- Hardcover: 448 pages
- Publisher: Jonathan Cape Ltd; Library Ed edition (3 Aug 2006)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0224078003
- ISBN-13: 978-0224078009
- Product Dimensions: 23.2 x 15.6 x 3.8 cm
- Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (32 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 708,714 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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More About the Author
Product Description
Review
Praise for Irvine Welsh:
" The poet laureate of the chemical generation."
- "The Face"
" Welsh writes with a skill, wit and compassion that amounts to genius. He is the best thing that has happened to British writing for decades."
- "Sunday Times"
" A pure writer, producing staggering feats of storytelling... the skill of a master."
- "Independent"
" One of the most original writers in Britain. He writes with style, imagination, wit and force."
- Nick Hornby, "Times Literary Supplement"
" The poet laureate of the chemical generation."
- "The Face"
" Welsh writes with a skill, wit and compassion that amounts to genius. He is the best thing that has happened to British writing for decades."
- "Sunday Times"
" A pure writer, producing staggering feats of storytelling... the skill of a master."
- "Independent"
" One of the most original writers in Britain. He writes with style, imagination, wit and force."
- Nick Hornby, "Times Literary Supplement"
"From the Trade Paperback edition."
Fianacial Times
'flickers with the dynamism, black humour and bravado that is Welsh at his best.' - Melissa McClements
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
20 of 23 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is another novel by Irvine Welsh following pretty much the same trajectory as his others. Like "Marabou Stork Nightmares", "Filth", and "Porno", it's a story of a man working towards a breakdown. There are lots of drugs taken; this time it's mostly alcohol, and there's some welcome reflections on the destructive slow descent from social drinker to alcoholic. There's good use of mulitple perspectives to show each of the main character's thought processes, though not for any other real reason. There's some graphically-described sex, and one truly revolting scene (as always). Relationships and the banal malevolence of office politics are acutely described - Welsh has a razor-sharp eye if nothing else.
The conceit of the novel is that, after Dorian Grey, a man suffers the consequences of another's substance abuse. Quite what this is meant to suggest I don't know. Apart from some musing on the symbiotic nature of enemies and nemesis', it's not really an allegory or a metaphor for anything, it's just a conceit to allow some highly vivid descriptions of physical decay.
The thing is, it's not only following a law of diminishing returns (so that these retreads on familiar material get progressively worse, "Porno" excepted because of his all-too-evident fondness of the old characters). To progress with your art you have to struggle. There's no struggle here, no development. It's slightly more "literary" in that there are more allusions and quotations, but far less literary than "Trainspotting" because there's no depth to the novel. It's in present-tense, this-this-this style which allows no reflection and no real substance.
Welsh really must get out of his comfort zone. If he would write about street culture as its happening now, or about the corruptions of power without resorting to bodily metaphors, or about the class war from the post-modern perpective, I'd be interested. But he's not pushing himself, and it's getting boring.
The conceit of the novel is that, after Dorian Grey, a man suffers the consequences of another's substance abuse. Quite what this is meant to suggest I don't know. Apart from some musing on the symbiotic nature of enemies and nemesis', it's not really an allegory or a metaphor for anything, it's just a conceit to allow some highly vivid descriptions of physical decay.
The thing is, it's not only following a law of diminishing returns (so that these retreads on familiar material get progressively worse, "Porno" excepted because of his all-too-evident fondness of the old characters). To progress with your art you have to struggle. There's no struggle here, no development. It's slightly more "literary" in that there are more allusions and quotations, but far less literary than "Trainspotting" because there's no depth to the novel. It's in present-tense, this-this-this style which allows no reflection and no real substance.
Welsh really must get out of his comfort zone. If he would write about street culture as its happening now, or about the corruptions of power without resorting to bodily metaphors, or about the class war from the post-modern perpective, I'd be interested. But he's not pushing himself, and it's getting boring.
7 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
This book has received poor reviews. I'm an Irvine Wesh fan , found it a good read . Welsh has neutralised the Scottish dialect as compared to his other novels , and introduced characters with obvious influences from those in his others such as Marabou Storks Strang and Filths Police Officer to create this dark diverse tale ,which has Welsh's usual elements of toilet humour alcoholism, drug addiction in this case further insites in to sexuality, identity and sex and depravity. In Master Chef's Welsh delves in to some of his most darkest spaces in a modern day perverse working class Jekyl and Hyde/ Dorian Gray in Edinburgh's Leith. I found it quite strong in his new area's of viewpoints, similies , metaphors, stream of conciousness. The Bedroom Secrets of The Master Chef is one of Welsh's best and blends horror humour with Welsh's obscene and bizarre. Don't listen to the negative reviews read it !
