Glue by Irvine Welsh Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Glue
Book Review: Superb work of writing
Summary: 5 Stars
'Glue' is the first novel I've read by Irvine Welsh. SMASHING and BRILLIANT are among the comments and praises I give his latest novel. 'Glue' introduces you to the Edinburgh known to Andrew Galloway, a "wee man" who has his bouts with love with a lassie named Gail, "Juice" Terry Lawson - the older, but more fanatical friend of the fitba crew - and Carl Ewart, the rising deejay whose end with drug flirtations bring him back to reality; Billy Birell, otherwise known to the capitalistic boxing league as 'Business Birell', because he means business with his punches. In Welsh's scheme (the Edinburgh flats of the urban atmosphere)set in 'Glue', the reader follows a sort of twist in time, which is liken to Bret Easton Ellis' novel 'Glamorama', and you get to follow the crew (in their younger years) to the football ('fitba' or true soccer) games, where they get brutal with Hibs and Herts fans -where Terry Lawson, the eldest mate of the crew, makes local headlines as a rebel-fighter at the football games. Carl Ewart takes flight to Sydney, Australia, where he makes his 'deejay' name of N-SIGN, where he meets love, where he finds his true passion.
'Glue' reminds you're someone's friend and that "and yuv goat tae back up yir mates." It's a BRILLIANT READ.
Book Review: The best since trainspotting
Summary: 5 Stars
Welshs best since trainspotting. Glue is the story of four friends groing up together and what keeps them together.Book Review: The flipside of "Trainspotting"
Summary: 4 Stars
Irvine Welsh's "Glue" may be read as the flipside to his earlier, and much more compelling novel, "Trainspotting." Whereas in "Trainspotting" four friends are driven apart by forces such as drugs and a parasitic lifestyle that threaten to submerge their individuality, in "Glue" another set of four friends discover, following the suicide of one of their member, the importance of friendship (the "glue" of the title) in the face of similar forces. When familiar faces from the earlier book appear in "Glue," they are treated with suspicion or outright disdain. Mark Renton, the hero of "Trainspotting," is known to Gally, Terry, Billy, and Carl, the heroes of "Glue," simply as the boy who betrayed his mates. The idea is an interesting one, and Welsh makes sure that we come to know his heroes well. But this time the ideas, and even the language, seem less fresh. As in "Trainspotting," the bulk of the novel, which is set primarily in Edinburgh, is written in Scottish dialect, and Welsh is a master of this form. But, after having painstakingly developed his thesis in the first two-thirds of the book, he mostly abandons the vernacular language for a rather flat Brit English prose in the final third. Even worse, subplots that are brought in to flesh out the narrative don't really mesh, especially the one involving an unconvincing friendship that develops between the priapic Juice Terry and an aging American pop star. Nevertheless, "Glue" offers a handful of genuine laughs, and some memorable characterizations, as in the above-mentioned Juice Terry and his aging "alter ego" Post Alec. But there is no one in the novel quite as engaging as Renton, the Sick Boy, Spud, or Begbie. If you haven't already read "Trainspotting," do so first. And by all means, see the film. Then you may be eager for whatever narrative crumbs Welsh has to offer in "Glue."Book Review: The joy and the agony of friendship
Summary: 4 Stars
I have read two Irvine Welsh books to date, this one being the second and I was not disappointed. All of Welsh's books invite you to a seedy underworld of drugs, sex, violence, and scams. Along with all of the humor in this story Welsh captures a very vulnerable side of the human spirit, friendship. This book is quite humerous but is also very touching in it's depiction of four friends taking the world on, once again, on thier own terms. If you want to revisit the ecstacy of youth, the pain and the humor of growing up, and the dark irony of the midlife crises then read the story about the glue that binds true friendship together.Book Review: This isn't English
Summary: 1 Stars
I don't often give up on books. No matter how bad they are, I persevere and make it to the end just to say that I did.I gave up on Glue. I ordered the book because the author has some degree of fame. The book opened with ordinary prose. Only the dialogue was in scotch and I could somehow work this out. I was prepared for the dialogue to be like this. When I read a southern American book, the dialogue is written differently, in order to create an accent. However, after the prologue, Glue was written entirely in Scotch. This isn't English. It was impossible to understand.
Because I didn't read the book, I can't call this a review. Instead it's a warning to other readers not to be unprepared like me. THIS BOOK IS NOT IN ENGLISH.