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James Kelman

Author of How Late It Was, How Late

39+ Works 3,453 Members 51 Reviews 14 Favorited

About the Author

Includes the name: James Kelman

Image credit: James Kelman, author of "How Late it Was" and "The Busconductor Hines". Photo by Murdo MacLeod

Works by James Kelman

How Late It Was, How Late (1994) 1,310 copies
A Disaffection (1989) 322 copies
The Busconductor Hines (1984) 225 copies
Kieron Smith, Boy (2008) 200 copies
Not Not While the Giro (1983) 125 copies
Greyhound for Breakfast (1987) 120 copies
Translated Accounts (1970) 100 copies
A Chancer (1985) 99 copies
The Burn (1991) 90 copies
The Good Times (1998) 86 copies
Dirt Road (2014) 83 copies
Lean Tales (1985) — Contributor — 75 copies
Mo Said She Was Quirky (2012) 67 copies

Associated Works

Granta 84: Over There: How America Sees the World (2004) — Contributor — 227 copies
Best British Short Stories 2017 (2017) — Contributor — 24 copies
Masters of British Literature, Volume B (2007) — Contributor — 16 copies
Streets of Stone (1985) — Contributor — 6 copies

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Group Read, August 2019: Kieron Smith, Boy in 1001 Books to read before you die (September 2019)

Reviews

A compelling, raw narrative that I often had to read in small chunks given how brutal it felt. Kelman's technical prowess is impressive and I found myself thinking just as much about his form, style, and his writing strategies as I did the story itself. Worth reading just for that, I would say.
 
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lschiff | 16 other reviews | Sep 24, 2023 |
Deliberately heavy in the use of profanities and Glaswegian dialect Mr Kelman wanted to write a book reflecting his own life experience and those in similar circumstances. He succeeded. The mundane life of Busconductor Hines, his wife and young child. Living in sub standard tenement housing i a job he doesn't like, probably capable of better things but he just can't bring himself to be bothered. Worried about his wife leaving him - but he needn't. She doesn't.
 
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Steve38 | 6 other reviews | Sep 8, 2022 |
Alternately funny and depressing, this snapshot of the life of a disillusioned Glasgow teacher is beautifully crafted in the language of that city. Patrick, the central character is lonely and frustrated and as the novel progresses the bitterness that is growing inside him threatens to take him over. I would highly recommend this book - but not if you want to be cheered up!
 
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Estragon1958 | 3 other reviews | May 23, 2022 |
Another portrait of a manchild in bleak, claustrophobic, post-industrial Scotland and/or Ireland, with a setting and atmosphere reminiscent of [Shuggie Bain], [Young Skins] and others. This time we're inside the head of 16-year-old Murdo. His sister and mother have recently died, and his father is usually hiding behind a book. The difference in this story is that it describes a trip they take to the American South, a place that's weird but less dismal.

Murdo is forever trying to make sense of things: not just the family tragedies, but also this country's racism, religiosity and close-to-the-surface violence. He takes things in as they come, without judgement. He knows that he doesn't always get it. There's a wonderful loose sentence structure, with fragments and repetitions, throughout the book that conveys his bemusement about the things he encounters.

He's also trying to figure out what he might do with his life. He's passionate about music, and a brilliant player on guitar and accordion. He meets a family of Zydeco musicians who invite him to join them on stage at a festival. His father is adamantly oblivious to this stroke of fortune. And thus begins Murdo's quest. No spoiler, but the boy achieves, if not a happy ending, a happy chance at a life he's sure he wants. (Even Shuggie Bain, whose family is much poorer and far more dysfunctional, and whose story is horrifying, gets a promising ending, after all.)
… (more)
 
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JonathanLerner | 2 other reviews | Apr 24, 2022 |

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Statistics

Works
39
Also by
6
Members
3,453
Popularity
#7,361
Rating
½ 3.5
Reviews
51
ISBNs
136
Languages
9
Favorited
14
Touchstones
221

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