Porno (book)
|
|
Porno (ISBN 0-393-05723-2) is a novel by Irvine Welsh. The novel is a sequel to Trainspotting.
We rejoin the characters of that book a decade later, as their paths cross again in Leith, this time in the pornography business. They are joined by some of the cast of Glue.
Sick Boy (from the first novel) feels he is a failure in life. He has been married with children and is now divorced. Despite the fact that he thinks he is smarter than all around him he has yet to make it rich as he has always hoped. Some new chance encounters draw him to the conclusion that his only chance to make it big is to produce a pornographic film. To do so, however, he needs to regain contact with some friends from the first novel who he would rather forget about.
The novel is narrated from several points of view, each with a distinctive prose style. Renton, Sick Boy, and Nikki's chapters are written in "standard" English while Begbie and Spud's chapters are heavily influenced by Scottish dialect. For example, in Chapter 25, Spud narrates, "So ah'm downcast when ah git intae the library, thinkin tae masel" ("So I'm downcast when I get into the library thinking to myself").
Characters
- Simon "Sick Boy" Williamson - Marred by a string of failed business ventures, decides to make a porn film. A heavy cocaine user. Still bitter about being ripped off by Renton in the previous novel.
- Mark "Rents" Renton - Kicked the drugs, owns a successful nightclub in Amsterdam. Recruited by Sickboy to help him in his task. Doesn't know that Begbie is out of prison.
- Nikki Fuller-Smith - 25-year old university student and film studies major who moonlights performing minor sexual favors at a sauna/massage parlor. Has body image problems (she occasionally vomits after meals) and is attracted to Sick Boy. She decides to help Sick Boy with his film by starring in it.
- Daniel "Spud" Murphy - Still on drugs but trying to kick them. The only one compensated for his role in the drug deal at the end of Trainspotting and holds no ill will against Renton as a result.
- Francis "Franco" Begbie - Spent three years in prison for manslaughter. Harbors a lot of resentment towards Renton for ripping him off in the last novel and will most likely kill him if they ever meet again. Still violent and psychopathic as ever, now even more paranoid due to heavy cocaine use.
- Lauren - Nikki's best friend, a feminist, who tries to dissuade Nikki from being in a porn film.
- "Juice" Terry - Porn film star that Sick Boy employs to be in his film. A main character in Glue.
- Rab - Friend of Nikki's, introduces her to the underground porn scene. Engaged with a child on the way.
- Dianne - Another friend of Nikki's. Had a relationship with Renton during Trainspotting while she was underaged.