Rating: 
Summary: If you thought.....
Review: Irvine Welsh is one of a few great writers to come from Scotland,but if you thought Trainspotting was good then read Maribou Stork Nightmares,it's an absolute classic.
Rating:
Summary: The best of its kind
Review: There are loads of books written about the drug- oriented subcultures of the modern world, but personally I rate Trainspotting high above the rest of them. Even though the book is graphic and shocking, it's not only that: it's deep and philosopihical - and very, very melancholy. Welsh makes the characters really come alive. They are not nice people, but they _are_ people, real people with real lives, however fictional. It takes an open mind to get into Trainspotting, not for conservatives - but all the better for just that. The movie is good, but the book is a lot better.
Rating:
Summary: Strangely Fascinated...
Review: I finished Trainspotting five minutes ago and it was a heartache to close the book after having absorbed so many emotions from it. I searched for it because I had heard only a little about it with the exception of a few famous people reading it. Due to my vanity, I had to read it. A friend bought it for me and as soon as I started, I was blown away by the dialect and slang used. Once I got over the initial intimidation, I dove headfirst into an incredible book. Although this isn't my usual read, (I'm a huge W. Gibson fan), I found myself absolutely captivated by Welsh's characters. I think of him as a fabulous storyteller who captured the epitome of the tragedy of being young. I applaud him for showing that we do indeed have remorse for what we do. But we also have a love/hate relationship for this world. Read Trainspotting. It was indescribably beautiful.
Rating: 
Summary: Say Wha?
Review: I couldn't even understand the scottish dialect and slang that this book was written in. All the other reviews claim how great the book is, but I couldn't even get into it because it was written in the scottish vernacular. If you hate reading books in dialect, stay far far away from this one! Plus, the language is appalling.. for example, "cunt" is used at least four times a page, among other vulgar terms... not my cup of tea.
Rating:
Summary: Great
Review: Welsh is a masterful writer who keeps the novels events simultaneously shocking and entertaining. Much better at writing about addiction than Stahl. What does the word trainspotting mean, by the way?
Rating:
Summary: BRILLIANT!
Review: This brilliant piece of work deserves more than 5 stars! The Scottish is written phonetically, which makes it fascinatingly complex (for those of you who can't understand the first few pages, it gets easier! One of the most enthusiastic, witty, living books I have ever read. After reading Trainspotting, you will UNDOUBTEDLY become a huge fan of Irvine Welsh....he is the insane genius of the written word....JUST READ IT!
Rating:
Summary: Gritty realism and sardonic humor at their very best...
Review: This book was easily one of the best I have read in the last year. It provides a new insight into a "side-street" of our culture that until now many of us have not seen or simply not understood. Welsh's varied use of 1st and 3rd person, his grasp on the attitudes of the Leith streetlife, and his multifaceted writing styles are the most impressive I have seen in recent books. The language and dialect of this book, although fairly difficult to understand at first, will soon become almost second-nature to the reader. This book is definitely worth one's time
Rating:
Summary: A truly gripping novel
Review: I am not an avid reader, or at least I was not until I read this book. The style in which Welsh writes is fresh and interesting, and the settings and plot come alive. I often want to go back and read this again to see what the characters are up to these days, because I think that even though I'm done reading they are still carrying on without me. That is how vivid this book is; that is how immersed you will become in this novel. Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: Harshly entertaining.
Review: I'd seen the movie, but didn't know if I could bring myself to read the book. I had heard that it was even more graphic than the film, and was unsure of my capabilities to understand the Edinburgh dialect that Welsh had written the book in. However, after a visit to Glasgow, Scotland, I was reintroduced to the novel. I nearly bought it while I was there, but realized that it would not have the glossary that the American edition has. Upon my return, I immediately bought it, and finished it within days. The book is about a group of characters who are all somehow touched by the heroin culture of Edinburgh. Many are users, some are just friends of users. All the characters in the book are somehow linked together. They each tell at least one story through their own eyes. The reader is taken through a journey, shown the ins and outs of these people's addiction, attempts to kick the addiction, and their ultimate failures, either through death, or just through keeping on in their drug use. The characters are vivid and their situations are made quite real for the reader. By the end of the novel I was quite used to the Scottish dialect, and I was rather attached to the characters. I did not want the story to end. Though it is graphic at times, and the dialect is a challenge at the start, I definitely urge everyone to read this harshly entertaining and highly engrossing novel.
Rating: 
Summary: Cool but disturbing.
Review: Welsh had been honest in this book and his research and/or personal experience had allowed us a 'wee' glimpse into the daily lives of the not-so-well educated and low-income strata of the Scottish society, which is quite akin to many others in several aspects, of course. I have read this book (together with all other Welsh's novels before 1997) prior to my studies in Scotland. Having been in Edinburgh for almost three years now, I can empathise and identify with the characters, language and culture as depicted in this Scottish-accented book.However, one may worry that the contents of Welsh's books (as with other Scottish fictions) will have an adverse effect on the integrity of societies and their development; particularly so for the developed cities of Scotland, as impressionable adolescents (and adults alike) will be able to identify with (if they are honest) the many 'undesirable elements' that saturates the book and may deem the many affiliated aspects of their social lives to be normal with the added touch of cool glory. Of course, this applies to other societies as well. A book is never just a book and a disease can be gloried to an epidermal galore. A noted Scottish reviewer once said in early 1999: "Yes we do want the world to have a modern image of us people and our cultural heritage of Scotland. We are more than kilts, whisky and "Braveheart"....However, do we want that image to be associated with Welsh's literature?" Overall, this is a well-told story creatively written.
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