 | Porno is a sequel to Trainspotting, and builds on the success of that caustic and very funny novel by taking some of the characters through some radical new catastrophes. Sick Boy returns to Edinburgh with his ventures as a pimp and hustler in London having gone pear-shaped. Desperate for money, he comes up with a new idea, one that (he hopes) will really rake in the cash: the production of a low-rent porn film. Now Welsh introduces us to a new development: the novel's Sick Girl, Nicola Fuller-Smith, the object of Sick Boy's fevered lust, whom he also believes will be his passport to all kinds of substance-abusing happiness - needless to say, he's in for a rude awakening. Other favourite characters from Trainspotting make a welcome reappearance: Renton, Begbie (even more psychotically dangerous than in the earlier book) and the unfortunate Spud, still unable to kick the drugs. Welsh fans need not hesitate: this is every bit as exuberant, hilarious, disgusting and irresistible as its predecessor.--Barry Forshaw |
