Skagboys
Format:Paperback
Publisher:Vintage Publishing
Published:11th Apr '13
Should be back in stock very soon

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 SKAGBOYS
Mark Renton has it all: he's good-looking, young, with a pretty girlfriend and a bright future.
*Number #1 Bestseller**
BEFORE TRAINSPOTTING CAME SKAGBOYS
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 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
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 *
Filthy, or fulthy, and hugely funny… Remarkable * Daily Telegraph *
Skagboys is a compelling tale...a seriously entertaining piece of work * Irish Times *
Welsh performs the mysterious feat of making you think that his characters are real * Guardian *
Trainspotting may be a masterpiece but Skagboys is the reason the artist painted it, and sometimes that’s the most compelling story * Stylist *
A cracking read * Time Out *
- Short-listed for Paddy Power Political Fiction Book of the Year 2013 (UK)
ISBN: 9780099535584
Dimensions: 197mm x 128mm x 35mm
Weight: 387g
560 pages