No one knows the working-class streets of Edinburgh better than Irvine Welsh. He took his observations and experiences to the page, creating a stream-of-consciousness narrative that both shocked and entertained with his debut, Trainspotting.
The story about a group of kids struggling in the 80s turning to heroin gave sharp commentary on the policies that created tragedy and unrest throughout much of Europe.
It outraged some, delighted others, and thrust Welsh into the literary limelight. Since then, he’s published eleven novels and four short story collections in a variety of languages.
If you’re curious about his work, here are twelve novels to help you get started.
The Acid House
What happens when God turns a footballer into a fly? Or when an acid head and a newborn baby exchange consciousness?
Dive into Irving Welsh’s world in this short story collection featuring 21 short stories and a novella.
Filled with sharp humor and a disturbing take on reality, The Acid House offers readers a wide range of his provocative bend of storytelling.
The Bedroom Secrets of the Master Chefs
Restaurant inspector Danny Skinner wants to find his mother. His father won’t help. But he’s convinced that finding her will help him understand the compulsions that have crippled him and currently threaten to ruin his life.
Standing in his way is fellow inspector Brian Kibby. Kibby is everything Skinner isn’t: mild-mannered and seemingly in control. And for that, Skinner hates him.
But when Kibby contracts a horrible illness, Skinner realizes that somehow his destiny is tied to Kibby, forcing him to make the most difficult decision of his life.
Crime
After a particularly horrifying child sex murder case triggered a mental break in Detective Inspector Ray Lennox, he’s taking some time in sunny Florida to try and piece himself back together.
It won’t be easy. He isn’t getting any younger. Or healthier.
And there is that pesky cocaine addiction he can’t quite shake. But when a night of cocaine-fueled fun leads to him somehow ending up with a terrified ten-year-old and a sheet of instructions for her care, he suddenly finds himself in over his head.
Can he trust his instincts to keep her safe? Or will his mental fragility be the end of them both?
Ecstasy
A bestselling author of Regency romance plans revenge against her gambling and womanizing husband with a little help from her nurse. A flawed beauty tracks down the man who marketed the drug who crippled her at birth.
And a young yuppie married to a raver finds themselves in an unhappy marriage.
Ecstasy contains three shocking novellas about young fools looking for love in all the wrong places.
Filth
Edinburgh Detective Sergeant Bruce Robertson gets ready for Christmas by spending a sex and drug-fueled week in Amsterdam. Of course, there are some things standing in his way.
Besides a missing wife and child, eczema cropping up below the belt, and some affairs that are bordering on out of control, there’s a racially motivated murder.
Working the case means overtime and the promotion he’s been after. But with a whole host of problems, including a parasite eating through his guts, the only thing Robertson knows for certain is that despite things going badly, they can always start to go worse.
Glue
What is the secret that holds four boys in Edinburgh together from the 1970s to the start of the new millennium? A set of rules: always back your mates, don’t ever hit women, and never grass on anyone.
With a scheme driving their ambition to escape their school and their neighborhood roots, this is a story about four boys growing into men and what happens when they get there.
If You Liked School, You'll Love Work
In the first short story collection since The Acid House, Welsh has compiled five short stories that capture his sharp sense of humor and unique perspective on life.
Ranging from three Americans lost in the desert to a Korean chef and a Chicago socialite connected over a missing dog, the characters and settings are anything but normal, and their stories will make you laugh and gasp in equal measure.
Marabou Stork Nightmares
Roy Strang is on a quest, possibly a hallucination, about the evil nature of the predator/scavenger marabou stork. He’s convinced it needs to be eradicated.
And he’s just the man to do it. If only his memories of social and family dysfunction would stop interfering, he might actually succeed.
Porno
When Simon “Sick Boy” Williamson comes back to Edinburgh, he decides to try one last scam: pornography. Of course, he’s going to need help.
His old pal Mark Renton and “Juice” Terry are the perfect choices, along with the ambitious and troubled Nikki Fuller-Smith.
Ten years later and the Trainspotting crew is still scheming and scamming their way in and out of trouble.
Reheated Cabbage
Aliens who are addicted to the Embassy Regal plan to install new governors on Planet Earth. Hibs vs. Hearts means more to one player than his wife’s life.
And after a few pints and pills, two friends might realize that their friendship might be more important than a girl.
Reheated Cabbage is a hilarious, shocking, and entertaining short story collection that only Irvine Welsh can pull off.
Skagboys
It’s the 1980s, and despite being young, good-looking, and having a place at University, not even Mark Renton can fight Margaret Thatcher’s government.
All around Britain, her policies are destroying the working class, and his family can’t escape the fallout. When his life is shattered, he turns to the only thing that makes sense: heroin. Life is no better for his friends.
In this prequel to Trainspotting, this is how their addiction and downfall all began.
Trainspotting
Mark Renton and his friends are struggling to find their way through life in the late 80s.
Their heroin addictions don’t help. Neither does the hopelessly soul-sucking consumer future that sobriety offers.
But when you’re surrounded by thieves, con artists, liars, addicts, and cheats, it just might be impossible to make it out alive.
Featured photo: Mockaroon / Unsplash
