Quotes by Irvine Welsh

“I’d always done a lot of (sniffing) glue as a kid. I was very interested in glue, and then I went to lager and speed, and I drifted into heroin because as a kid growing up everybody told me, ‘don’t smoke marijuana, it will kill you’ . . .”

“I dont give a toss about writing really. Its a bit ironic that the things Im really into are music and football, and I have never really been good at either.”

We wait and think and doubt and hate. How does it make you feel? The overwhelming feeling is rage. We hate ourself for being unable to be other than what we are. Unable to be better. We feel rage. The feelings must be followed. It doesnt matter whether youre an ideologue or a sensualist, you follow the stimuli thinking that theyre your signposts to the promised land. But they are nothing of the kind. What they are is rocks to navigate the past, each on your brush against, ripping you a little more open and they are always more on the horizon. But you cant face up to the that, so you force yourself to believe the bullshit of those you instinctively know are liars and you repeat those lies to yourself and to others, hoping that by repeating them often and fervently enough youll attain the godlike status we accord those who tell the lies most frequently and most passionately. But you never do, and even if you could, you wouldnt value it, youd realise that nobody believes in heroes any more. We know that they only want to sell us something we dont really want and keep from us what we really do need. Maybe thats a good thing. Maybe were getting in touch with our condition at last. Its horrible how we always die alone, but no worse than living alone.

The dead man is on the trolley and the woman collapses across his chest. Thats what the ghouls want a shufti at, like at that Princess Dianas funeral, they want to scrutinise those who really knew her, to drink the misery out of their faces.

This social worker lassie turns round n gies us a stroppy look. Ah jist smiles bit she looked away aw fuckin nippy likes. Disnae cost nowt tae be social. A social worker thit cannae be fuckin social; thats nae good tae nae cunt, thon. Like a lifeguard thit cannae fuckin swim. Shouldnae be daein that kinday joab.

Ah dont hate the English. Theyre just wankers. We are colonised by wankers. We cant even pick a decent, vibrant, healthy culture to be colonised by. No. Were ruled by effete arseholes. What does that make us?

I love doubt in a woman. Its nearly as sexy as determination.

It unsettles the women as they have dropped their disguise and are now giant praying mantis with blonde and auburn wigs, lipstick smeared on those deadly pincher-like insect jaws.

Sitting in the brightly lit library, surrounded by books, in total silence, that was ma personal zenith.

We kissed for a bit and I stopped shaking. We played with each other for a long time, and after we had joined, my cock and her fanny became one thing, then it seemed to vanish as we took off on a big psychic trip together. It was our souls and our minds that were doing it all; our genitals, our bodies, they were just launch pads and were soon superfluous as we went around the universe together on our shared trip, moving in and out of each other’s heads and finding nothing in them but good things, nothing in them but love. The intensity increased until it became almost unbearable and we exploded together in an orgasmic crash-landing onto the shipwreck of a bed, from a long way out in some form of space. We held each other tightly, drenched in sweat and shaking with emotion

Okay baby, lets take this rocket to Uranus. This hoor is perfect, and she can act as well.

History repeated itself. The dont do the things I did mantra was tiresome pish. The best way to make sure your children dont grow up as cunts is not to be one yourself - or not to let them SEE you being one. This is easier as a sober artist in Santa Barbara than as an alcoholic jailbird in Leith.

Renton looks at her and sees her pain and anger. It cuts himup. It confuses him. Kelly has a great sense of humour. Whats wrong with her? The knee–jerkthought: Wrong time of the month is forming in his head when he looks about and picks up theintonations of the laughter around the bar. Its not funny laughter.This is lynch mob laughter.How was ah tae know, he thinks. How the fuck was ah tae know?

You can only learn through failure, and what ye learn is the importance ay preparation.

Bit its what bein a hard man is aw aboot; its a journey, a fucking self destructive quest tae find yir limits, cause they fuckin limits eywis come in the form ay a harder man. A big. strong, stiff hard man whae can dae it for ye, whae can teach ye, show ye whaire ye stand, where yir fuckin parameters ur.

Living like this is a full-time business.

Still, failure, success, what is it? Whae gies a fuck. We aw live, then we die, in quite a short space ay time n аw. Thats it; end ay fuckin story.

Now most people would put this doon tae experience, ye always want what ye cannae have and the things that ye dinnae really gie a toss aboot get handed tae ye oan a plate.

Theres that horrible-beautiful moment, that bitter-sweet impasse where you know that somebody is bullshitting you but theyre doing it with such panache and conviction...no, its because they say exactly what you want to hear, at that point in time.

Can you taste it Bruce? Can you taste the filth, the dirt, the oily blackness of that fossil fuel in our mouth as you choke and gag and spit it out? Do you still hear his voice in your head urging you to eat? Eat, eat eat. Your mothers cries. Do you hear them? You should be Bruce. Because I know that its never left you alone. Now you can eat what you want to eat. For me, for you, for all the others. Now you can consume to your hearts content or your souls destruction, whichever comes first. So eat.