Customer Reviews
Sexistential - By: Edward Barry, 26 Nov 2003 
A very slim 'read-it-in-one-sitting' novel but structured around the most important of themes.
Joe, too often (and self-defeatingly) identified as Camus' main protagonistin 'The Outsider'is a superbly realised character whose sexual confidence has literally deadly consequences.
Trochhi was once a paid pornographer & there is a vivid & beautifuly depicted scene where ... well let's just say it involves custard & some other household fluids.
The turgid opening paragraphs on the difficulty of language disqualifies this novella from five stars but there also fine insights into both personality traits & the physical landscape of canal life - that outer point of urban living.
The recent film is very faithful to this text, though, as is often the case, inferior to it as well.
An outsider - not an outlaw - By: , 09 Nov 2001 
Meeting Alex Trocchi was always memorable - & unpredictable. So reading Young Adam is to glimpse Trocchi's genius as a writer & lifelong determined objectionist. In Young Adam his declared preoccupation with sex should not be confused with the exploitation of women - a definition of pornography. The poetic landscape he creates is women-centric but never demeaning. The result is a timeless quality; a moment portrayed; a visual flickering of events that indeed lend themselves to celluloid.
'Trainspotting' could be a curtainraiser to the impossible genius of Alex Trocchi. Young Adam has that rarity of literary effects: you hold your breath. If Trocchi hadn't been such a determined heroin user, mainstream publishing (at least outside Scotland) would have made his genius respectable - probably to his intense annoyance & possibly to his secret delight. He'd have won. He may still if this book makes it to Hollywood.
Existentialist Thriller - By: hdtm@hotmail.com, 06 Jun 2001 This book has often been compared with Camus's The Outsider. Frankly, I think it's better. Darker. More human. More ambiguous. More sensual. And more messy.
Trocchi, as well as being a fine novelist, was also a drug addict & an accomplished writer of pornography. These aspects of him bleed into the writing style. He is probaly the least known of all the Beat Writers, yet he seems to bein a higher league from all the sophomoric rantings of his more famous peers. If you're a fan of the Beat Writers, this is probably the best book of them all.
What is Justice?? - By: , 17 May 2001 Trocchi style is enchanting, slick & clever. WE find our potaginist on a barge with a family travelling from Glasgow to Edinburgh - But do not be put off this could be set anywherein the world & the language is not trainspotting- the story unravals revealing crimes of passion both personal & criminal, & the huge question of guilty till proven innocent. This novel is exceptional & a must for those who like the darker side, but be prepared you may not want to put it down .....
A lost classic from a great Scottish author. - By: , 11 Jan 1999 Young Adam was the first novel that Alexander Trocchi wrote, & due to circumstances the actual content of the novel has been changed & pirated over the years but this edition is the one that he himself felt was the best. The story concerns a barge operator, Joe, who dislikes the work ethic & would rather spend his timein leisure. He & the barge captain find a dead bodyin the water, which Joe has some relation to. The plot also follows the personal relationships between Joe & those around him. However I think that the plot is not the most important part of the book, when I read the book I was struck by the quality of the language, the way that Trocchi describes sensations is perfect, & also the ideas contained in the text. In a way this book is similiar to "L'etranger" by Camus, but more didactic & directin its approach. The style & central character's observations, asides to an audience almost, are amongst the best I have ever read,in some ways these are comparable with those of "Junky" by William Burroughs, but Trocchi had a more fluent style. Most of the myth around Trocchi comes from his lifestyle & list of famous friends, but what will remain ultimately are his novels, of which I find this to be the best, due to its ability to conjure a large range of emotions, its technical quality & its ideas. I hope this publishing of Young Adam will stop Alexander Trocchi from being just a footnotein the careers of Allen Ginsberg, William Burroughs & other 'beat' writers, & show how he was a great writerin his own right. (When will anyone republish the anthology "Writersin Revolt" that he coedited? or any of his translations?).
