Fans of the movie may not know this, but there are a lot of Trainspotting novels. Like, a lot. A prequel, multiple sequels, and now a midquel.
It’s been a well that author Irvine Welsh goes back to a lot, the prolific writer who has created his own sort of universe populated with fringe characters popping in and out of his array of novels about the dregs of Scottish society.
The truth is, none of them are as hard-hitting as the original. Still, that’s a high bar, and leaves for a lot of excellent writing to enjoy. Besides all those other books, the internal chronological order for the core Trainspotting series is currently as follows: Skag Boys, Trainspotting, Men in Love, Porno, The Blade Artist (just about Begbie), and Dead Men’s Trousers.
In our real-world timeline, it’s weird not only to think that Trainspotting came out in 1993, but that its first sequel Porno came out in 2002. That was decades ago. The characters—good ol’ Renton, Sick Boy, Spud, and psychopath Begbie—were still young then! It was 2018’s Dead Men’s Trousers that was about coming to terms with themselves at middle age, which corresponded more to the legacy sequel film that was released at nearly the same time.
The latest book is Men in Love, a period piece taking place as the 80s end and the 90s begin, which takes place directly after the events of Trainspotting. In fact, if someone was only familiar with the classic movie, that’s all they would need to know to understand this book. While the first one was more of a series of interconnected short stories, Welsh’s writing had become more plot-based in the years since and Men in Love is a much more formalized novel than what came before. The core four characters have arcs, obstacles to overcome, with an exciting climax.
(By the way, it is interesting to see how it all works with Porno’s continuity, as Sick Boy gets into his pornographic film-making career while Renton finds his way into working the Dutch club scene. And Begbie ends up in jail, of course. But, as it should be, the novel stands on its own and it isn’t absolutely necessary to be a super-fan knowing all of next books to just enjoy this one.)
What you do need to know is, Renton has stolen the drug money from his friends and abandoned Scotland to hide out in Amsterdam. This leaves an impact on his friends. Sick Boy hates him, Begbie wants murderous revenge, and Spud is just depressed about it. Since they are at that age in life, and it is called Men in Love, most of the stories are about falling in love.
Renton’s own chapters about falling in love and going sex clubs are actually the briefest, apparently Amsterdam is not Welsh’s town and there’s not as much to say about it. The protagonist is in fact Mr. Simon David Williamson, a.k.a. Sick Boy. His love story is the most detailed, in which he meets a posh Londoner at a rehab meeting and then forms a life and family with her. All while being sleazy and cheating on her whenever he can, because that’s what he does. Spud’s story is sadder, as he disappoints his partner and frets over the stolen money Renton sends him. Begbie’s story is pure ultraviolence fun, and the least sentimental of all of them.
The narrative culminates in Sick Boy’s epic wedding, an expensive event paid for by his loathsome new in-laws, which gets downright hilarious as his grimy tribe from Leith inevitably crash the ceremony and chaos ensues. More funny than disturbing, Men in Love jumps from meditations on the nature of love to the imaginative and fucked-up scenarios of which Welsh is known for.
It’s also far too long. This is a common issue with successful writers as they get older: Nobody edits anymore and they become too wordy. Honestly, this book could have been cut by a lot. There’s no reason it needed to be the longest, by far, in the entire series. The wedding alone is nine chapters.
It is always an engaging ride to see Irvine Welsh return to these characters who started his literary career. In Men in Love, they grow up. Or, at least, they attempt to grow up, with varying degrees of success. Sometimes they find themselves in new, unexpected paths. And other times it seems they cannot escape who they are deep down. It may not be the most necessary read, compared to Porno and Dead Men’s Trousers, but there it is a rewarding journey therein for the completist who keeps reading, filling in the details and getting deeper into what makes that iconic crew tick. I’ll give this iteration 3.5 stars, rounding up.
by raelianautopsy