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Skagboys
- Narrated by: Tam Dean Burn
- Length: 24 hrs and 48 mins
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Skagboys
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Summary
Mark Renton has it all: He's good-looking, young, with a pretty girlfriend and a place at university. But there's no room for him in the 1980s.Thatcher's government is destroying working-class communities across Britain, and the post-war certainties of full employment, educational opportunity and a welfare state are gone. When his family starts to fracture, Mark's life swings out of control and he succumbs to the defeatism which has taken hold in Edinburgh's grimmer areas.
The way out is heroin. It's no better for his friends. Spud Murphy is laid off from his job, Tommy Lawrence feels himself being sucked into a life of petty crime and violence - the worlds of the thieving Matty Connell and psychotic Franco Begbie. Only Sick Boy, the supreme manipulator of the opposite sex, seems to ride the current, scamming and hustling his way through it all. Skagboys charts their journey from likely lads to young men addicted to the heroin which has flooded their disintegrating community.
This is the 1980s: a time of drugs, poverty, AIDS, violence, political strife, and hatred - but a lot of laughs, and maybe just a little love; a decade that changed Britain for ever. The prequel to the world-renowned Trainspotting, this is an exhilarating and moving book, full of the scabrous humour, salty vernacular and appalling behaviour that has made Irvine Welsh a household name.
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What listeners say about Skagboys
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- David Tootill
- 03-04-18
Honest
Masterful grip of the heroin and AIDS epidemic that hit due to, amongst other factors
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Luke
- 20-06-15
Disturbingly Good
A superb tale, especially for those who's only experience of Irvine Welsh is Danny Boyle's film. The book introduces us to the familiar characters of Renton,Sick Boy and Francis Begbie in a pretty repugnant story of youth dissatisfied with their lot in life and pursuing salvation mainly through drugs. This book is equally funny, moving and disturbing and becomes far more accessible in audiobook form where you quickly become fluent in the Glaswegian accent and associated slang. Not for the easily offended or weak of stomach, this book forces the listener into a world that, thankfully, most of us will never inhabit.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- James
- 30-09-15
Barry!
really enjoyed this and will be downloading more as soon as I can. not sure what yet but.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Mr B Foy
- 30-06-17
Funny dark desturbing
Loved the book not so much the narrator! funny dark desturbing all in one BARRY!!
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Mr Rogers
- 12-03-23
sublime
This for me was a welcome chapter in the series.
in my opinion, trainspotting is the best book ever written. Skagboys doesn't quite hit the dizzying heights of trainspotting, but what does. This is still a superb book in its own right, and the narrator is the best I've heard on any audiobooks. 5*
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Alex
- 10-10-13
Gripping, emotional, funny and dirty haha
Would you listen to Skagboys again? Why?
Yes, i already have dipped in to bits. It fills in a lot of gaps as a prequel to trainspotting and Porno. The sheer size also means a second listen will be rewarding.
Who was your favorite character and why?
It would be easy to say the obvious favourites but there flaws are all higlighted many times, i went through stages of loving and hating Renton. Keasbo i wanted and still do want to know more about, he was easily the most likeable and probably the "gadge" you could associate with most despite his failings.
I also wanted to learn a touch more about seeker, i really enjoyed his relathionship with Mark in rehab.
Sick boy for all the wrong reasons is a pleasure to listen too.
Have you listened to any of Tam Dean Burn’s other performances? How does this one compare?
Yes, he makes the incredible charachters of Irvine Welsh come to life in your head. The voices are all recognisable instantly, Tam Dean Burn should be narrating every audio book as a matter of law.
This was the best to date simply because of the 24 hour duration, it never sounded tired and by the end i didnt want to leave there world regardless of the sordid aspects of their existence.
Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?
No, the length didnt allow and truthfully it takes a bit of thought and recap.
Any additional comments?
A wonderfully written book, I love a prequel like this where at the start it just seems like a new story and by the final page the jigsaw is so much more complete in your head. The problem is you get greedy for more of the same. I have read this book too, the audio is just a bit special.
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- lee
- 05-09-16
Irvine Welsh is a genius
Captures the imagination from the start.
Excellent book with real guts and a naked honesty through out.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- steven jack
- 05-07-20
The best of the best.
Tam Dean Burn. What an absolute talent! Brings every character alive in what is my now favourite Irvine Welsh novel. 10/10.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Roddy Manson
- 13-10-22
bangin
pretty bangin, not much more to say like. Trainspotting is even better now like.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- F Gibb
- 30-05-14
F*#@ing Barry!!
This will almost certainly be the sweariest book that you will have ever read. In fact, it is one swear-word short of sweariness saturation- where the context of the story is lost in a sea of foul potty-mouthiness.
HOWEVER... It is written with a deftness of style, and a sensitivity to the human condition, which can bring you to the point of tears. The characters develop seamlessly into rich, interesting, believable, three-dimensional, but larger, no, LARGER than life people. You love them, you hate them, you feel for them, you hope for them, you cringe with them. The tale (or tales) is (or are) in turns funny and sad and poignant, and funny, and cringeworthy, and did I mention funny. And as for the swearing- it feels so natural to the characters that you barely even notice it.
The book has a feel similar to its companion, Trainspotting. It is more a series of little episodes, which build like a mosaic into the whole of the novel. I think that it's better than Trainspotting- it's just so well written!
The Narration is as good as any I have ever heard. Tam Dean Burn obviously loved his brief, and he nailed it! It is told with a passion and energy, which brings that characters and scenes alive. I'm sure that Irvine Welsh was delighted by the rendition that TDB delivered.
I cannot rate this book highly enough. It really captured me from the very first moment, and I urge you to give it a go!!!
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14 people found this helpful