There are two reasons to pick up John Hodge's screenplay for "Trainspotting," based on the novel by Irvine Welsh. The first is because you have trouble understand English spoken with strong Scottish brogues and you cannot figure out how to use closed captioning. Admittedly, this is the minor reason. The second and major reason is to appreciate how well Hodge transformed Welsh's novel into a solid screenplay. After all, the novel was a collection of loosely related short stories about several different characters that neither aspires to nor reaches a complete narrative form. Also, the key to the characters comes as much from their internal monologues as it does from anything they say or do. Of course the solution was to focus on one character and make him the "narrator" of the film. This becomes Mark Renton, the unrepentant drug abuser who does not seem to be as hell-bent on self-destruction as the rest of his mates.

This volume includes an introduction by Hodge, who explains how he came to be coerced into writing the screenplay. The screenplay is indeed the screenplay, and not a transcript of the film, so there are plenty of changes in dialogue and editing if you actually do sit down and follow along while watching Danny Boyle's film. Notations tell you want scenes or bits of dialogue were cut from the film and there are plenty of black & white photographs of the various scenes (but just Ewen McGregor coming OUT of the toilet...). The Afterword consists of a brief interview with author Irvine Welsh, conducted during the penultimate week of the shooting of the film (Welsh was doing a cameo performance as the drug dealer Mikey Forrester). Welsh speaks candidly about the transformation of his novel into a film and how the drug scene in Scotland has changed since the book's original publication. However, for those who have actually tracked down and read the novel, reading the screenplay soon afterwards will give you a greater appreciation of how excellent a job Hodges did with this adaptation.

I didn't buy the Screenplay for a need to understand the movie persay, however it was a definate treat. Sometimes you just don't want to read the entire book but you want to visualize the movie in your head. The screenplay is perfect for this. I recommend it for any Trainspotting fan.

Trainspotting the movie was full of great details and funny dialogue that has to be tasted and thought about which like good wine gets better with age.

The companion interview with Irvine Welsh is a real treat. The man is articulate, funny, and has a lot to say. It is seldom one can get inside the author and his feelings on a movie that is made.

There is also a preface written by John Hodge himself that details his process of from writing Shallow Grave and how that movie got made and then how the others convinced him to make trainspotting although he was terrible reluctant. That in itself was an amazing story.

I loved his note to the readers about how he was sorry he didn't put our favourite bits of the book in the movie and how he didn't get to put his own favorites bits himself. He also comments about the liberty he took with the text, and explained some of them. As an Irvine Welsh fan I felt placated and had a new respect for Hodge.

As for the screen play itself. You can read about Sick Boy's ideas about Sean Connery, personal thoughts of renton, his relationship with Diane, in detail. Everything in the movie is amplified. A small detail and a big scene takes the same importance on the page.

I love picking it up and reading my favourite bits. As an avid Irvine Welsh fan I could really take the time to see what John Hodge added to the film and apreciate it.

Watching the movie again takes about two hours of your time, and replaying your favorite bits is never the same. This screen play allow you to do just that without much effort. It is short and easy to read, and hey to be honest, I didn't hear what was said in the film because of the accents. Here I can read exactly what was said. If you love the book and/or the movie god this is a great companion to go with it.

I have been a Welsh fan since reading "Trainspotting" (one of the few novels I have been able to enjoy after seeing a film). I am happy that Welsh has decided to revisit the characters from "Trainspotting," but was disappointed to find Sick Boy as the central character. I really enjoyed Nikki and her observations and Spuds struggles were a welcome diversion from Sick Boy's scams and mysoginistic retorich. Not as shocking as "Filth" or as groundbreaking and original as "The Maribou Stork Nightmares," but it is a fulfilling sequel to "Trainspotting." If you have not read Welsh before, start with "Trainspotting" or the excellent collection of short stories "The Acid House."

