much difficulties with. Will read more of this writer.
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Read in January, 2007
Andy bought me this as a graduation present from college. A collection of sick short stories whose mood reminds me of trashy ten cent horror comics or the "creepshow" dvds... dark humor where you can't help but read on.
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Read in March, 2009
Have I mentioned I love Irvine Welsh? 4 short stories and a novella and I loved it all. And I might be talking with a slight Scottish accent by accident now.
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Short stories and a novella. Grea reads, the last a little difficult to wade through because of the scottish accent, but worth it.
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Jul 29, 2009
Jose M
is currently reading it
Cuentos asombrosos pasados por el tamiz de este ácido escritor (lo de ácido se lo cuelgo como etiqueta en sus múltiples significados).
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Read in November, 2007
recommends it for:
freaky type folks
This is another collection of short stories from Irvine Welsh. However, there are no similarities to his earlier collections, like Ecstacy and the Acid House.
This one goes on a really weird tangent, if that's actually possible. One story is about an up and coming director who crosses paths with a nutjob, another is about three friends who crash in the desert and encounter a truly evil soul, and yet another is about a girl, her dog, and a Korean chef.
Get the p...more
This one goes on a really weird tangent, if that's actually possible. One story is about an up and coming director who crosses paths with a nutjob, another is about three friends who crash in the desert and encounter a truly evil soul, and yet another is about a girl, her dog, and a Korean chef.
Get the p...more
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Read in May, 2009
Some of his best comedic writing. 4 short stories & a novella, 5 completely different voices.
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Read in March, 2008
I enjoyed the second half of this book immensely.
The first half is mostly stories that encompass the extreme depravity of the human race.
The second half deals with a young man named Jason from Scotland and tells the story from different points of view.
I've come to expect some depravity from Irvine Welsh based on Trainspotting and Porno. I've also come to expect the great protagonists from him. Between Rents and Jason I've had a great time reading the books.
...more
The first half is mostly stories that encompass the extreme depravity of the human race.
The second half deals with a young man named Jason from Scotland and tells the story from different points of view.
I've come to expect some depravity from Irvine Welsh based on Trainspotting and Porno. I've also come to expect the great protagonists from him. Between Rents and Jason I've had a great time reading the books.
...more
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Read in March, 2008
Irvine Welsh needs to stick to Scottish losers. His American voice just plain fails. The short stories had a 'poorly done Palahniuk' feel to them. The novella achieves its rather pedestrian goals in an uncompelling manner. I love Welsh, but... (Of course there's a but...) I could set his latter works in two stacks: ill advised attempts to diverge from his early works and reprocessed shadows of those same early works. These stories are simply a microcosm of his recent work, tired and o...more
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Read in August, 2007
I wasn't ever aware that Irvine Welsh had a new book in paperback; I happended to see it on a table at the bookstore.
This was far and away the easist of his books to read. It's short stories, and not much of it is written phoenetically in a Scottish dialect.
The stories themselves were impressive. They all start with really standard story lines (friends in a love triangle go on a roadtrip) but the plot twists are really sharp and stunning.
I don't want to loan ...more
This was far and away the easist of his books to read. It's short stories, and not much of it is written phoenetically in a Scottish dialect.
The stories themselves were impressive. They all start with really standard story lines (friends in a love triangle go on a roadtrip) but the plot twists are really sharp and stunning.
I don't want to loan ...more
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