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Reheated Cabbage (2009)

by Irvine Welsh(Favorite Author)

3.61 of 5 Votes: 3

ISBN

0224080555 (ISBN13: 9780224080552)

languge

English

genre

Fiction

publisher

Jonathan Cape

review 1: Welsh's scabrous brand of prose and overtones of comedy blacker than a bar of Bourneville chocolate don't appeal to everybody. Neither does the Scots vernacular which he uses to infuse his stories with humour and wit. Having already read Skagboys, the prequel to Trainspotting, I had high expectations though. That was, in my humble opinion, a masterfully written piece of work.With the exception of A Fault on The Line and Catholic Guilt (You Know You Love It), Reheated Cabbage fails to meet the mark set by Skagboys though. Being a collection of short stories, it doesn't play to Welsh's strengths. Fantastic characters and the hilarious interactions between them, which littered Skagboys were notably absent in this work. With the exception of the two tales mentioned earlier, wh... moreat it felt like was somewhat of a meaningless dirge, to be ploughed through rather than enjoyed.Not a great read and one that may suit die-hard Welsh fans but nobody else.
review 2: Bite sized Welsh!Sometimes reading a Welsh novel can feel a bit of a slog. Not because they're poorly written (which they most certainly are not) but often because the subject matter is so dark that it's hard to maintain a sustained reading session without succumbing to darkness and despair.Reheated Cabbage collects 8 unrelated short stories together and distills Welsh's dark humour into manageable bite sized pieces.What I noticed most about Reheated Cabbage is that I often found myself with a grin on my face. The stories contained, although typically dark, are often humorous and packed full of anti-heroes that Welsh has an amazing ability of bringing alive.The standout stories for me were:Elspeth's Boyfriend - This tells the story of a Christmas round at the Begbie homestead. If like me, you we're left disappointed by the lack of Begbie in Skagboys then this should quell your craving for his particular brand of insanity and violence as he squares up to his sisters new boyfriend. Hilarious throughout.The Rosewell Incident - What would happen if Aliens visited earth and abducted a single Scottish football hooligan as a representation of the human race? Well this story likes to answer that question. Needless to say, drug addicted aliens, anal probes, memory wipes and inter-species copulations all make an appearance in this amusing tale of one mans dream to elevate his firm to not just to the top of the Scottish rankings, but those of Earth.I Am Miami - This picks up after the events of Glue (probably my favourite Welsh novel). It was great dropping in on N-Sign and Juice Terry once again and their interactions with a one Mr Black, their old high school teacher/nemesis. A fantastic tales of forgiveness, trust, relationships, religion and love.Overall, a highly enjoyable read that I'd recommend to any Welsh fan. less

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