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kayleyb's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Bullying, Classism, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Grief, Toxic relationship, and Toxic friendship
edusa777's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
Graphic: Misogyny, Alcoholism, Drug use, Drug abuse, and Child death
Moderate: Racism, Racial slurs, Fatphobia, Sexual harassment, and Sexual content
katie_hill22's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Addiction, Sexual assault, Murder, Drug abuse, Drug use, and Alcoholism
Moderate: Animal death, Domestic abuse, Adult/minor relationship, and Excrement
noahee's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child death, Cursing, Drug abuse, Drug use, Excrement, Sexual content, and Vomit
kirstybaxter's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Miscarriage, Addiction, Drug abuse, Drug use, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Vomit, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexism, Sexual violence, Child death, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Racial slurs, Toxic friendship, Infidelity, and Grief
Moderate: Excrement
Minor: Cancer
mia7's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
Graphic: Drug abuse and Alcoholism
Moderate: Rape and Adult/minor relationship
Minor: Racial slurs
renty's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Animal cruelty and Incest
amethystd28d4's review against another edition
- 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
- I'm sure the Edinburgh dialect is off-putting to some, but Welsh's storytelling simply wouldn't be the same without it. There's a flow to the writing that makes it an addictive read (which is more to do with Welsh's skill than how our speech translates to the page), and it really does the dark and deadpan local sense of humour justice.
- Every character's voice is so well-defined, partly because this is a bunch of short stories put together, but there's never anything in the title telling you this is a Renton part, a Sick Boy part, etc. You can tell immediately within the text whose voice you're hearing.
- When I was a teen I was reluctant to start this book as I already knew it had more focus on women than the film, and anything "gritty" written by a man automatically rings the alarm bells. I LOVED how women were written in it though, and I actually appreciate it more now that I'm older. Not to praise men for the bare minimum or anything, but I've always felt like Welsh deserves more credit for his ability to sympathise with other points of view to the extent that he can write through a woman's eyes without objectification. Something I appreciated this read-through, though, is how this goes both ways - female characters are allowed to be every bit as disgusting as the men are, with the same self-awareness and no external judgement.
I hope one day I also get to squeeze a tampon into the soup of an English tourist - On that point about self-awareness, it's this quality that allows Welsh's characters to at once navigate their darkest thoughts, recount their worst actions, but still invite you in for more. Renton in particular traverses many sore subjects - Scots vs English, Catholic vs Protestant, black vs white...the real beauty of the book is that as horrible as these characters' actions are, the philosophising from them is nowhere near the eye-rolling slog we've come to expect from white male authors. For a novel set in the 80s and published in 1993, the politics that Renton lingers on are insanely relevant to Scots of the same age here in 2021, and actually verbalises a lot of the apathy, but ultimate rejection of bigotry, you'll hear from any pro-indy Scot under 35 today. These characters may be challenging, disgusting, and morally reprehensible in many ways, but the last thing you can accuse them of is being alienating.
Anyway, this is very much an "If you want to know me, read this" book for me, and I implore you to give it a try if you can handle the content warnings. Just do us all a favour and don't embarrass yourself by trying to write the accent yourself when you come back to leave your review, eh?
Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Excrement, Murder, Racial slurs, Rape, Religious bigotry, Sexual harassment, Terminal illness, Toxic friendship, Violence, and Xenophobia
moonandmadness's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Child death, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Excrement, Fatphobia, Gore, Grief, Homophobia, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Toxic friendship, Trafficking, Violence, Vomit, and Xenophobia
alexorr's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Abortion, Blood, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Grief, Homophobia, Hate crime, Infertility, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, and Vomit