Before you read this book, you definitely must first read Welsh's first novel Trainspotting, and you should probably also read his last one, Glue. Porno is a direct sequel to Trainspotting, bringing back virtually all the characters some ten years later, and it's a semi-sequel to Glue, adding some of that book's characters into the mix, most notably "Juice" Terry Lawton and Rab Birrell. Porno will lack a great deal of depth and resonance for readers not familiar with those earlier books and their characters and settings.

And therein lies both Porno's attraction and minor disappointments. If you loved Trainspotting, reading Porno is very much like the experience of having seen a great band in a tiny club when they were just starting, and then seeing the same band ten years later in a large venue when they are more popular. They may still be amazing and play your favorite songs, but inevitably they've mellowed a touch, the intensity is isn't the same, and you get a little wistful. And to a certain extent, that's exactly what the book is about, aging, maturing, and getting over one's past. It's totally unfair to expect another Trainspotting from Welsh, an author can only write that passionate and electric a book once, and it's usually the first book they write. In any event, readers have had ten years to get used to reading Scots dialect and it's hard to conceive of what Welsh could write about that would be equally shocking as his heroin underworld.

In any event, Porno is a carefully plotted and constructed story, told in alternating first-person chapters by Sick Boy, his new lady Nikki Fuller-Smith, Spud, Begbie, and Renton. The central character is Sick Boy, who's seeking to reinvent himself as post-millenium entrepreneur, starting by making a porn film with his circle of acquaintances. Eventually this intertwines with the reappearance of Renton and the question of what went down in London ten years ago when he cheated Sick Boy, Begbie, and Spud on a heroin deal and skipped town. Cynics will no doubt say that Welsh is looking to ride the sequel bus to potloads of money, which is, again, unfair. Clearly the Trainspotting crew were the characters closest to his heart, so of course he's going to want to revisit them and it seems churlish to suggest that an author who uses characters twice is a sellout.

Foe most part the characters are exactly as they were in the earlier books, although to varying degrees, most realize they're getting older and need to change. In this regard, Spud's story is the most poignant and affecting of the lot. And of course Renton's attempt to settle the past and lead a normal life is hard not to empathize with, which is why mad-dog Begbie is such a menacing presence throughout the book. Ultimately however, this is a comedy, lacking the darkness of Trainspotting, or Welsh's severely underrated Filth. It's a wonderful sentimental adventure full or wacky hi-jinks, and comuppances aplenty.

Welsh managed to create a great book with a well fitting Title. The cover alone will embarrass you while riding on the train to work, but at the same time grip you with its intensity and that of its characters.

Viewing the story from the perspective of all main characters in turn, the reader gets sucked into their heads, learns what makes them tick, shares their dreams and ambitions. Despite their disgusting immorality, abuse of people surrounding them the readers still learns to develop sympathies even for the worst kind of characters like "Begbie", the foul mouthed, brutish, paranoid thug terrorizing the Leith neighbourhood after a brief spell in prison.

The nymphomatic, cool & intelligent Nikki and her escapades as a student of film & media and Scottish literature certainly eclipses most readers experience at university. She will painfully experience exploitation, but eventually gain a sweet revenge.

Renton, Sick Boy, Spud and the other colourful characters certainly bring some smiles on your face, whith their exploits when they are "pished", high or sexually intoxicated.

I particular enjoyed the cunning and successful scam played on Ranger supporters. It could work!

But readers be warned! The foul language and explicit scenes, combined with Scottish spelling may pose a great challenge to people not used to it!

In the final analysis I think it was an excellent read. Not pleasant, but hugely enjoyable. Don't wait for it to come out on film - it is to explicit and I cannot imagine Obi-wan Genobi to star as an Amsterdam Rave organiser!

A fairly good book about French football (soccer). I was searching around for a book about the history of French Football and I found this one, although it is not quite an account of the history of football in France. Each chapter is somewhat different--some are straight historical studies, while others are very artsy (especially the Zidane and Petit/Vieira chapters). The only repeat author is Mr. Ruhn, so there is quite a variety of writers.

