Glue by Irvine Welsh Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Glue
Book Review: Great characters growing up
Summary: 4 Stars
Glue is populated with strong characters. The four main friends the reader follows - Gally, Juice Terry, N-Sign Ewart, and Billy Birrell - stick together through thick and thin. From primary school to soccer riots (which is an hilarious scene) to teenage clubbing to middle age, the four remain friends. What's more is their mannerisms and behavior towards each other change very little over the course of the novel, which gives it a remarkably cohesive feel. In the end, the reader is made to feel most sympathetic towards Gally because he is the group's martyr and his story is the most integral to the climax of the novel. However, all four main characters receive equal page time, and because of this are so developed that you know what one will say before it is said. The reader gets to intimately know each of the four.
Also, the situations the lads experience throughout are exciting, hilarious and wildly varied. The afformentioned soccer riot is great, the European vacation is very interesting, and the reunion at the end is nearly heartbreaking.
In fact, the only aspect of the book I didn't care for was the year hopping. The story begins when the boys are about 10 and progresses in 5 year increments up to middle age. It works on the level of a character study, but it makes the novel seem more pieced together than linear. Irvine Welsh is obviously an incredibly talented writer, but the jumping around seems like a crutch to prop up a story idea that never reached maturity. One page Gally is at the nightclub, the next he's just getting out of prison.
All that said Glue is a great read, the more so since Filth was such a disappointment. The characters and situations are great, and with the exception of the year hopping, I found every facet of the novel to be great especially for fans of Welsh's work. If you love any of his work read Glue - it is truly intriguing.
Book Review: I've never laughed out loud so much while reading a book
Summary: 5 Stars
I have to give this one the big double thumbs up. this is the first book i've read that's spurred me to review here. i have read all of Welsh's work and am a big fan, but this one may be the topper (or at least on par w/Trainspotting). Characters are great but the dialogue is to die for. I actually found the first third to be slightly slow and not particularly funny (though still a good read) - but once the characters reach adulthood - and particularly the dialogue in the last third - I was in stitches while at the same time very moved and sympathetic to the characters. I disagree with other reviews that complain about the extended timeline, i think it's fascinating and keeps this one distinct from his others (all of which I'd recommend as well). Welsh is that rare combination of a demented yet soulful genius.Book Review: Intersecting Feelings
Summary: 4 Stars
I do not like most of Irvines writting, it seems irritating, like smoking before highschool. To dramatic and calculatingly shocking. Glue, while plenty dramatic, seems to deliever itself in a more pastel, softer kind of way, very simaler to the artsy back cover. This book does have a very interesting cover. The cracked egg is kind of intense. But then, so is the story. Intense and pastel. I think what I found amazing about this book was it's ability to show the mindframe of 'drunk and high and certain and arrogant turning in to the morning where you open your eyes in a strange room and you've puked on the bed and who's [...] bed is it anyway???? I think there is something to be said for a writer who can show people moving through life feeling more comfortable when engaged in substance use than not. While things are bleak and stark and bad Irvine shows I think, that things happens and no one knows how to deal with any of it, but one thing is for sure, that drinking and drugs are in order, and that the pain is still there anyway and watching the characters in this book come to that point makes a thoroughly interesting novel.Book Review: Irvine Welsh morphs into Nick Hornby
Summary: 2 Stars
After the brilliance of Filth, I figured it would be hard to come out with something that would top it but hoped for the best. What I didn't expect was Welsh by the numbers - it reminded me of the output from those software programs that spew out romantic novels. It had it's moments but each was a rehash from one of his other books, and the american singer angle (hence the Hornby reference - wasn't this a subplot in High Fidelity?) went nowhere.With everyone waiting for the next big thing it might have been better for Irvine to also hang out and put together something more "relevant" when the time was right - how much more E culture can we take.
It's also interesting that he continues to maintain that the only way out for the working class are the stereotypes of sport and music. Considering the entreprenuerial ethos of the Scots I would have thought at least one of them could have done something that required the use of his mind. Lots of opportunities there for some fun too.
It's an easy read but disappointing.
Book Review: Irvine Welsh's Finest Hour.
Summary: 5 Stars
Many suggest that Trainspotting was Irvine Welsh's best book. I agree that the film is peerless, but I don't think it is his best book, mostly because it is quite nihilistic and despairing. This book, on the other hand has a superb and spiritually uplifting ending, and shows the struggle of 4 kids trying to get out of the 'scheme' (Edinburgh's slums).
For the first time in Welsh's books, it uses multiple narrators and also extends their story over a long enough period of time to see far more charactor detail than was previously possible. Unlike Trainspotting, it covers a variety of different charactors and sees them to their conclusion. The result is a powerful book that has understandable charactors (rather than demagogues).
The book starts off with the charactor 'Juice' Terry making 'love' to two women in a grotty Edinburgh flat. It also shows us Billy 'Business' Birrell', who is an amateur boxer, along with Carl 'NSign' Ewart, who becomes a DJ. In addition there is the sad charactor of Andrew 'Gally' Galloway, who is like a cross between 'spud' and Bruce Robertson out of Filth (i.e. Unlucky).
I won't spoil the plot, but the four of them go through a semi- typical scheme upbringing (from the 1970's to modern times) where they discover their talents or waste them respectively. It all ends with them in their mid 30's reflecting on the events of their life and philosophising on the way things are in Edinburgh.
The book is rich in dialogue and insight, and is compelling to the very end. If I had the money, I would make a film of it, but I fear I could never do it justice!