Irvine Welsh: Encyclopedia II - Irvine Welsh - Work

Irvine Welsh - Work

Welsh's first novel, Trainspotting, was published in 1993. Set in the mid-1980s, it uses a series of loosely-connected short stories to tell the story of a group of characters tied together by decaying friendships, heroin addiction and stabs at escape from the oppressive boredom and brutality of their lives in the housing schemes. It was released to shock and outrage in some circles and massive acclaim in others; Time Out called it "funny, unflinchingly abrasive, authentic and inventive", and The Sunday Times called Welsh "the best thing that has happened to British writing for decades". One critic went so far as to say that Trainspotting "deserves to sell more copies than The Bible." It was adapted as a play, and a film adaptation, directed by Danny Boyle and written by John Hodge, was released in 1996. Welsh himself appeared in the film as Mikey Forrester, a minor character. The film was also a massive worldwide success. U.S. Sen. Bob Dole decried its moral depravity and glorification of drug use during the 1996 presidential campaign, although he admitted that he had not actually seen the film (or, presumably, read the book).

Next, Welsh released The Acid House, a darkly funny collection of short stories from Rebel Inc., New Writing Scotland and other sources. Many of the stories take place in and around the housing schemes from Trainspotting, and employ many of the same themes; however, a touch of fantasy is apparent in stories such as The Acid House, where the minds of a baby and a drug user magically swap bodies, or The Granton Star Cause, where God transforms a man into a fly as punishment for wasting his life. Welsh himself adapted three of the stories for a later film.

Welsh's third book (and second novel), Marabou Stork Nightmares, marked a new maturity in his work. It alternates between a typically grim tale of thugs and schemes in sub-working class Scotland and a hallucinatory adventure tale set in South Africa. Gradually, common themes begin to emerge between the two stories, culminating in an ending that is certainly one of the most shocking things Welsh has ever written.

His next book, Ecstasy: Three Tales of Chemical Romance (1996) became his most high-profile work since Trainspotting, released in the wave of publicity surrounding the film. It consists of three unconnected novellas: the first is a bawdy satire of classic British romance novels, the second a revenge story involving the chemical Thalidomide, and the third a sly, subtle romance between a young woman dissatisfied with the confines of her suburban life and an aging clubgoer. Most critics dismissed the first two as relatively minor affairs and focused their praise on the third. Welsh's narration imbued both characters with surprising warmth, and the story avoided the easy, predictable pro-ecstasy / pro-drug conclusions that some might have expected from his work. Following adaptation into a stage play, a film version of the third novella is in production. Filming is scheduled to commence in 2006, with Billy Boyd and Elize Du Toit featuring among the principle characters.

A corrupt police officer and his tapeworm served as the narrators for his third novel, Filth (1998). Welsh had never avoided flawed characters, but the main character of Filth was a brutally vicious sociopath on the level of Trainspotting's Frank Begbie. His tapeworm was perhaps the most sympathetic character, a classic Welsh inversion in an otherwise remarkably bleak novel.

Glue (2001) was a return to the locations, themes and episodic form of Trainspotting, telling the stories of four characters spanning several decades in their lives and the bonds that held them together. Having revisited some of them in passing in Glue, Welsh brought most of the Trainspotting characters back for a sequel, Porno, in 2002.

His most recent project is a screenplay based on the 19th century West Port murders. Provisionally titled The Meat Trade, the film is scheduled to feature Robert Carlyle and Colin Firth under the direction of Antonia Bird and will be shot on location, in Edinburgh, during 2006. Despite the historical source material, Welsh has set the story in the familiar confines of present day Edinburgh, with Burke and Hare depicted as brothers who steal human organs to meet the demands of the global transplant market.

Welsh has made several reading tours around the world, and has been involved with his beloved house music as a DJ, promoter and producer. Like many of his characters, he passionately supports Hibs.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Work", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki