Trainspotting

Mark returns as the narrator in this chapter. He is attending yet another funeral, this time that of a pal, Matty. He’s staying with Gav to attend the funeral, and Gav fills him in on how Matty died; Matty learned he had AIDS after he experienced a stroke. He then got a cat that he wanted to take to visit his estranged daughter, Lisa. Matty then got toxoplasmosis from the cat’s feces. It’s a truly strange story but, according to Mark, “a typical Matty tale” (288). Matty had a second stroke, which killed him. His body was only found when the neighbors complained about its smell and had the police break down his door. Mark notes that Matty loved “the whole punk thing” (289).

The chapter concludes when Gav learns that Second Prize, who he had loaned money to, is spending that money on booze. He and Mark leave to go intervene before Second Prize wastes any more cash.

The next chapter transitions to a third-person narration and describes Matty’s funeral. It offers insights into many of the attendees’ thoughts in the moment, running through their minds paragraph by paragraph. Mark reflects on Matty’s awful guitar playing. Stevie is wishing he was back in London with Stella. Frank is angry that he didn’t bully Matty into getting clean. Matty’s mother, Mrs. Connell, is thinking about what Matty was like as a child; “Matty had always been a punk” (293).

Danny is randomly reflecting how awful Australia is. Alison is remembering the one time she had sex with Matty; he had said “[‘]I’m gaunnae fuck you like you’ve never been fucked in your life.[’] He was right. She’d never been fucked that badly, either before or since” (293).

Meanwhile, Matty’s brother Anthony is thinking about avenging his brother’s death. He’s angry that the heroin users and addicts have showed up to the funeral. Lisa, Matty’s daughter, is “sad that her Daddy was in that box” (294). Looking at the girl, Lisa’s mother Shirley notes that “Lisa seemed to be the only evidence that Matty’s life was not a futile one” (295).

After the funeral, the Skag Boys and girls head to a pub. Frank expresses anger at Simon for not coming back for the funeral (he’s still in France), noting that Mark and Stevie came from London. The group reflects on death and agrees that they’ve seen too much of it for their young age.