Great book. No moralism, but great tragedy and hilarious fun, often served simultaneously. ( )

Synopsis:

Set in the mid 80's, Trainspotting is a gathering of short stories featuring a group of youngsters from Leith (Scotland). All of them are either heroin users or engaged in destructive activities, which are portrayed as addictions, serving the same function as heroin addiction.

Personal opinion:

I loved this book! Set in Scotland, it gives a good taste of what must be like to be wandering through the outlying areas of its cities. It's also written (almost every chapter) in "phonetic scottish", which adds realism and authenticity to the story.

The novel is an acid approach to the life of junkies and other related people who tend to withdraw from society. We can easily grasp what they think, how they feel, or why do they interact with society the way they do. After all, their addictions are a means to escape from a world they don't belong.

Narration is one of the most fascinating aspects. Every character has his own way of thinking, talking to himself and to interact with others, so that it's not hard to guess who is telling each story.

Another interesting point is the way they regard society, morality and other varied stuff, like drugs, babies ("bairns"), death or friendship. There are also some brilliant moments in which (generally Renton) they speak about life, leaving some notorious excerpts for the posterity.

Personally, I think that the writer implies that it's so hard to choose the life you'd want, specially when you come from marginal backgrounds; at least, that's what Trainspotting has meant to me. The passage that gives title to the novel is self-explainatory: it gives a general idea of the story as a whole, without giving you the details about how you should interpret it.

To sum up, I recommend it to every hardcore reader who wants a fun and transcendent book. It can be confusing sometimes, but it's superbly written and deserves every single half of the rating stars: ( )

I LOVE everything about Trainspotting. I love the language, though it may be confusing at first, once you get the hang of it its beautiful. I love every character (especially Sick Boy and Spud, they're hilarious). The story has gritty realism and fantasy at the same time. It's moving, compelling, disturbing and one of my favorites.

The film is also great; Danny Boyle gives Trainspotting the respect it deserves. ( )

Perfect read and not as intimidating as the first page makes it out to be. Like the movie but added bonus of different narrators throughout. I loved it. ( )