Trainspotting

by

Irvine Welsh

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Gi (short for Giovanni) is a gay older man from Italy who meets Rent Boy at an all-night pornography theater in London. Gi had to leave Italy when word got out that he had a secret lover: his wife’s younger brother. The male members of his wife’s family beat up both Gi and the younger brother, and the younger brother later killed himself. Rent Boy has mixed feelings toward Gi, sometimes feeling sympathy and other times feeling disgust, perhaps reflecting Rent Boy’s own conflicted feelings about his possible bisexuality.

Gi Quotes in Trainspotting

The Trainspotting quotes below are all either spoken by Gi or refer to Gi . For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Addiction and Society Theme Icon
).
Exile Quotes

Anywey, ah widnae mind gaun aw the wey wi a gadge, if it felt right. Jist fir the experience. Problem is, ah only really fancy birds. Guys jist dinnae look sexy. It’s aw ahoot aesthetics, fuck all tae dae wi morality.

Related Characters: Rent Boy (speaker), Gi
Page Number: 234
Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire Trainspotting LitChart as a printable PDF.
Trainspotting PDF

Gi Character Timeline in Trainspotting

The timeline below shows where the character Gi appears in Trainspotting. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Exile
Sex, Libido, and Gender Norms Theme Icon
...screens movies all night. He falls asleep but suddenly wakes up to an old man (Gi) touching his thigh. Rent Boy gets angry and says he isn’t gay. The man apologizes,... (full context)
Scottish Identity Theme Icon
Sex, Libido, and Gender Norms Theme Icon
The man introduces himself as Gi (short for Giovanni) and says he has a wife and kids back in Italy, but... (full context)
Scottish Identity Theme Icon
Sex, Libido, and Gender Norms Theme Icon
Gi starts saying the names of his wife and children, so at last Rent Boy stops... (full context)
Scottish Identity Theme Icon
Friendship Theme Icon
Sex, Libido, and Gender Norms Theme Icon
...like the Scottish, so Rent Boy takes a drag. Everyone there is confused about who Gi is. Gi ends up talking about soccer with some of them, so Rent Boy leaves... (full context)
Scottish Identity Theme Icon
Friendship Theme Icon
Sex, Libido, and Gender Norms Theme Icon
...women at the party seem to be available. He wonders if maybe having sex with Gi is his best option after all. (full context)