Glue [Import] [Paperback]

Irvine Welsh (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: 2001

With a title like "Glue", it would seem reasonable to assume that Irvine Welsh's new novel is a profound reflection upon the pitfalls of solvent abuse. In fact, the glue of Welsh's book deals with the bonds that unite four boys growing up together in "the scheme", the "slum-clearance" flats of Edinburgh, whose optimistic construction in the 1970s give way to the poverty, unemployment and crime of the 1980s and 1990s. It is this despair that defines the lives of Welsh's central protagonists: Terry Lawson, work-shy and sex-mad; Carl Ewart, budding DJ; Billy Birrell, boxer, and Andrew Galloway, a drug addict who tests HIV-positive. "Glue" is a bildungsroman of growing up bad, recounted in Welsh's inimitable style. The novel follows the boys through their early forays into sex, drink, drugs and football violence, written in the author's trademark vernacular. Carl Ewart poses crucial questions such as: "How dae ah chat up a bird?" and "Do I wear a rubber johnny? (If so, nae problem, I've started trying them on so ah ken how tae fir them)". Welsh also attempts occasional political comment on the friends' difficulties: Billy Birrell reflects: "Having money is the only way to get respect. Desperate, but that's the world we live in now." However, Welsh is better at grotesque moments of sex and violence and offhand one-liners, such as: "Guilt and shaggin, they go the gither like fish 'n' chips". Fans of "Trainspotting" will love "Glue", even down to the brief appearance of Begbie and Renton, but others may feel that the novel is just more of the same, and that this performance finds Welsh stuck in a rut.

Product Details

• Paperback: 469 pages
• Publisher: Norton, 2001; First Edition. 1 in num ber line edition (2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0224061267
• ISBN-13: 978-0224061261
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (60 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,215,720 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Irvine Welsh is the author of Trainspotting, Ecstasy, Glue, Porno, Filth, Marabou Stork Nightmares, The Acid House, If You Liked School, You'll Love Work, The Bedroom Secrets of the Master Chefs and Reheated Cabbage. He divides his time between Florida, Ireland, and Scotland.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant and Touching!, May 21, 2001

By 

Jeremy Padow (Los Angeles CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Glue (Paperback)

"Glue" is Welsh's best since "Trainspotting." I have loved all of his books (even if "Filth" was a Scottish version of "The Bad Lieutenant"). This time, there's no wacky parasite running down the middle of a page declaring its hunger, no wacky type face or font putting you in the frame of mind of the user. "Glue" is the straightforward tale of four boys growing up in the schemes (projects) of Edinburgh. Their friendship tries to survive the test of time as their lives take different paths. There's Juice-Terry, the womanizer of the group; Carl Ewart, record collector who becomes a world class DJ: Billy Birrell, the boxer; and Andrew Galloway, whose life takes many tragic turns. Welsh once again displays his gift with language. A lot of readers complain about his use of Scottish dialect, but after you've read his other books it becomes quite easy to read. This book features his most sympathetic characters to date; in fact I found myself getting teary-eyed in many scenes because I did not want bad things to happen to them. But of course this is Irvine Welsh's world, so bad things happen to them all. There are great set pieces (such as the entire Oktoberfest in which they befriend German ravers), plenty of drugs, and plenty of shagging. God, I did not want this book to end. There are even cameos from the lads of "Trainspotting" which take place before and after that landmark work. If you are a Welsh fan, you will love this...

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars With apologies to Mr. Welsh, November 5, 2005

By 

David King "popcritic" (Atlanta) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Glue (Paperback)

(I originally wrote this review for my daughter who is a big Irvine Welsh fan)

Ay wisnae goan te tell ye, ma wee lassie, boot that
Irvine Welsh fellay's new book "Glue", 'cause ay knows
ye to be a big fan of 'im n aw, ya ken? Ah mean eh's
the author of "Trainspotting", n prackly a nashnul
treasure in Scotland, nae one can deny, right?

Bit seein' as ays yir dear oold faither, ah didnae
think ye'd feel it oot of order for ays to share me
thoughts boot the subject with ye, me bein' a capital
gadge n aw.