9 of 12 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Just finished reading this book in a rare 1 day stint. Having read all his previous books, some brilliant (Trainspotting, Glue, Porno), some average (Ecstacy) and some downright weird (Marabou Stork nightmares)I found this to be a muddle of a book containing elements of all the above.
Yes it was entertaining enough to keep me reading in almost one session, and there are some parts which are classic Welsh, but in saying that the author seems to have bursts of creative energy followed by sections which seem to contain a distinct lack of interest or inspiration. There are many interesting threads which if they had continued would have made great reading, however most of these seems to get forgotten or die a quick death. There are also sections which dont seem to add any value to the overall novel themes. The relationship between Kay and De Freitas and what becomes of it being a typical example. Another would be the Ian / Brian / Star Trek thread.
The book is highly cliched in parts and I guessed the "shock revelation" about half way through the book.
Definately not up to scratch with the classics, full of promise that never quite materialises and disappointing in the end.
Yes it was entertaining enough to keep me reading in almost one session, and there are some parts which are classic Welsh, but in saying that the author seems to have bursts of creative energy followed by sections which seem to contain a distinct lack of interest or inspiration. There are many interesting threads which if they had continued would have made great reading, however most of these seems to get forgotten or die a quick death. There are also sections which dont seem to add any value to the overall novel themes. The relationship between Kay and De Freitas and what becomes of it being a typical example. Another would be the Ian / Brian / Star Trek thread.
The book is highly cliched in parts and I guessed the "shock revelation" about half way through the book.
Definately not up to scratch with the classics, full of promise that never quite materialises and disappointing in the end.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Outstanding depiction of alcoholism and the family
Randomly picked this book up in Bangkok knowing nothing about it, and read it in 2 days flat. Though the premise of working class Edinburgh is getting a bit tired now (soccer... Read more
Published 3 months ago by MYP77
get an editor
Must we put up with tortured sentence structure and words plucked from a thesaurus rather than a sense of real aptitude with the language .. ? Read more
Published 21 months ago by S. E. Wilde
Beam me in Scotty
Comp School in the 70's had strict demarcation. There were two types of (male) kids, those who embraced cigarettes, baggies 3 button hipsters, music, guzzling an odd pint, tie... Read more
Published on 14 April 2010 by Dr. Delvis Memphistopheles
A short story turned into overlong book
This tale is similar to A Picture of Dorian Grey, except that instead of an image accepting the effects of a debaucherous lifestyle, it is another person. Read more
Published on 26 Aug 2009 by Robert
A great read
Having read Trainspotting and the acid house i was in need of more irvine welsh. So i headed to my libary to find that the only welsh book they had was 'the bedroom secrets of the... Read more
Published on 13 Aug 2008 by Mr. D. J. Mcmurray
A failed attempt at writing a modern Dorian Gray
This is a modern day doppelganger novel similar in plot to The Picture of Dorian Gray. However, unlike Orwell's masterpiece, The Bedroom Secrets of the Master Chefs is unstructured... Read more
Published on 12 Aug 2008 by A. Foldes
Good Reading - Until the End.....
I am a huge fan of Irvine Welsh's books, and I have re-read Trainspotting, Glue and Porno in that order several times.
I was expecting great things from Bedroom Secrets.. Read more
I was expecting great things from Bedroom Secrets.. Read more
Published on 29 Sep 2007 by J. Burston
Not his best but a good read.
This book doesn't live up to the expectation he left us with after Trainspotting and Porno but it's still a book that I didn't put down till it was finished. Read more
Published on 2 Sep 2007 by D. Mands
Could have been so much better
This was my first outing in to Irvine Welsh (although I'd seen the film trainspotting, I had not read the book!). I have to say I was largely disappointed. Read more
Published on 11 Aug 2007 by B. Ashley
Splodged
Right. I'll keep it short. This book is utter brilliance. characters are fantastic as is the concept, ludicrous though it may be. Read more
Published on 11 July 2007 by G. Lashmar
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