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The Bedroom Secrets of the Master Chefs
 
 
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The Bedroom Secrets of the Master Chefs (Hardcover)

by Irvine Welsh (Author)
3.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (28 customer reviews)
RRP: £18.99
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Product details

  • Hardcover: 448 pages
  • Publisher: Jonathan Cape Ltd (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 (28 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 181,378 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in this category:

    #31 in  Books > Fiction > Cult Authors > Welsh, Irvine

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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"

"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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Inside This Book (Learn More)
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Customer Reviews

28 Reviews
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 (6)
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 (9)
2 star:
 (6)
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 (3)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
3.1 out of 5 stars (28 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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19 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars The further decline of Irvine Welsh, 20 Dec 2006
By Mike Cormack (Aberdeen UK) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Bedroom Secrets of the Master Chefs (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.

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9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A quality read!, 9 Jul 2007
By Adel (London) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Bedroom Secrets of the Master Chefs (Paperback)

A quality read!

What really did this for me is the writing, the language was incredible. The use of strong words that flowed together like a dream, and at the same time keeping Welsh's prominent style of laugh out loud, alcoholism, and the usual debauchery.

The story line is interesting and also quite meaningful, the comparison between the two characters Danny Skinner and Brian Kibby was masterfully created into two extreme personalities that Welsh had described with complete preciseness. Kibby is a totally nerd, goes to Star trek conventions, loves model railways and plays the lamest computer game on earth...Harvest Moon. Yet we get drawn extremely deep into his life, and at times i was hating him, feeling sorry for him and other times actually liking him.

In my opinion this is one of Welsh's best books, definitely worth a read!
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7 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars Hit & Miss, 12 Aug 2006
By Craigers (Norway) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Bedroom Secrets of the Master Chefs (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.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars 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 11 months ago by Mr. D. J. Mcmurray

2.0 out of 5 stars 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... Read more
Published 11 months ago by A. Foldes

3.0 out of 5 stars 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. Read more
Published 21 months ago by J. Burston

4.0 out of 5 stars 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 22 months ago by D. Mands

3.0 out of 5 stars 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 23 months ago by B. Ashley

4.0 out of 5 stars 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 24 months ago by G. Lashmar

1.0 out of 5 stars An awful piece of work
Buy something else. Anything. The premise is dire, the ending predictable and the characterisation - traditionally a strong suit of Welsh - is poor. Read more
Published on 2 Jul 2007 by LT, Oxford

2.0 out of 5 stars His Worst Book So Far!
I am a big fan.

But this was his worst book by a long way so far!
Published on 5 Jun 2007 by Jordan McClements

1.0 out of 5 stars Unbelievably bad
There are not many books that I put down before I finish them, but this is so bad that it made me feel as if I was slowly dying - life is too short to read such awful work. Read more
Published on 28 April 2007 by R. George

4.0 out of 5 stars More of Welsh's Dark Spaces
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... Read more
Published on 14 April 2007 by R. Pieters

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