Trainspotting (novel) the shortlist after "offending the sensibilities of two judges"). Trainspotting (novel) Trainspotting is the first novel by Scottish writer Irvine Welsh, first published in 1993. It takes the form of a collection of short stories, written in either Scots, Scottish English or British English, revolving around various residents of Leith, Edinburgh who either use heroin, are friends of the core group of heroin users, or engage in destructive activities that are implicitly portrayed as addictions that serve the same function as heroin addiction. The novel is set in the late 1980s and has been described by "The Sunday Times" as
Candy: A Novel of Love and Addiction and shortly afterward Casper is caught making heroin. His employer sends him to rehab but Casper leaves, knowing that action marks the end of his career. Casper then gets antidepressants and alcohol, goes to his lab, cooks one last batch, and commits suicide. The narrator goes into rehab and sobers up. He sees Candy the first chance he is allowed to, and she tells him she knows they have to end. They have to stay apart to be clean. "Candy" is an intense, and at times taxing, exploration of the heroin addiction shared by a young couple deeply in love.