A Decent Ride: A Novel

by Irvine Welsh

Overview

Irvine Welsh returns to Edinburgh, the home of Trainspotting and so many of his novels since, with a new novel featuring one of his most iconic and beloved characters—'Juice' Terry Lawson—that's thick on the Scottish brogue, heavy on the filth and masterful in its comedic timing.

A Decent Ride sees Irvine Welsh back in Edinburgh, this time with one of his most compelling and popular characters front and center: the rampaging force of nature that is 'Juice' Terry Lawson, first seen in Glue.
     Juice is a man who contains multitudes: he's a top shagger, drug-dealing, gonzo pornstar and taxi driver. As we ride along in Juice's cab through the depraved streets of Edinburgh, Juice encounters a series of charmingly filthy characters, each of whom present their own, uh, unique challenges. Has he finally met his match in Hurricane 'Bawbag'? Can he discover the fate of the missing beauty, Jinty Magdalen, and keep her idiot-savant lover, the man-child Wee Jonty, out of prison? Will he find out the real motives of unscrupulous American businessman and reality-TV star, Ronald Checker? And, crucially, will Juice be able to negotiate life after a terrible event robs him of his sexual virility, and can a new fascination for the game of golf help him to live without . . . a decent ride? (The meaning of the title is starting to sink in now, huh?). So buckle your seatbelts and prepare for one unforgettable ride.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780385540902
Publisher:	Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
Publication date:	02/02/2016
Sold by:	Random House
Format:	eBook
Pages:	368
File size:	5 MB

About the Author

IRVINE WELSH is the best-selling author of Trainspotting, Ecstasy, Glue, Porno, Filth, Marabou Stork Nightmares, The Acid House, Skagboys, and, most recently, The Sex Lives of Siamese Twins. He currently lives in Chicago, IL.

Editorial Reviews

Praise for A DECENT RIDE:

“A case can be made that Irvine Welsh is the most outrageous novelist now at large in the English-speaking world.”
—The Washington Post
 
“A hilarious, gleefully offensive book, featuring necrophilia, incest, and a character named Ronald Checker, a rich reality TV host who might remind readers of a certain Republican presidential candidate.”
—Men’s Journal
 
“Welsh renders [A DECENT RIDE] with the same comedic precision and messy obscenity that he’s been refining since Trainspotting.”
—NPR.org
 
“The 10th novel by this Scottish transplant to Lake View is as crass as you would expect from the man who wrote Trainspotting.”
—Chicago Magazine
 
"This Scottish picaresque is bawdy, profane, funny, tragic, farcical, kindhearted, exuberant, and disgusting in almost equal measure … Great entertainment."
—Booklist
 
"Welsh’s funniest, filthiest novel yet."
—Library Journal

"As always, Welsh takes things from zero to sixty in his latest novel … not for the squeamish, prudish, or faint of heart."
—Kirkus Reviews

From the Publisher

02/15/2016
Set in Edinburgh, this riotous tale marks the return of Terry "Juice" Lawson, cab driver, drug dealer, and part-time porn star with perhaps the strongest sex drive found in nature, who appeared previously in Glue. Here Terry becomes the personal chauffeur for Ronnie Checker, a brash American real estate developer and reality TV star, who is in Scotland presumably to negotiate a real estate deal but actually to pursue an old and priceless bottle of Scotch. A rare hurricane will soon upend Edinburgh life, leading to the death of Jinty, wife of the simple-minded Jonty, and an event that will figure prominently in the ensuing narrative. Following the hurricane, the doctor tells Terry he has a serious heart condition and can no longer have sex, a diagnosis that precipitates a major identity crisis. As he must avoid excitement, he takes up golf, with Ronnie's encouragement, and the two ultimately challenge a pair of Danes to a round for ownership of the precious bottle of Scotch. VERDICT Raucous, spirited, and highly profane, this "decent ride" is also an unexpected journey of self-discovery and one on which most readers will happily come along. [See Prepub Alert, 8/17/15.]—Lawrence Rungren, Andover, MA

Library Journal

Scottish cab driver, porn star, front-seat confidant, and ladies’ man (to put it lightly) Terry “Juice” Lawson is a trip-and-a-half as he chauffeurs unsavory characters around Edinburgh and finds himself entwined in their complicated lives. The remarkable Scots actor Tam Dean Burn portrays the characters so accurately that some listeners may have to focus closely to understand the spicy lingo. Burn also transitions smoothly to portray unscrupulous American businessman and reality star Ronnie Checker as well as the suicidal playwright whom Terry sexually rehabilitates, locals from Edinburgh’s underbelly, and many more. Burn understands performance timing, switching from comedy to drama with spot-on flair and spontaneity. Listeners should beware that this top-of-the-mark performance has it all—gritty encounters, "blue" exchanges, and hilarious and weirdly indecent scenarios, resulting in what is sure to be a cult classic. B.J.P. © AudioFile 2016, Portland, Maine

FEBRUARY 2016 - AudioFile

Scottish cab driver, porn star, front-seat confidant, and ladies’ man (to put it lightly) Terry “Juice” Lawson is a trip-and-a-half as he chauffeurs unsavory characters around Edinburgh and finds himself entwined in their complicated lives. The remarkable Scots actor Tam Dean Burn portrays the characters so accurately that some listeners may have to focus closely to understand the spicy lingo. Burn also transitions smoothly to portray unscrupulous American businessman and reality star Ronnie Checker as well as the suicidal playwright whom Terry sexually rehabilitates, locals from Edinburgh’s underbelly, and many more. Burn understands performance timing, switching from comedy to drama with spot-on flair and spontaneity. Listeners should beware that this top-of-the-mark performance has it all—gritty encounters, "blue" exchanges, and hilarious and weirdly indecent scenarios, resulting in what is sure to be a cult classic. B.J.P. © AudioFile 2016, Portland, Maine

FEBRUARY 2016 - AudioFile

2015-12-09
When Ronald Checker hops into the back of Terry "Juice" Lawson's taxi late one night in Edinburgh, on the eve of Hurricane Bawbag, Terry finds himself entangled in various webs of love, lust, money, and violence. Checker is an American "punk businessman" complete with reality TV stardom, Southern pedigree, and fanatical, self-serving religious faith. When he hops into the back of Terry's cab and hires him for the remainder of his stay in the city, Terry's life begins to stockpile not only criminal plots, but also an onslaught of undesirables one might hope to avoid: his flighty half brother, Jonty MacKay, who works under-the-table painting gigs; his various bastard children; several prostitutes; "The Poof," a local gang ringleader, and his posse; a Dane with a competing offer on a rare bottle of Scotch; and too many women to count or catalog. Terry manages to deal drugs, placate the man-child millionaire, and shag his way across the entire Midlothian; he attempts to locate a missing call girl, nearly reconnects with his children, and discovers that his heart is no longer healthy enough for sex. His relationships are plenty, complicated, and nuanced. As always, Welsh (The Sex Lives of Siamese Twins, 2015, etc.) takes things from zero to 60 in his latest novel. Chapters alternate between the perspectives of various characters, and many are written entirely in broad Scots, one of Welsh's trademark stylings. Also true to form are the characters, always gritty and with unrelenting personality. The baggage each character lugs around is heavy, often resulting in various shades of violence such as rape, murder, and arson. Masterfully, Terry develops and stays true to his almost fiendish appetites throughout the novel, all while exploring his complicated family history and romantic endeavors, and still manages to avoid incarceration. This novel isn't for the squeamish, prudish, or faint of heart.

Kirkus Reviews