Karen Chisholm
REVIEW
THE ACID HOUSE - Irvine Welsh
Reviewed By
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
I admit I had very little idea what to expect when I picked up THE ACID HOUSE, but TRAINSPOTTING worked for me so I thought why not.
Welsh does bizarre, in your face scenarios; flawed, mad, bad, unlucky or just flat out odd characters; and he does a great line in Scottish venacular. What he doesn't do is pull any punches.
As with many short story collections from a single author, there are some that will work better than others for all readers. But to be a reader of this book you're going to have to have a high tolerance for "language", in your face drug taking, and being dragged backwards through the wild side.
The only proviso I'd make is if you've not read other collections or books, this may not be the best place to start.
BOOK DETAILS
BOOK INFORMATION
BLURB
An unsettling, shocking and very funny collection of stories. The characters in this extraordinary book are often - on the surface - depraved, vicious, cowardly and manipulative, but their essential humanity is never undermined. Two professors of philosophy turn pugilists; Leith removal men become the objects of desire for Hollywood goddesses; God turns Boab Coyle into a housefly; and in the novella 'A Smart Cunt', the drug-addled young hero spins off on a collision course with his past.