“society invents a spurious convoluted logic tae absorb and change people whae’s behaviour is outside its mainstream. suppose that ah ken aw the pros and cons, know that ah’m gaunnae huv a short life, am ay sound mind etcetera, etcetera, but still want tae use smack? they won’t let ye dae it. they won’t let ye dae it, beacuse its seen as a sign ay thir ain failure. the fact that ye jist simply choose tae reject whit they huv to offer. choose us. choose life. choose mortgage payments; choose washing machines; choose cars; choose sitting oan a couch watching mind-numbing and spirit-crushing game shows, stuffing fuckin junk food intae yir mouth. choose rotting away, pishing and shiteing yersel in a home, a total fuckin embarrassment tae the selfish, fucked-up brats ye’ve produced. choose life.
well, ah choose no tae choose life. if the cunts cannae handle that, it’s thair fuckin problem. as harry lauder sais, ah jist intend tae keep right on to the end of the road …”
probably his most famous quote, from trainspotting, his most famous creation so far.
i’m currently reading re-heated cabbage, a recent collection of short stories (most have been published already, there’s only one that’s new). all the welsh staples are there: the blood, sperm and shit of scotland’s lower social class; the hate, the violence and the narrow-mindedness. he is very, very good at presenting the dirty underbelly of a failing society. his mechanisms are faultless, his first person approach serving the goal of objectivity and the skillful wording creating hard to forget visuals in the reader’s mind.
his stuff is great for adapting to the big screen but nevermind that. read his books. struggle with the literal rendering of scottish slang and you’ll get to the big prize: seeing the world through his eyes. it is priceless!
i liked the bedroom secrets of the master chefs. but i also liked trainspotting and its sequel porno. i pretty much liked everything else i read, too.
i admit it, it’s not for everybody: if you believe that people are basically good, perhaps this is not for you. for the more survival-of-the-fittest inclined people, buy it, borrow it, steal it. now!
photo credits: google search
