How Late it Was, How Late
Product Details | Similar Products | Customer Reviews | Author: James Kelman List Price: £4.99 Availability:  |
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 | Product Details: Paperback 5 pages Release Date: 01 October 1994 Publisher: Vintage ISBN: 0749395354 Rating:   Sales Rank: 1168375 | | Look for similar books by subject: | | Customers who bought this item also bought:
| | Customer Reviews: An enjoyable read (09 January 2010)James Kelman's award winning novel strongly revolves around the feeling of disempowerment using the protagonist's blindness as its symbol. The book draws the reader into the misunderstood life of Sammy as he struggles through an experience which would belittle and discourage the best of us. The dialogue emits a certain amount of difficulty towards the beginning for the reader due to the "scatty" structure, repetition of offensive language and constant misspellings of words in order to create an authentic Scottish accent, pulling the reader further into the characterisation of Sammy; it is something that becomes lovable rather than a hindrance. The author, James Kelman was born in Glasgow like his books character Sammy presenting the idea that he is possibly drawing from some sort of life experience which raises the level of interest for the reader. It is intriguing how Kelman flips the views formed by society as Sammy, if he were real, would most definitely be avoided by others because of his aggressive dialect and violent behaviour but the readers grow to emphasise with him and his unfortunate situation, unlike their natural reaction to a Sammy character would be. The book is not particularly exciting but exudes the need for it with its emotionally hard hitting plot line as the reader engages with the developing personality and problematic character Sammy. I have not read any previous novels written by James Kelman but this book has encouraged me to do so as I am drawn to see how familiar the writing style in his other work is to this particular book. How late it was, how late (04 January 2009)For my first Man booker prize book I personally found this book quite a messy read, as it took me a while to get use to the Scottish phrasing and accent, and if you are easily offended this is not the book for you. From the beginning the book is full of swear words which is written in dialect, making it very hard to read. The book holds an amazing intensity and has an original storyline, however I found that it never really moved and if so at an extremely slow pace. After trying to crack the language barrier I felt that it reflected the character's personality amazingly, showing the real working class of the lead character Sammy in the city of Glasgow. I did eventually find an understanding with Sammy (an interesting protagonist), after a drunken night out on the town, finding himself in a police cell worse for wear, and how he deals and copes with his now disability excepting help from one group of people but not from others. The relationships formed between the characters, really develop their personalities as Sammy's reflects good and evil within him. This written account is very personal to the Lead character as it constantly reflects the thoughts and feelings of the character through his tough time, leaving it at some points very tedious when going in to great depths of description. The ending is questionable as I felt that it didn't actually end it just stopped. I feel that this book is a personal choice of reading material; it will suit some but not everyone. A worthwhile read (11 July 2008)I literally stumbled upon this book whilst roaming around the huge Borders bookshop in Glasgow. I found myself in the Scottish literature section and "How late was, how late" had fallen on the floor causing me to trip over it. Taking this as a cosmic sign I bought the book and scurried back to work. What a find it was. The book is written as a continuous train of thought from the main character Sammy (the bold Sammy) who wakes up from a weekend long bender to find himself in a police cell worse for wear. What really makes this book interesting is the writing style which flows of the page. The language may be a problem for some as it is written in the Glasgow vernacular although the author avoids becoming too incomprehensible to anyone outside the central belt. All in a all a great read and possibly would be a regular on the top 100 lists if it was not for the use of Glaswegian slang in the writing which may put some off. If there is one criticism, and the reason for four rather than five stars, is that it does lag a little at times part way through the second half. Otherwise though add it too your Amazon basket today! How late it was, how late (20 December 2007)This book is completely brilliant. It is a tour de force; an uncompromising and relentless exploration of the psyche of a particular type of marginalised person. It may be, I suppose, that you need to have had some considerable contact with hard-man disaffected indiduals for whom the world does not, and has never, worked, to realise how good this book is. I was totally captivated by the exporation of a particluar type of psyche, where the same maladaptive thought processes occur time after time after time despite their failure to achieve anything in other than terms of a personal logic/ethic. At one time I recommended it as a student text in psychology. If you drive an Audi (or even a Volvo),are in favour of goodness and against sin, you may not like it. I found it totally compelling and unlike some other reviewers, I couldn't put it down. Eminently putdownable (16 September 2007)Because my review is so negative I should stress that I very rarely like literary prizewinners' efforts and was unable to get past the first two pages of that other critically accaimed Scottish book "Train spotting". Having a mind to read, and given the choice between Mr Kelman's efforts and the telephone directory, I would be through to Zuckerman before turning to "How Late". If you don't like having to tackle dialogue written in an attempt to capture regional dialects and are uninterested in the alcohol intake of Glaswegians or their view of golf, and if you have already heard "Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain" and "Loving Her was Easier" etc. You might be tempted to pass on this little gem. In fairness, it should be said that I have not read the book from cover to cover due to chronic inability. My usual technique when I find a book hard to start (dip into the middle at various points and test the water, working backwards and sometimes going on to read the entire book both backwards and forwards) failed completely here so I fully accept that my review is biased and unfair and that I am a literary dullard. And now I must face the prospect of Amazon's clever CRM system reminding me every time this author has another shot, because of course they know full well that I have already made a purchase, but the system is insufficiently sophisticated to know how much I subsequently regretted it. | |
