Porno (Norton Paperback) - Softcover

Welsh, Irvine

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0393324508 ISBN 13: 9780393324501

Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company, 2003

Synopsis

The Trainspotting lads are back...and in worse shape than ever.

In the last gasp of youth, Simon "Sick Boy" Williamson is back in Edinburgh. He taps into one last great scam: directing and producing a porn film. To make it work, he needs bedfellows: the lovely Nikki Fuller-Smith, a student with ambition, ego, and troubles to rival his own; old pal Mark Renton; and a motley crew that includes the neighborhood's favorite ex-beverage salesman, "Juice" Terry.

In the world of Porno, however, even the cons are conned. Sick Boy and Renton jockey for top dog. The out-of-jail and in-for-revenge Begbie is on the loose. But it's the hapless, drug-addled Spud who may be spreading the most trouble.

Porno is a novel about the Trainspotting crew ten years further down the line: still scheming, still scamming, still fighting for the first-class seats as the train careens at high velocity with derailment looming around the next corner.

About this title

Review:

Porno, Irvine Welsh's highly entertaining--though completely unnecessary--sequel to his cult classic, Trainspotting, reunites the gang as they pursue another big-payoff scheme. It's been 10 years since Mark Renton walked away with the cash from a drug sale perpetrated by himself and his mates, Simon "Sick Boy" Williamson, Danny "Spud" Murphy, and Francis Begbie. The megalomaniacal Sick Boy has returned to Edinburgh, where stag film producer "Juice" Terry Lawson has given him the idea for a bold new scam: to locally produce a high-end adult film. Lawson introduces Sick Boy to the beautiful and egocentric Nikki Fuller-Smith, a student and aspiring star. Passivity and self-destructive tendencies have left well-meaning junkie Spud poor and alone, while time has only intensified the anger of the psychotic Begbie, who's fresh out of prison, back in Edinburgh, and obsessed with taking revenge on Renton. Sick Boy locates and persuades Renton, a successful club owner in Amsterdam, to help him steal money for his new production company. From the book's multiple points of view, it's soon clear that everyone's running their own scam, making conflicts--and long-awaited confrontations--inevitable.

Welsh's brutally honest prose and gallery of likeable ne'er-do-wells are in full display here, but the novel feels somewhat superfluous. Porno adds little insight into the characters or events of Trainspotting and fails to match its invention or sense of purpose. However, the author's obvious affection for these characters and dedication to authentically rendered dialogue and setting elevate Porno above mere slapdash reworking. As the novel builds momentum, Welsh wonderfully communicates the intense bravado driving his reckless characters. During such moments of vitality and humor, Porno is superficial but undeniably charming. --Ross Doll

From the Inside Flap:

The explosive sequel to Trainspotting ? ten years down the line.

Still scheming, still scamming ? it?s ten years later and the boys from Trainspotting are still trying to fight for the first-class seats as the locomotive careers at high speed towards the buffers. Simon ?Sick Boy? Williamson is back in his native Edinburgh after a spell in London. Having failed spectacularly as a hustler, pimp, husband, father and
businessman, he taps into an opportunity, which to him represents one last throw of the dice.

For this scam to work, Sick Boy needs bedfellows. A desirable one may be the lovely Nicola Fuller-Smith, a young student with enough ambition, ego and troubles to rival his own. However, to realize his dream of directing and producing a pornographic movie, Sick Boy teams up with old pal and fellow exile Mark Renton and a motley crew that includes the city?s favourite ex-aerated-water-salesman, ?Juice? Terry Lawson.

In the world of Porno, however, nothing is straightforward as Sick Boy and Renton find out that they have unresolved issues to address concerning the increasingly unhinged Frank Begbie, the troubled, drug-addled Spud, but, most of all, with each other.


From the Trade Paperback edition.

About this edition

• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
• Publication date: 2003
• ISBN 10: 0393324508
• ISBN 13: 9780393324501
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 496