Jes a wee warnin' fore ah git started with me
review--fir sum strange reason, eh put nae one, bit
two! shocking scenes of dug croolty early inna book.
Now ye know ays well enaw te know that ah'm nae
easily shocked, bit when ay read what eh wrote 'boot
the dugs...ah sicked all oer the front of me t-shirt,
messy like!

Okey, now for te story n aw. Ah'm sure for a certain,
that ye wondered how twas that the wide radges in
"Trainspotting", "The Acid House", 'n "Filth" got to
be the way they wir, worthless radges and crim-oes,
right? Whut wazzit boot grawn up in Edinburgh 'n
Gleskay innem council flats, thet made 'em jes hang
out in pub, drunk on bevvy 'n eckies 'n jellies 'n
smack, 'n sichlike? Ah know ah did, for a fact!

"Glue" splains it, er at least tries te. T'is the
story 'o four wee bairnes, all of 'em bairn boot the
same time in the '60s. Thaes Juice Terry, Gally,
Billy, 'n Carl the Milky Bar Kid. Actually, they jump
from bein bairnes straight inta the '70s, 'n we seeum
as mid-teeners, 'n all thaes wantin' is fanny 'n
fightin at the fitbal...'n not necessarily in thet
oorder!

"Always stand up fir yir mates" and "Nivir grass on
friend nor foe"--these are the pearls 'o wisdom gaen
taem by their Ma's and Pa's ( 'n most of thaem are
drunk out ev thair heids, mosta time anyweys...).
Beats the 'ell outa whut I teld ye boot livin
rite, nosay thet ye wee radge!

So we seeum grawin up intae preddy much the same as
Rents, Spud n the ressa te 'Spotters, boot praps nae
quite as heavy intae crim-o. Thaes lotsa birds in
toon alweys, n fanny at German raves, n some offem
endup as girlfriends, wives, and ex-wives, as ivir
was, but.

Yessee, these blokes 'r mates, innit's thair thet is
the "glue" that the fellay is relly telkin boot.

Nae gonna say enneymar boot the story tho. Iftir all, ye
may well get roond te readin' it after aw.

In yir bookcase in yir auld room, it is.

da

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars "The worst has already happened, the rest is just details", November 10, 2003

By 

S. Calhoun "rhymeswithorange" (Chicago, IL United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Glue (Paperback)

GLUE is a hard-hitting, frank, and often violent recount of the friendship between four boys growing up in Edinburgh's economically depressed scheme. The reader is taken on a wild ride as Juice Terry Lawson, Carl Ewart, Billy Birrell, and Andrew Galloway engage in such youthful acts as football hooliganism, street fighting, excessive drinking and drugging, shagging (getting your hole), and incessant encounters with the police. Meanwhile, their life at home is often less than satisfactory as they have to deal with divorce, joblessness, and emotional neglect. Relations between the four friends transform as decades pass and circumstances change, but they are never able to let go of the past. Each character must confront their past if their friendship is to survive into the new millennium.

Irvine Welsh performs an admirable task of developing characters that are both believable and three-dimensional. Each character comes alive on the page. Additionally, the bonds of friendship between the four characters are not portrayed in a simplistic feel-good manner. Although they might have been friends since childhood, they do have their grievances and anger with each other. Relations aren't always perfect between them resulting in this novel's greatest strength.

GLUE is written in Welsh's signature style of working-class Scottish dialogue, which makes the experience of reading this novel very rich and animated. If you are familiar with TRAINSPOTTING than GLUE will be familiar in its form and context. There are even cameo references to the characters and plot of TRAINSPOTTING in this book. My only complaint with GLUE refers to the torture killing of the guard dogs occurring in the first part of this book. I was repulsed by the gruesome details and I strongly wonder about the merit of including this scene at all. This must be an attempt by Irvine Welsh to push the literary boundaries. Regardless, GLUE is a novel written from the imagination of Irvine Welsh and therefore is sure to entertain those readers wanting a unique reading experience.