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The Sex Lives of Siamese Twins

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The Sex Lives of Siamese Twins

By: Irvine Welsh
Narrated by: Lorelei King, Penelope Rawlins
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About this listen

When Lucy Brennan, a Miami Beach personal-fitness trainer, disarms a gunman chasing two frightened homeless men, the police and the breaking-news cameras are not far behind and, within hours, Lucy is a media hero. The solitary eye-witness is the depressed and overweight Lena Sorensen, who becomes obsessed with Lucy and signs up as her client – though she seems more interested in the trainer’s body than her own. When the two women find themselves more closely aligned, and can’t stop thinking about the sex lives of Siamese twins, the real problems start...

In the aggressive, foul-mouthed trainer, Lucy Brennan, and the needy, manipulative Lena Sorensen, Irvine Welsh has created two of his most memorable female protagonists, and one of the most bizarre, sado-masochistic folies à deux in contemporary fiction. Featuring murder, depravity and revenge – and enormous amounts of food and sex – The Sex Lives of Siamese Twins taps into two great obsessions of our time – how we look and where we live – and tells a story so subversive and dark it blacks out the Florida sun.

Warning: contains explicit content.

 City Life Dark Humour Genre Fiction Historical Fiction Literature & Fiction Urban Women's Fiction World Literature Fiction Funny Comedy

Critic reviews

[Welsh] has never written with greater verve... This is a novel packed with energy. (Tom Adair)
Shady, crazy and dark.
Welsh doesn’t disappoint… Bag yourself a ringside seat. (Elena Seymenliyska)
This is a visceral romp of a novel, a manic endorphin rush of a read that nevertheless also manages to sneak in some serious commentary on the state of American society, putting this book right up there with the best of Irvine Welsh’s work. (Doug Johnstone)
Not only cleverly conceived but genuinely, hauntingly, transgressive. (Sandra Newman)
Razor-sharp prose... Both Lucy and Lena dazzle in this hugely entertaining read. (Kevin Scott)
Boisterous, exuberant.
A compelling read. (Russell Leadbetter)
Proof [Welsh] can write convincingly about experiences suitably removed from his own. (David Pollock)
A darkly funny novel with well-drawn characters.
All stars
Most relevant
The two main characters are so opposite. The plot rolls along not letting you understand where it is leading. Typical Irvine, full of graphic sex detail which can be disturbing to some readers. The narrators are brilliant at performing and making you feel these characters are so believable.

First impressions are not always what they seem.

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This dragged on, but had a few moments. Nothing like anything else with Irvine Welsh's name on it.

Not sure

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Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

if they were fans of Irvine welsh then yes im sure this would appeal

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

i would have preferred Lorelei king to have narrated more of the book, i struggled with Penelopes harsh and overly angry voice, which is appropriate for some of the book but feel softer tones are also needed

How did the narrator detract from the book?

Penelopes harsh and overly angry voice, which is appropriate for some of the book but feel softer tones are also needed

If this book were a film would you go see it?

no but i would be intrigued enough to watch it at home if it was on tv

Any additional comments?

a great write, a confusing title and all wrapped up too quickly after investing so much time in the read.

Unusual

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In fact I would say he's my favourite author, but I felt this was just a bit below par.

Usually I love welsh

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In some respects the story holds the usual Irvine Welsh narcissistic main character who has some serious issues to work through. I almost gave up on it until I was hit by a massive twist which re-energised my interest in the story.

A good story but different to Irvine’s normal form

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