book data
207 ratings, 3.86 average rating, 34 reviews
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published
October 10th 2005
(first published 2003)
by W. W. Norton
binding
Paperback, 384 pages
literary awards
Booker Prize Winner 1994
isbn
039332799X
(isbn13: 9780393327991)
description
"Ye wake in a corner and stay there hoping yer body will disappear, the thoughts smothering ye; these thoughts; but ye want to remember and face ...more
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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 360)
This book haunts me. It was one of the better during that strange time when we were suddenly inundated with contemporary Scottish literature. Suddenly all these Soctsmen were doing book signings and wooing our American girls with their incoherent brogue. What a strange literary movement that was. Somebody got drunk on some single malt and decided that one, I think.
Sammy goes on a roaring binge and when he wakes up, he discovers he's been beaten badly. On top of it, he's blind. We go with Sam...more
Sammy goes on a roaring binge and when he wakes up, he discovers he's been beaten badly. On top of it, he's blind. We go with Sam...more
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recommends it for:
David Convery
This book is good for those who liked the stream of consciousness style of 'Ulysses' and 'Trainspotting'. Whereas Joyce's characters were mostly lower middle class the main character in this is a Glaswegian ex-prisoner whos thought processes on life in and out of prison we are privy to. There are no allusions to art, academia or philosophy but through allusions to cheesey country and western songs and various radio programmes the character listens to contributes to the authentic feel of the sett...more
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Read in August, 2006
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Read in September, 1996
recommends it for:
someone I didn't like
I think this is the worst book I've ever read to completion. First of all, it's a stream of conciousness novel written in working-class Scottish dialect. Secondly, there was no ultimate payoff for my having to struggle through the frustrating narrative style. I want those hours of my life back!
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Has a copy to sell/swap
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Read in January, 2005
This is the most intense book I have ever read, but painfully long and sometimes very boring. I didn't care though. It followed the life of a man just turned blind. My experience reading the book paralleled this man's life. Brilliant!
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So a few years ago, after I read a blue streak through God of Small Things, Midnight’s Children, Amsterdam, Remains of the Day, Possession, The Blind Assassin – they are all amazing – I decided that I would read every past Booker Prize winner (apparently I am unhappy unless doing something that can eventually crossed off a list.) And although we’ve had some good times – I mean, wow, I would never have thought The English Patient worth reading – my current stance is, Booker Prize, ca...more
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5 comments
Read in September, 2008
I liked this book, but stopped just short of loving it. Despite the fact that the story is a rather savage, violent one, the pace is a bit slow, dreamy and repetitive. For example, it takes the main character, Sammy, about twenty pages to make it from the bus to his apartment. Then, later, it takes ten pages for him to have a tediously circular conversation with a lawyer that pretty much ends right where it began.
Also, not much ever gets resolved or revealed. I kept hoping that I'd find...more
Also, not much ever gets resolved or revealed. I kept hoping that I'd find...more
Read in February, 2008
Quite a slog getting into it, but worth the effort ultimately. Working-class Scottish colloquialisms are the meat (not the spice) of this book, but the repetitive nature of the main character's thoughts makes them feel organic, as does the prolific use of profanity. I found myself thinking "if you took just one word -- fucking -- out of this book, you'd shorten it by 25 or 30 pages. But you wouldn't feel like you're actually inside the character's head. I've never read a book that felt more...more
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Read in January, 2008
After nearly 400 painful pages, "How Late It Was, How Late" is incredibly short on plot, even shorter on resolution. Gets some style points for the Scottish accent, but loses some for being way too repetitive, and sometimes downright boring. And the whole stream-of-consciousness thing means there are no chapters, so you don't end up with that whole "I'm going read to the end of this chapter" feeling, so I often found myself losing interest after just a couple of pages and p...more
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Read in August, 2007
One of those books that kept getting interrupted by better books. Took me a couple years to finally finish this one off. I'll admit, I was hoping for an Irvine Welsh clone. You know- hip, Scottish dude down with the streets. Aren't they all like that? Does that make me a literary racist? And why couldn't I like this character? A drunken, violent hooligan. I guess there just wasn't enough drunken violence. Snoozed my way through a book I was determined to make myself hate. I'll read it again some...more
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Read in July, 2008
Having finished the book, I'm still unclear how Sammy became blind. Sudden, unexplained blindness made me think there might be some post-modern twist, grand conspiracy, but no, maybe he was just careless on his drinking binge or incurred some head injury resisting arrest. Not that I know about causes of blindness.
Some of my favorite parts were his descriptions wandering outside his home and having to rely on strangers for assistance.
Some of my favorite parts were his descriptions wandering outside his home and having to rely on strangers for assistance.
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Read in October, 2001
recommended to Gjack by:
a bookshelfrecommends it for: everyone
One of the judges of the Booker prize proclaimed 'Frankly It's crap' when this book won. Can't get a better recommendation than that, as it puts all that magic realism that keeps winning that prize in its place. Paints the world as dark and scary without taking away the possibility of navigating it. Gripping and real without a lot of sentimental clap trap. read it.
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I was charmed by the Glaswegian language and terminology even with the punctuation of vulgarity in each sentence. The book was Kafka-esq as far as society goes but proved to be a flat suspense of internal dialogue. I forced myself through it towards the end, and was dissapointed when there wasn't really any resolution.
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For some reason, this novel encountered a bit of controversy upon its Booker win due to its vernacular language and nasty bits (not to mention a very nihilistic plot). I adored it, and identified with the narrator from start to "finish". Kafka would shrink from this.
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Read in August, 2008
normally i would have lots to say about an interesting book like this, but for now--having been offline for three weeks--i will just say read it. enjoy it. love it. feel it.
this is the experience.
this is the experience.
This is quite possibly my favorite book. If you can get past the Glaswegian dialect, which enhances the story considerably, you will be rewarded with one of the most unique thillers out there.
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Read in August, 1996
One of those books you have to *really* want to get through. Very dark humor written in Scottish dialect. But hey, it won a Booker prize, so you know it's good, right? Well, I liked it.
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I loved this book. Love-love-love-love-loved it. I long to sing its praises, but can't sing for shit. I can only sit here and wish I'd never read it so I could start it again.
Read in January, 2005
recommends it for:
interest in disability, post-modernism, language, blindness
The main character gets blinded in the first scene, and for the rest of the novel you actually feel blind as a reader. So cool how the writing works like that...
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Kelman's alarming, emotional, and filthy novel of a low-class hood who goes blind deserves all the accolades it got.
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