Today I learned that Trainspotting is the most shoplifted book of our time. Above is a photo of its daringly evolved writer Irvine Welsh giving a conference, as we speak, at Cartagena’s Hay Festival.
He describes his main character as “too well-read for his life.” A statement to which bookworms everywhere might be able to relate.
His books seek to explore the Scottish malady of being “ambitious but lacking confidence.” Another commonly recurring theme amongst, not only bookworms, but people everywhere.
In our case, the consequence of starving our bravado might not be an unending heroin binge. But perhaps this binge is Welsh’s way of representing the equally lethal practice of everyday passivity.