Other-Fiction Trainspotting

Right first off I know that most of you out there will have the seen the film adaptation of this novel however I must stress that if you have seen the film you should still give the book a go as it is has much to offer on its own and is not entirely like the film. For instance there are more characters in the book and certain events in the film do not happen in the book.

The first thing you will realise when you start reading this book is that it is almost entirely written in a phonetic Scottish accent. This is a pain for a while but once you get used to it it really is an absorbing read.

The antihero of the book is Mark Renton or Rents who is the addict with a conscience. He has a number of friends who are all misfits and miscreants who he doesn't necessarily like. (Those addicted to heroin this will really strike a chord with)

Essentially it is a whole bunch of short stories that have been seamlesslessly put together. All of the best lines from the film were taken from the book.

I urge you to give it a try I really enjoyed it.

5 stars

Reputation Comments on this post:

Excellent book review