The book is divided into six sections: the Clubs, National Team, Stars, Coaches, Scandals, and Supporters. Each section contains 3 or 4 chapters (except for the Stars which has 12) devoted to the subject heading. Thus, Mr. Ruhn is able to include many different events and/or people that have significantly impacted French football over the past 25 years.

Overall, I liked the book very much. My only large complaint is that some of the chapters left me wanting a little more, e.g., the Canal Plus, Arsene Wenger, the 1982 World Cup and 1984 Euro Cup chapters. With the book under 300 pages, I felt more could have been devoted to those chapters. Also, I felt as though there should have been a chapter on Jean Tigana.

That said, it was a very good book, even the chapters I thought were a bit short. The interviews with Laurent Perpere [Canal Plus] and Michel Platini were well done as well as the chapters on Eric Cantona and Arsene Wenger. The writing done by Chris Waddle and Marcel Desailly is exceptional as well. If anything, get it for the interesting chapter on Petit and Vieira.

Trainspotting and Shallow Grave are excellently coloured and wonderfully imaginative....definitely a must read for anyone who's into distorted genius!

For those of you who don't know, such as myself, the phrase "you'll have had your hole", translates to getting some action. Which is exactly what this screenplay is all about. I enjoyed it very much. It is a quick read. Yet, somehow disturbing to the mind for a very long time. Once again, Irvine Welsh, has giving us charaters we can relate to. Though we may not all want to cop up to it. I have always found welsh's dialogs between charaters the strongest part of his work. This play is a great example of this.

It takes you though a few days in the life of three main charaters. The reader is becomes a part of a kidnapping, a seduction, a love story, violence, a rape, and into the head of a very twisted HIV infected, brutal outcast. I must confess, the end of this play really messed with my head. I wasn't sure I liked it. Until it dawned on me, how much of an impact it had on me. Any serious Welsh fan will love this play! Anyone who is sick of the same old recyceled fiction should love love it too. I've said it before, Welsh is not for the light hearted and easily distrubed people. That would be why this play was pulled off the stage in the U.K. Most people just aren't ready for this kind of writing. Which is why I think Welsh has such a big following among my generation. We all have a rebel in us wanting to get out. We all have twisted thoughts we never admit to. Welsh has no problem putting these thoughts into words. I'd hope that you fellow Welsh fans get ahold of this play. It will definatly shock even the most unshockable!

I read Trainspotting (first) and Ecstasy (second) while travelling through Ireland and Scotland this summer. I was intrigued by the endorsement of Trainspotting which claimed it to be "The best book ever written by any man or woman -- deserves to sell more copies than the Bible." I figured I'd give it a try. I'm glad I did. Trainspotting was one of the best books I've read this year. A truly stomach-turning trip through the world of heroin addiction. Ecstasy, on the other hand, seems like a re-hash of a topic Mr. Welsh has visited too often (even though this is only his fourth book.) Ecstasy squeezes 3 stories into less than 275 pages (at least in the UK version.) That leaves you with under- developed characters and some who are too far-fetched to believe. The stories just seem to start and not really go anywhere -- and then just end. What's more, Ecstasy's descriptions of the effects of drugs fall short of Trainspotting's heroin ride. Irvine Welsh is a talented writer, but it doesn't show as much in this book.

I waited to read this book for 2 years, and when i finally got this book, I started to read it right away. My favourite short story was "The Undefeated", in which raver Lloyd falls for a yuppie Heather. The book contains 3 short stories. "Lorraine Goes to Livingston" is a great tale of revenge and love found and lost. "Fortune's Always Hiding" is a total Welsh-ian story of "love" and corporate greed. I love this book, the language, the humour, and the sheer simplicity of the overall stories. These tales make a reader want to read more and more.

