Reviews tagging 'Cursing'

Trainspotting by Irvine Welsh

19 reviews

alice_appleby's review against another edition

dark reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Self harm, Sexual content, Toxic friendship, Grief, Mental illness, Child death, Physical abuse, Terminal illness, Abortion, Gore, Suicide, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Alcohol, Miscarriage, Vomit, Drug abuse, Animal cruelty, Addiction, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Pregnancy, Sexual assault, Torture, Toxic relationship, Domestic abuse, Excrement, Infidelity, Suicide attempt, Violence, Rape, and Sexual violence

dannymonty's review against another edition

challenging dark funny medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

The movie which this book is based on is probably my favorite of all time. I like it better than the book, but Irvine Welsh's novel has a style and charm that can't be ignored. This is a challenging read. Without the glossary, I would have drowned in the Scottish dialect completely. Once you get used to it, the language becomes part of the fun. The novel switches perspectives a lot, often without warning. What is impressive about the heavy use of dialect is that, because all the characters speak differently, you can tell who is talking without their name being mentioned in the text. Overall, this book is a substantial collection of shocking, gritty moments that make for a unique and memorable reading experience.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Drug use, Cursing, Toxic friendship, Child death, Alcohol, Drug abuse, and Sexual content

Moderate: Alcoholism and Chronic illness

Minor: Hate crime, Physical abuse, Mental illness, Grief, Cancer, Domestic abuse, and Pregnancy

wantstoloveajedi's review against another edition

dark reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Physical abuse, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Addiction, Blood, Cursing, Drug use, Sexual harassment, Death, Homophobia, Pregnancy, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Torture, Vomit, Medical trauma, Child abuse, Child death, Infidelity, Drug abuse, Excrement, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexual content, and Sexual violence

thomasdj's review against another edition

challenging dark funny slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Addiction, Alcohol, Cursing, Drug use, Vomit, and Alcoholism

Moderate: Child death, Adult/minor relationship, Sexual violence, Death, Sexual assault, Excrement, and Child abuse

Minor: Xenophobia, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Murder, Fatphobia, and Miscarriage

tehgrouse's review against another edition

challenging medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

A challenging read, to say the least, because of the heavy Scottish accents but once you get used to it and look up a few slang words, it's a lot of crazy drug-fueled 90s young folk stories.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Violence, Child death, and Cursing

Moderate: Animal cruelty

zoinkie's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Body horror, Chronic illness, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Adult/minor relationship, Cursing, Death, Medical content, Racial slurs, Rape, Drug abuse, Drug use, Excrement, Sexual content, Alcohol, Racism, Vomit, Addiction, Classism, and Terminal illness

ailurolily's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Drug abuse, Drug use, Sexual content, Child death, and Cursing

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Torture, Hate crime, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Terminal illness, Death, and Excrement

Minor: Miscarriage, Domestic abuse, and Rape

quinnviv's review against another edition

adventurous dark reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Was genuinely surprised by how much I enjoyed this book. I went into it knowing that it could be a difficult read due to the dialect however that was my main draw to the book for research purposes. What I initially set off on when starting the book changed entirely once I found myself in the world and with the characters, who I didn't necessarily like but seemed to care for in some way.

The way Welsh differentiates the characters point of views through the change in writing style and accent was marvellous and I loved the working class perspective on big topics. I would've loved to see more of Stevie's and Nina's character as they presented an interesting outsiders look into the depravity of the scene that Renton has found himself in. My only gripe with the book was that at times I found myself disappointed in the disappearance of story threads but the disjointed structure of the book seemed to reflect the headspace of its characters which I appreciated.

This structure of vignettes coming from multiple peoples perspectives rather than a fully cohesive story was reminiscent of sitting around a table with old friends and telling the highlights/lowlights of the past year. It treated the reader as smart, engaging with topics of systematic injustice for the working class in Britain with an educated but genuine voice of the lower class, as well as forcing you to infer gaps within the story.  The moments where the perspective was from a woman showed an appreciation for their resilience when not only are they systematically oppressed but also poorly treated by the misogynistic men in the story. 

Practically, reading this book allowed me to process the writing much easier as well as improved my Scottish accent.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Misogyny, Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Domestic abuse, Sexual violence, Death, Child abuse, Body horror, Sexism, Cursing, Animal cruelty, Drug use, Drug abuse, Vomit, Toxic friendship, Terminal illness, and Rape

Moderate: Alcoholism

anniekayobrien's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny reflective tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Cursing, Adult/minor relationship, Sexual content, Alcohol, Violence, Racism, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Terminal illness, and Rape

dhani07's review against another edition

dark medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Drug use and Cursing