Dead Men's Trousers (Mark Renton, 5)

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Carl’s been dragging his flight case ay records wi him, perspiring like a Thatcher Cabinet minister wi the education portfolio up for grabs, and looking dangerously red.

There is a major plot arc starting from a drink spiked with MDMA powder, the consequences of which flow throughout the book and are truly but believably sordid. This brings in repressed sex addiction, gangster exploitation and the illegal organ trade. A dog reaching and chewing a human kidney is not convincing; has this dog got primate hands that can undo clasps? The plot skids on the bank of complete absurdity, but never quite falls in the pond.Uh-oh. Ah’m no sure aboot this, man. — What? Is that no illegal, smuggling body parts, like the invasion ay the bodysnatchers n aw that? Not to mention, this new novel also directly takes place after the solo Begbie novel Blade Artist which feels like required reading now. Then there's that novel Glue, featuring characters such as the perverted Juice Terry and DJ N-Sign--who have also been in more novels. It's kind of similar to latter-day Simpsons episodes. Not quite the institution it used to be, but if you just watch to watch you can enjoy. A] fitting send-off… When he’s at his best, Welsh spins a story of four men broken by addiction and betrayal; old friends who’ve shared their youths, somehow lived through them, and just can’t quite seem to let go.”– NPR

Sto seduto nel mio appartamento a fumare canne e compatirmi. A deprimermi ancora di più con la coscienza esatta di quello che farò per sopportare questo disastro: mi sfonderò di sostanze, e passato l'effetto mi butterò nel lavoro. Lo ripeto fino alla morte. E questa la trappola. Non c'è un dopo. Welsh presents several sub-plots within which he can introduce and withdraw his characters. The two book vendetta with the American policeman is a good example of this. The blurb flags up that a major character is going to die and it's clear who the likely candidate is, but Welsh skilfully sows doubt right up to the tragedy occurring. Previously peacable characters explode with sudden violence as decades long resentments boil over, particularly where characters have literally been too clever for their own good. It is funny, unflinchingly abrasive, authentic, and inventive, unerringly on-and off-the pulse. It is a true cult, the kind of novel you press on perfect strangers. It validates a world fiction hasn’t recognized before.”– Time OutBecause I read most of the books in this series before I joined Goodreads, I want to start with: I thought that Irvine Welsh's Trainspotting was an absolutely brilliant book – full of heart and laughs and subversive social commentary, amped up with a transgressive frisson and artfully dense dialect – and that Skagboys was a powerfully heartbreaking prequel. On the other hand, I found the sequel Porno to be campy and shallow, and the recent continuing saga of The Blade Artist to have been a disappointing betrayal of Welsh's world: what reader wants Begbie to be a buttoned-down straight citizen? Now with Dead Men's Trousers, we reconnect with the rest of the gang as they approach fifty years old, and as they jet around the world commenting on the evils of neoliberalism, Welsh seems to have become disconnected from everything that was subtle and engaging and true about his own characters; sure, people should grow up (and I'm glad none of the lads are skagboy jakeys anymore), and it's good to revisit these storylines and see how details from a few books ago have played out, but this book adds nothing to the furtherance of truth; there's no art here. Basically, Dead Men's Trousers is like episode 28 of the Irvine Welsh Literary Universe. Kind of like the MCU, but moderately more literate. And while this latest episode is no Endgame, it is thoroughly entertaining. Non c'è una fava di posto al sole. Non c'è uno stronzo di futuro. C'è solo l' adesso. Ed è una merda, e sta peggiorando.

Global commercialism has compelled the Scots tae pretend tae like Christmas, but we're genetically programmed tae rebel against it. Welsh non è autore per tutti, che sia lasciato a noi bastardi potenziali che lo abbiamo nominato portavoce. But everyone other than Spud is comparatively rich – most especially the Miami-based Welsh himself – and they all spend their time in pursuit of the “more” that will finally fill their empty spaces. Other than for the tying up of some old loose ends, Dead Men's Trousers is a fairly pointless read. Even so, every now and then, Welsh throws in an old school passage that made me smile:

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Spud's character goes through a lot of shit in this novel. But the ending of this book suggests that the next book about these characters could be told from Spud's point of view, through his autobiography. I hope I am right. Frankly, I am such a big fan of these characters that I would read anything put out by Welsh. As Irvine Welsh fans know that these characters are voices for society’s problems. Corruption, Brexit, The Scottish referundum, capitalism , organ harvesting, materialism and prostitution are some of the themes that are expressed in Dead Men’s Trousers. However in the end, the true message is about the strength of friendship : no matter what happens, one will always defend their peers and that comes out clearly, especially in the conclusion. Mikey waves ehs hand n shakes ehs heid. — Naw, Spud. No in likes ay drinks n that, eh laughs, hudin up his pint. — But it works better freezin organs. They were nice lads and the fact that they're in soldier uniform is constant proof that a nation state isnae a kind of construct if you urnae rich. Then he runs into his old partner in crime, Frank Begbie, from whom he’d been hiding for years. But the psychotic Begbie appears to have reinvented himself as a celebrated artist in Los Angeles, and doesn’t seem interested in revenge.