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If You Liked School, You'll Love Work

Author: Irvine Welsh
Publisher: Vintage
Category: Book

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Rating: 3.0 out of 5 stars

11 reviews
Sales Rank: 5521

Media: Paperback
Pages: 400
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.7
Dimensions (in): 7.7 x 5 x 1

ISBN: 0099483599
EAN: 9780099483595
ASIN: 0099483599

Publication Date: June 5, 2008
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days

Also Available In:

•	Paperback - If You Liked School, You'll Love Work
•	Hardcover - If You Liked School, You'll Love Work
•	Paperback - If You Liked School, You'll Love Work

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Customer Reviews: Read 6 more reviews...

1 out of 5 stars

If you like Irvine Welsh borrow this but don't buy it August 20, 2008
Hugely disappointing apart from The Kingdom of Fife which is Welsh at his best, the other stories are quite frankly rubbish and wouldn't be out of place in the 1970's horror compilations I used to read as a teenager. Stick to what you know Mr Welsh, The Kingdom of Fife is a cracker but the rest is dross.

4 out of 5 stars

Partial return to form August 12, 2008
There's an interesting spread of views on this book at the time of writing. I stopped reading Welsh after Glue, which I thought was dreadful. There were already signs he was losing it in Filth, which - although very funny in parts - was boring and contrived at points, and was losing the spontaneity, wit and imagination of his first few books.

But I disagree with those who give this collection one or two stars. There's much more going on here than these reviewers give Welsh credit for, and I agree with some of the blurb that says this is a return to form.

This collection is uneven, there's no doubt about that. The first story, Rattlesnakes, is lame. In the other four stories, some of the characterization is flat and the plots contrived or silly. But the good stuff is very good, and the funny bits are hilarious. Miss Arizona and Kingdom of Fife are excellent, in different ways, and If You Liked School... and The Dogs of Lincoln Park have some very good moments.

In particular I like the way Welsh is branching out into other areas of mimicry - Chicago socialites, an expat London chav bar-owner in the Canaries, a Texan ex alcoholic etc. Welsh's ability to exploit dialectal variation and nuance and - particulary in Miss Arizona - his ability to convey the feel and sentiment of a whole American literary genre is very sophisticated and creates a richness beyond the characters and plots, such as they are. In this sense, the stories here are more ambitious than anything in the Acid House for example, and Miss Arizona in particular indicates a possible future for Welsh, writing noir crime thrillers with spooky plot twists.

3 out of 5 stars

A bit of a curates egg June 29, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful

Many of the stories in this collection are along the lines of "Irvine Welsh writes Roald Dahl's Tales of the Unexpected".

One of the most disppointing things is the laziness of the characteristion. The Mexicans in Rattlesnakes (which is a twist on the old "burglars and toothbrushes" urban myth) are paint by numbers sterotypes and the central character in the title story seems to be the result of watching too many sub Guy Ritchie "geezer" movies. The DOGS of Lincoln Park is a deeply unfunny Sex and the City pastiche.

The collection is redeemed by the last two stories Miss Arizona, a wonderfully creepy horror story and the novella the Kingdom of Fife. The last of these is Welsh back on his Scottish home ground and while lacking the visceral thrill of Trainspotting, is thoroughly entertaining.

Worth reading, but not brilliant.

2 out of 5 stars

If you liked Welsh..I don't think you'll love this book June 17, 2008
I have to agree with the above reviews, (not such a good read)- alot of the ideas are other tales revisited; Roald Dahl: The Land lady.. until you reach the final short story, which is actually quite good. I have read everything Irvine Welsh has written pretty much; so I was a tad disappointed by this book.

1 out of 5 stars

His worst book yet... June 4, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful

I though Bedroom Secrets of the Master Chefs was bad but this collection of dull stories isn't even worth reading. It amazes me that people rate the Kingdom of Fife as the best of the short stories on offer here.

I thought as it was set in Scotland it would bring us back to the highs of Trainspotting, Filth or Glue, yet the lead character is totally unbelievable and unlikeable. It seems to be a trend of Welsh to sometimes have these pretty stupid characters say things in their narration that sounds more like something Irvine Welsh wants to say/believes and not something the character would ever say themselves.

The worst thing about the last story though is it's total lack of humour, the naff horse-riding setting, the characters that you couldn't care less about and the lead character's use of the phrase "ya hoor sor" over and over.

None of the other stories raise much more than mild amusement, and are quite worthless.