Customer Reviews

Ecstasy: Three Tales of Chemical Romance

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I'd heard this collection of "three tales of chemical imbalance" weren't so good, so it was a pleasant surprise to find myself quite enjoying them all. Within each of the three "stories" there are multiple plot lines running with entertaining characters abounding. A listing of the subtitle of each story hints at this: "A Rave and Regency Romance," "A Corporate Drug Romance" and "An Acid House Romance." Amok with explicit drugs and sex, these are clearly love stories for youth, and yet they all celebrate rather traditional notions of love and falling in love. I found the combination very pleasing, although others might find it a bit forced perhaps even cheezy. What is lacking is the dense dialect of Trainspotting which might make it more accessible reading for some.

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.

Irvine Welsh, of "Trainspotting" fame, delivers three edgy stories that are somehow related to one single element: ecstasy. In "Lorraine Goes to Livingston", the author offers a multi-layered, sometimes confusing tale about love and the twisted nature of some people. "Fortune`s Always Hiding" is a powerful and unsettling revenge story that resembles Quentin Tarantino`s movies at parts, due to its explicit violence, badass characters, non-linear storytelling and a very acid sense of humor. "The Undefeated" focuses on the relationship between a yuppie woman and a bohemian, messed up man. Altough far from a masterpiece, "Ecstasy" is a fun and enticing read nonetheless, presenting an author with a personal, recognizable, harsh, direct and gritty style. This book is not for everyone, but those who enjoy this kind of stuff may find it compelling.

Deserves a look.

when people speak of shock writers Welsh is brought up for good reson... his stories are like seeing a car accident... you don't want to look but something tell you that you must... his stories twist and turn, and so do the characters, through hospitals, clubs and the streets of England. Americans be warned this is a book sometimes hard to follow because of the diction... but as in all of his work, Welsh will leave you speechless in the end.

This book contains three stories that revolve around romance and Ecstasy among other things.

Lorraine Goes to Livingston is the first story. It was titled a "Rave and Regency" romance. Famed regency romance novel writer Rebecca Navarro (who writes stories such as Lucy Goes to Liverpool and Yasmin Goes to Yeovil) has a stroke, which jolts her out of her dreamworld. When she actually takes a look at reality, she realizes that her husband is a prick who's using her for her money, and he uses her money for all forms of debauchery. She, along with the help of a nurse -- Lorraine, plan revenge on her dear husband.

This was my favorite story in the whole book. The next two stories are powerful, especially the one following this one, but this one held the most value to me. When you first meet Rebecca, you don't really like her much, but you feel empathy for her. And Lorraine is one of those characters that you can relate to. She's a single woman who has questions about her sexuality and wishes that everyone would stop trying to force love down her throat. Then, of course with this being your typical Irvine story, you have drug abuse, raves, and some bizarre sex practices (bestiality and necrophilia for this particular story).

Fortune's Always Hiding is the second story and is subtitled "A Corporate Drug Romance". The story revolves around a woman, who was the unfortunate victim of a drug marketed in the 60's, and a man, who's obsessed with soccer (or fitba, as they commonly say ;̃). The woman is hell-bent on revenge and the man is in love and would do anything for her.

Another powerful story revolving around revenge, but this time it's against a big corporation who refuses to take responsibility for destroying people's lives. They've given money, but they aren't truly remorseful about their actions. I loved how Welsh jumped back and forth giving us tiny portions of what happened to the woman, Samantha. This one is my second favorite story in the book as well.

The Undefeated, an Acid House Romance, is about a jobless, drug dealer-slash-raver named Lloyd, and a unhappy, sexually frustrated housewife named Heather.

There's not a lot that I can say for this story. Most of the story is spent following their everyday struggles and few pages are actually dedicated to their meeting up. Lloyd's side of things didn't interest me all that much. It was interesting at times, but most times, I found his commentary lacking. Heather's side of things was quite fascinating though. It was just something about reading about her going from "good" Heather to "bad" Heather that really kept me reading her chapters.

It seems like I liked the stories in the order they were written. I loved the first and was only partially impressed by the last, even though, I did really love the hopeful ending we get at the end of the last story. Yeah, I'll admit the characters aren't all that drawn out, but this is only a 275 page book. What do you expect? Shrek's analysis? A wonderful addition for people who collect Welsh's off-beat works.

Irvine Welsh takes the readers creature comforts and beats him or her over the head with them.
This book is divided into three short stories about chemical romance:
Lorraine Goes To Livingston - this story was just bizarre
Fortune Always Hiding - a tender story about backwards love and
The Undefeated - my favourite out of them all with a surprising ending.
Irvine Welsh delivers romance with urgency in this fast read.

The feeling you get from reading this book is of a cop-out. Of an attempt to cash in on the stellar success of the 'Trainspotting' movie no doubt.'Ecstacy' consists merely of three lazy, half-arsed 'ideas' that would struggle to get into the far superior 'Acid House' collection of short stories. Irvine obviously didn't know how to tell his publisher to wait a few months until he could come up with a proper book. Fortunately the follow up to this ,'Filth', finds him back on form so perhaps this book should be seen as a 'mere blip in an otherwise upwards trajectory'. As Sick-boy almost once said.

I can't understand the negative reviews that this book generated, because I found it amazing! The last of the 3 stories, "The Undefeated", was my favorite of any of his stories, blending interesting characters, Welsh's efflusive drug references, and a happy ending little seen in his other works. All three were very strong tales, with mininal throwaway, unlike the volume "The Acid House", which was more uneven. Welsh fans should love this..I did.

Without comparing this work to any of Welsh's other pieces, I would describe it as the product of a bold, cynical, sympathetic, and clever mind. In comparison with Trainspotting or The Acid House, however, the intensity of my reaction to Ecstasy, with the absolute exception of the final story, The Undefeated, was reduced. This is not to say that the first two stories didn't keep me hanging on Welsh's every word. It's in the overall impression of them that I found a few shortcomings. The Undefeated, however, presents Lloyd Buist, the familiar Leithian waster, displaying the fatalist attitude and delightful wit that marked Mark Renton, and I venture to suggest are Welsh's own characteristics, as well as a more likeable, less sarcastic side. If I could generate half of the emotions in my readers that Welsh has often produced in me, I would be satisfied with my writing accomplishments. I'm not banking on it, however...

When I read "Trainspotting", by all accounts a much stronger book, I was struck by the flatness of Welsh's prose when not smothered in Scottish dialect. "Ecstacy" is not written in dialect. The book consists of three novellas, which are arranged in descending order of quality. The first kept me reading, the second wore out its welcome before it was over; I didn't finish the third. "Ecstacy" underscores Welsh's weaknesses as a writer, sporting flat dialogue and a strained narrative voice. But the cover is pretty and the book looks nice lying on your coffee table, so die-hard Welsh fans won't go home completely empty-handed.