Trainspotting (novel)

Trainspotting is the title of a 1993 book by Irvine Welsh . It is about the Scottish drug scene and tells the story of the various protagonists from constantly changing perspectives. In 2002 the sequel, Porno , appeared ten years after Trainspotting. In 2012 Welsh published the novel Skagboys , which depicts the history of Trainspotting.

content

The story takes place in the junkie milieu of the Scottish city of Edinburgh . Mark Renton and his friends Simon David Williamson aka Sickboy, Danny "Spud" Murphy and Francis Begbie live in Leith , a district of Edinburgh. There is no continuous storyline. The characters in the novel enjoy drugs , violence, soccer, sex and more. Renton is the focus of the book, and stories of violence, unprotected sex, unclean cutlery, AIDS and death, and more are told around him.

main characters

• Mark Renton (aka Rents, Rent Boy)
• Simon Williamson (aka Sick Boy, Simone)
• Danny Murphy (aka Spud)
• Frank Begbie (aka Franco, Francis)
• Dianne Forman
• Tommy
• Matthew Connell (aka Matty)
• Rab McLaughlin (aka Second Prize)
• Johnny Swan (aka Mother Superior, the White Swan)

filming

There is a film of the same name in which, however, large parts of the story are changed.

Play

Irvine Welsh also wrote a theatrical version of his novel with great dramatic pull, which was played with great success on German-speaking stages.

• The Swiss premiere took place on April 28, 2005 under the direction of Urs Odermatt (stage: Rainer Sinell ) in the Stadttheater St. Gallen.
• In 1997, a very free production based on the literary model took place at the Volksbühne on Rosa-Luxemburg-Platz in Berlin under the direction of Artistic Director Frank Castorf .

Audio book

The audio book, read by Henning Wehland (singer of the German rock band H-Blockx ) is shortened, but retains the original story. Due to the shortening, however, some characteristics of the main characters are lost or are not shown as clearly as in the written version.

Quotes

• Friends are a waste of time. They keep trying to drag you down to their level of social and sexual mediocrity.
• I had developed the junkie's ability to always lie. Now I could lie better than tell the truth.
• When it came to drugs, we were all deeply liberal and vehemently against government interference.
• I'm surrounded by the guys who are closest to me, but I've never felt this lonely. Not in my whole life.

literature

• Irvine Welsh: Trainspotting . Goldmann, 1999, German by Peter Torberg