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Revision as of 15:54, 2 September 2020
, 15:54, 2 September 2020no edit summary
Kelman's style may not be to everyone’s taste but he's very good at what he does. At times the repetition of some of the arguments can be slightly irritating but it’s highly readable. Often this 'stream of consciousness' style can see long, convoluted sentences, but Kelman's approach is the opposite - lots of short sentences and most streams of thought are pursued to a logical end.
The narrative is broken by a few pieces of dialogue which feel very real. It’s tempting to wish for more of these, particularly those involving her six -year -old daughter, but part of Helen's problem is that with her working nights, Mo working evenings in a restaurant and daughter Sophie at school, there are precious few times when all three are in the same place at the same time. In particular , I'd loved to have seen more about the relationship between Sophie and Mo.
The feeling of the book can be a little claustrophobic - being locked inside Helen's head is a very busy place to be - but overall it works very well. There's just enough tension in Helen's decision to search out the mysterious face she encounters early on to carry the plot through to a poignant ending.
Our thanks to the kind people at Hamish Hamilton for sending us this book. We also have a review of [[If it is Your Life by James Kelman]].
For more terrific Scottish themed fiction with a political slant, check out [[And The Land Lay Still by James Robertson]].
