‘World is great for writers, terrible for citizens’

Twenty-five years ago Irvine Welsh’s debut novel “Trainspotting” burst out of the housing schemes and back alleys of post-industrial Scotland in a whirlwind of drugs, sex and violence that horrified and delighted critics alike.

The novel’s protagonists have long since scammed, snorted and stolen their way to cult status—helped along by a hugely successful film adaptation.

And Scotland’s most famous ex-heroin addict is still delivering the goods, and says he is as far as ever from settling for “carpet slippers and a cottage on the coast”.

In town for the Hong Kong International Literary Festival Welsh told AFP the world right now “is a terrible place to be a citizen in but it’s a great place to be a writer in”.

He is tight-lipped about his current project—which is set in a Trumpian future and will have mass shootings as its main theme—other than to say that like every other, he is “constantly engrossed in it,” and that it’s “nearly finished.”

Welsh is happy that “Trainspotting”, his first creation, is still “bubbling” away in the age of the smartphone-toting millennial.

In 2013 it was voted readers’ favourite Scottish novel of the past 50 years.

And last year Historic Environment Scotland awarded listed status to Edinburgh’s “Banana Flats”, a textbook example of New Brutalist architecture made famous by the novel as the home of one of its characters, Simon “Sick Boy” Williamson. Since 1993, Welsh has gone on to write 15 more books as well as a number of plays and adaptations, casting deeper into the murky lives of Edinburgh’s pimps, bent cops, burglars and dealers. He has also moved from brutal chronicling of the dismantlement of post-war Britain, to America, where he takes violence and aggression off the football terraces and into the basement of a serial killer.

Welsh has spent 10 years Stateside—in San Francisco, Chicago and now Miami—and says its “probably enough”.

He has laid into President Donald Trump in expletive-ridden Tweets and has criticised his brand of populism as a sham, but says he still feels compelled to write about America.

 

World is great for writers, terrible for citizens

Twenty-five years ago Irvine Welshs debut novel Trainspotting burst out of the housing schemes and back alleys of post-industrial Scotland in a whirlwind of drugs, sex and violence that horrified and delighted critics alike. The novels protagonists have long since scammed, snorted and stolen their way to cult statushelped along by a hugely successful film adaptation. And Scotlands most famous ex-heroin addict is still delivering the goods, and says he is as far as ever from settling for carpet slippers and a cottage on the coast. In town for the Hong Kong International Literary Festival Welsh told AFP the world right now is a terrible place to be a citizen in but its a great place to be a writer in. He is tight-lipped about his current projectwhich is set in a Trumpian future and will have mass shootings as its main themeother than to say that like every other, he is constantly engrossed in it, and that its nearly finished. Welsh is happy that Trainspotting, his first creation, is still bubbling away in the age of the smartphone-toting millennial. In 2013 it was voted readers favourite Scottish novel of the past 50 years. And last year Historic Environment Scotland awarded listed status to Edinburghs Banana Flats, a textbook example of New Brutalist architecture made famous by the novel as the home of one of its characters, Simon Sick Boy Williamson. Since 1993, Welsh has gone on to write 15 more books as well as a number of plays and adaptations, casting deeper into the murky lives of Edinburghs pimps, bent cops, burglars and dealers. He has also moved from brutal chronicling of the dismantlement of post-war Britain, to America, where he takes violence and aggression off the football terraces and into the basement of a serial killer. Welsh has spent 10 years Statesidein San Francisco, Chicago and now Miamiand says its probably enough. He has laid into President Donald Trump in expletive-ridden Tweets and has criticised his brand of populism as a sham, but says he still feels compelled to write about America.