Skagboys

Both a prequel to the world-renowned Trainspotting, and an alternative version of it, Skagboys is Irvine Welsh's greatest work.*Number #1 Bestseller**BEFORE TRAINSPOTTING CAME SKAGBOYSMark Renton has it all- he's good-looking, young, with a pretty girlfriend and a bright future. But there's no room for him in the 1980s and when his family starts to fracture, Mark's life swings out of control. The way out is heroin.It's no better for his friends - Spud Murphy is laid off from his job, Tommy Lawrence finds himself sucked into a life of petty crime, violence and the world of the psychotic Franco Begbie. Only Sick Boy seems to ride the current, scamming and hustling his way through it all. Exhilarating and moving, Skagboys charts their journey from likely lads to young addicts in a decade which changed Britain forever.'Masterful... its banter, outrage and razor wit sing off the page' Independent'Funny...visceral and true... Welsh's finest work to date' The Times

Short-listed for Paddy Power Political Fiction Book of the Year 2013 (UK)

Masterful… its banter, outrage and razor wit sing off the page Independent
Brilliant and even more thrilling than its predecessor Mail on Sunday
Quite simply a masterpiece Scotsman
A brilliantly funny, scary, sweeping novel with all the energy of Welsh’s debut Independent on Sunday
Funny…visceral and true… Welsh’s finest work to date The Times

Irvine Welsh was born and raised in Edinburgh. His first novel, Trainspotting, has sold over one million copies in the UK and was adapted into an era-defining film. He has written thirteen further novels, including the number one bestseller Dead Men's Trousers, four books of shorter fiction and numerous plays and screenplays. Crime and The Long Knives have been adapted into a television series starring Dougray Scott as Ray Lennox. Irvine Welsh currently lives between London, Edinburgh and Miami.

'Brilliant and even more thrilling than its predecessor' Mail on Sunday Mark Renton has it all: he's good-looking, young, with a pretty girlfriend and a bright future. But there's no room for him in the 1980s and when his family starts to fracture, Mark's life swings out of control. The way out is heroin. It's no better for his friends - Spud Murphy is paid off from his job, Tommy Lawrence finds himself sucked into a life of petty crime and violence and the world of the psychotic Franco Begbie. Only Sick Boy seems to ride the current, scamming and hustling his way through it all. Exhilarating and moving, Skagboys charts their journey from likely lads to young addicts in a decade which changed Britain forever. 'Quite simply a masterpiece' Scotsman 'A brilliantly funny, scary, sweeping novel with all the energy of Welsh's debut' Independent on Sunday 'Funny...visceral and true... Welsh's finest work to date' The Times

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