It wis like auld times, but in a sense that only served tae remind us ay how much things hud changed. — Irvine Welsh Copy Share Image
In some ways, you can say that at any time in any writer's career: 'He might have run out of ideas.' — Irvine Welsh Copy Share Image
I just write the stuff I want to at the time, what feels right for me. — Irvine Welsh Copy Share Image
“But ah cannae even endorse these sentiments as they are at best peripheral tae the moment.” — Irvine Welsh Copy Share Image
Historically, men have a hard time getting onboard with feminism, but I think that's changing. — Irvine Welsh Copy Share Image
'Ulysses' is like a big box of tricks that you can dive into. Each time you read it, you find something new. — Irvine Welsh Copy Share Image
But even Es and cocaine, over the years they blow holes in your brain, rob you of your memories, your past. Which… — Irvine Welsh Copy Share Image
I spend so much time on the screen when I am writing, the last thing you want to do is spend more… — Irvine Welsh Copy Share Image
I'm always watching people over a short time frame, putting them in an extreme position. Sometimes you don't see the humanity in… — Irvine Welsh Copy Share Image
These days you can't write anybody off. If anybody is a right-wing populist, you can't write them off now because that is… — Irvine Welsh Copy Share Image
Every kind of book I've written has been written in a different way. There has not been any set time for writing,… — Irvine Welsh Copy Share Image
“Mates are a waste of fucking time. They are always ready to drag you down tae their level of social, sexual and… — Irvine Welsh Copy Share Image
You're on your own with the book. And while you are writing fiction, you're spending all this time with people who don't… — Irvine Welsh Copy Share Image
I come up with a blurb at the beginning, but the book will always be completely different by the time it's finished.… — Irvine Welsh Copy Share Image
There's that horrible-beautiful moment, that bitter-sweet impasse where you know that somebody is bullshitting you but they're doing it with such panache… — Irvine Welsh Copy Share Image
I'm not interested in details that might get someone into trouble. I'm more interested in generalities rather than the particulars, as a… — Irvine Welsh Copy Share Image
I think that in the future, as more and more money and wealth goes to the 1 per cent, it's going to… — Irvine Welsh Copy Share Image
We've become used to processing images that are part of the non-linear narrative theory. I think there's a thinner line between fantasy… — Irvine Welsh Copy Share Image
When you think about what Homo sapiens are about, you almost feel that we are replacing ourselves. We won't be able to… — Irvine Welsh Copy Share Image
“They filed out into the cold night at closing time, heading for Begbie's place with a carry-out. They'd already spent twelve hours… — Irvine Welsh Copy Share Image
“Renton looks at her and sees her pain and anger. It cuts him up. It confuses him. Kelly has a great sense… — Irvine Welsh Copy Share Image
When people start writing there is this idea that you have to get everything right first time, every sentence has to be… — Irvine Welsh Copy Share Image
The first time I went to West Virginia I was surprised by how poor it was. It was like north India, there's… — Irvine Welsh Copy Share Image
“Increasingly, life seems fractured, as if his past had been lived by someone else. It isn't just that the place he now… — Irvine Welsh Copy Share Image
I'm the worst employee in the world. I'll cheat and steal time and resources from my employer, although I'll con everybody into… — Irvine Welsh Copy Share Image
“Was he an alcoholic? What was that? Someone who drinks all the time? Who can't say no to a drink? Who drinks… — Irvine Welsh Copy Share Image
When you're in your twenties, it's the last time you have the chance to experiment with multiple identities, to decide who you're… — Irvine Welsh Copy Share Image
Now, for the first time, he's seeing that there really is a way out of this, and it's all so simple. You… — Irvine Welsh Copy Share Image
I don't see [ Trainspotting ] as an albatross, I see it more as a calling card. It's got me out to Hollywood, I've… — Irvine Welsh Copy Share
He emphasised basic truths: you are not dying yet, you have to live your life until you are. Underpinning them was the belief that… — Irvine Welsh Copy Share
“Without this kickstart to my day, I'd be lost. A day without a morning run is a day you fumble through, rather than one… — Irvine Welsh Copy Share
“There's nae reasoning wi some cats. You say 'reason', they mew 'treason'. Ken?” — Irvine Welsh Copy Share
It's crazy for somebody who's kind of empowered and wealthy like myself to say, "Oh, I don't need to be patronized by the state,… — Irvine Welsh Copy Share
When you go away, you see where you come from in a different light. I see Scotland, and the rest of Britain, as much… — Irvine Welsh Copy Share
If it's something that I feel uncomfortable with, that's a reason for me to write it. I kind of like to make myself feel… — Irvine Welsh Copy Share
There's nothing worse than a violent beating from an unremarkable person. Physical violence with someone is too much like shagging them. Too much id… — Irvine Welsh Copy Share
If I stop working and publishing, and TV, and film and all that, I would be dead within a couple of weeks. I don't… — Irvine Welsh Copy Share
I can see why the Russians love Robert Burns, I think that Russians and Koreans have a very similar outlook to Scots. — Irvine Welsh Copy Share
If you continue to transfer the wealth of the population of the planet to a very small amount of people, it becomes untenable at… — Irvine Welsh Copy Share
Most middle-class people I know don't really live like me. Middle-class people worry a lot about money. They worry a lot about job security,… — Irvine Welsh Copy Share
As soon as you've written it, you're thinking about how it can move into different mediums. — Irvine Welsh Copy Share
“Begbie doesnae even notice; he's in his element, particularly good at funerals in the way a lot ay psychopaths tend tae be. Ah suppose… — Irvine Welsh Copy Share
I'm more of a warrior than you'll ever be. I believe in the class war. I believe in the battle of the sexes. I… — Irvine Welsh Copy Share