Sometimes when writers venture into the area of the short story their craft suffers from cut corners and unanswered questions. That may be the case in Ecstacy, but if it is I was too engrossed to notice the flaws. "Lorraine Goes to Livingston" deals with a writer who concocts a plan to strike revenge at her cheating husband. "Fortune's Always Hiding" explores the twisted relationship between a soccer hooligan and a deformed but beautiful women. "The Undefeated" is the tale of two polar opposites finding love somewhere in the middle.

The best things about this collection are: 1) the stories get progressively better - "The Undefeated" is by far the best; 2) three kinds of love are detailed; and 3) it proves that love can destroy any boundaries. I know that last one sounds sappy but it's true enough. Once again Welsh has assembled a strong cast of characters and thrown them into extraordinary circumstances. What you get is one helluva ride.

you heard me right. you've read "marabou stork nightmares" and "filth" with their insane page breaks and wobbly text. you've read "trainspotting" with it's incoherent scottish diolauge. you've read "the acid house" with a combination of the previously mentioned welsh characteristics.

well, "glue" is a (welcome) break from all of this. the narrative is straightforward and the humor funny, the diolauge sharp (after much translation from it's original scottish form).

but of course, the book aside from these few little frills that welsh had previously ignored is a complete retread of "trainspotting".

to those who wish to read a good example of welsh's work, i reccomend "filth", with it's black humor and very original ideas. this, however, is welsh repeating himself.

When I first read Trainspotting I was blown away. The language, incomprehensible initially, soon slipped into a pattern that I could understand allied to a cracking story. I duly read all of Welsh's prior and following work and picked up Glue on its release here in the UK.

I found Glue to be heavy going yet still persisted to the end. Welsh's mix of Scots dialect and plain English does not allow for speedy reading and at times I felt like giving it up. Yet Welsh always seems to produce at least one character that you have to follow to the end. In this case the man in question was Juice Terry (fa they Juice lorries, ken?). Hilariously over the top - repulsive to know but great to read about.

Sadly, Terry's attractions are diluted by some of the rest of the book. The cameos from the other books seem forced and unnecessary. The other characters raised no emotion in me.

Pick this book up for Terry, just don't expect another trainspotting.

i was really excited when i found out that welsh was releasing a new book, i got it about 2 weeks before it hit the stands. overall i enjoyed it, killed it in about 2 days, couldn't really help it to make the trainspotting comparisons, and trainspotting is definitely the better book, its much more pure. glue is still an incredible book, it starts off a little bit slow but builds really well, the characters are developed brilliantly, especially terry and billy birrel, i felt that irvine welsh tried too hard to make it a time spanning epic and cut out some of the detail which was so clutch in trainspotting, the book spans three decades but in each decade only a few days and choice events are described. If this book was doubled in pages it would have blown trainspotting away. Welsh remains in his perfect self-refrential state creating that leith universe i just can't get enough of. characters from his previous books make repeated appearances, trainspotting being the obvious one, but dedicated fans will recognize characters from stories from the acid house, exstacy, and even toal from filth. Welsh's canny ability to create such a closed universe make all his books such an incredible glimpse into what obviously is a highly semi-autobigraphical look into edinbrough culture. Fans of welsh pick up this book without question, if you have never read any of his books, read trainspoting first to learn how to read his style and than pick up this book.

I bought this book for its unique collection of British desserts and baked goods recipes. Having now baked about 5 of the recipes (and I am an experienced home baker), I'd say 4 of them were pretty poor (Christmas fruitcake was good). Maybe the recipes don't translate well to American ovens, but buyer beware.

I travel to England frequently, so have a great curiosity about the cuisine. No other British cookery writer comes close to always reliable classic British recipes. Have tried over half of the recipes in this book, and have not been disappointed by one. Really, he is a superb chef, and his recipes are simply conveyed. Unlike some well known chefs, there is nothing overly fancy about his food. There is no intimidation. Basic, good, classic.......but with just enough twist to make them special.