Will's comments (member since Feb 02, 2009)

Will's comments from the 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die group.

Definitely lots of shock value. The first 40-50 pages were really slow to read, just because of the Scottish dialect. By the time I got to page 100 or so, I was able to read at nearly my normal pace.

There were so many good chapters, I can't pick a favorite. At first the discontinuity between the stories confused/bothered me a little, but I started to like it that way.

Never saw the movie, but now I'd like to watch it, if only to hear if the characters talk the same way that they did in my head.

I only remember about the group when I get the monthly email; for instance, I just got: "1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die is about to read Trainspotting" in my inbox, so I just bought the book.

I checked, and the only other time I've gotten an email like this was in June for Dead Babies, which is the only other book I've read for the group.

Is there someway to ensure that the group sends out an email once a month?

Neil wrote: "I’m kind of with Mara in being repelled but fascinated. I certainly wouldn’t consider myself prudish but a lot of this made a pretty uncomfortable read. (Maybe I’m growing squeamish as I get olde..."

Great analysis, I was especially interested by the part about Amis' teeth.

Question about Johnny; once we found out it was Quentin, I was shocked, but then realized it made sense since pretty much everyone but him was accused.

However, I think it was Diana who said that everyone but Andy had been somehow 'attacked' by Johnny. Did Quentin attack himself somehow to deflect any possible blame, or did Diana just overlook Quentin?

In terms of humor, this seems pretty hit or miss; I thought it was funny.

@Mara: Yeah, there weren't any dead babies, or babies at all, just an expression. I agree, if you're unsure if you'd like this from our descriptions, you probably won't.

@Mike: The teeth thing was a bit confusing, but like everything else in the book, it wrapped up very quickly in the end. He was always obsessing about his teeth, but we never actually heard about how his teeth were.

Then at the end of the book he asked Roxeanne (or was it Lucy?) if she'd marry someone with bad teeth, then after he flashed a toothy smile at her, she got disgusted, and he decided to kill himself. I guess his dream was just replaying a bad childhood experience where his teeth got all messed up.

Wow, I have never read a book that changed gears so suddenly, and ended so abruptly. I enjoyed it throughout.

So dead babies is just an expression it seems; that's dead babies just means that's shit, along those lines?

The list that you link to actually has 1002 books on it... Look at the very last page and you'll see this.

Edit: Similarly, the group bookshelf has 1238 books...