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If You Liked School, You'll Love Work | 
 enlarge | Author: Irvine Welsh
Publisher: Vintage
Category: Book
List Price: £7.99
Buy New: £3.52
You Save: £4.47 (56%)
New (27) Used (6) from £3.52
Rating:  13 reviews
Sales Rank: 8698
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
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| Customer Reviews: Read 8 more reviews...
 A total waste of paper!!! September 27, 2008
Mighty Meadow (Ayrshire, Scotland)
It's hard to imagine that this book was written by the same author who gave us Trainspotting and The Acid House. It seems that Welsh has finally run out of ideas and you could be forgiven for thinking that these short stories were actually written by a third rate Irvine Welsh copyist. Please take my advice and spend your hard earned cash on something else. On this evidence Mr Welsh is definitely yesterday's man. (I gave this book one star only because Amazon don't let you give any less).
 A case of 'writers block' perhaps?.... September 9, 2008
A. Joseph (High Wycombe, Bucks)
If You Liked School, You'll Love Work The first few words of the first story had me captivated but after a few pages, the story kind of lost it's way and I found myself losing concentration regularly. It was pretty much the same with the next 3 stories and I was finding myself actually looking forward to the end of the book which isn't a good thing! That was until I started reading the final story, Kingdom of Fife which, in one word, is FANTASTIC! Definitely a case of leaving the best until last, the story is very similar to the stories in The Acid House and I think it'd make a good mini movie. I thought the 1st 4 stories were very bland and didn't really go anywhere. I hate to say that as I think Welsh is literary genius.
If you like Irvine Welsh borrow this but don't buy it August 20, 2008
D. Baron (Cornwall, UK)
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.
 Partial return to form August 12, 2008
molondas
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.
A bit of a curates egg June 29, 2008
P. G. Harris (Dudley, W Midlands, UK)
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.
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