‘Jongens waren het, maar geen aardige jongens’

Abstract

The novels Gimmick! (1989) by Joost Zwagerman (1963-2015) and Trainspotting (1993) by Irvine Welsh (1958-) depict two generations that dominated the societal scene during the 1980s, respectively the snobbish yuppies and the desperate ‘no future kids’. This article examines the literary representation of these generations on the basis of two questions: how does the concept of generation take shape within these novels? The descriptive questions in Hans Becker’s sociological ‘generation model’ serve as a means to analyze the representation of generations on three levels: the level of the system, the individual and the historical context. Analysis of the statements by the characters reveals that generation and identity play important roles in these novels. Furthermore, the article demonstrates how societal developments influence the generational cohorts in the novels.