Mo Said She Was Quirky - Softcover

Kelman, James

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0141041617 ISBN 13: 9780141041612

Publisher: Penguin, 2013

Mo said she was quirky is a new novel by Booker prizewinner James Kelman.

Her boyfriend said she was quirky but it was more than that. Some things were important in life. You had to fight for them. Helen was prepared for that - only she wasn't as strong as people thought. Working nightshift as a dealer in a London casino didn't help. Her young daughter at home in bed - just how safe was she? The gamblers staring you down, night after night after night. Then on the way home from work this tall, skinny, down-at-heel guy crossed the road in front of her taxi. Brian? Her long-lost brother? How could it be?

Twenty-four hours in the life of Helen, an ordinary young woman - as ordinary, as unique, as each and every one of us.

Praise for Mo said she was quirky:

'A charming and often tender book. A small gem of a novel from one of our greatest living writers' TimeOut

'What is remarkable about Mo said she was quirky is its gentleness, its compassion, its desire to understand, its art' Herald

'A brilliant novel . . . The sort of threadbare life lived by Helen is so rarely given any unsentimental coverage in fiction that . . . Kelman may have written his most important novel yet. This should be the lead item on everyone's summer reading list' Independent

'Absorbing, affecting . . . Helen is a character drawn with a rare empathy and patience . . . Kelman's dialogue is minimal but acute' Financial Times

'Sad, tender . . . Kelman is not a growling and sanctimonious stereotype, but a bitter-sweet laureate of decency' Stuart Kelly, The Times

'An urgent, compassionate, mesmerising reflection of our present moment' Independent on Sunday

James Kelman was born in Glasgow, Scotland. His story collections include Greyhound for Breakfast, The Burn, The Good Times and most recently If it is your life. His novel How late it was, how late won the 1994 Booker Prize. Other novels include Translated Accounts, You Have to be Careful in the Land of the Free and Kieron Smith, boy. In 2009 and 2011 James Kelman was shortlisted for the MAN Booker International Prize. Mo said she was quirky was the Saltire Society Book of the Year for 2012.

Review:

""Mo said she was quirky" is an unassuming book that achieves a terrible grandeur. James Kelman gives us, in his compelling narrator Helen, a guide through the rough life of those who live with poverty, racism, doubt, and--in spite of it all--hope. This compassionate, humane novel comes as close to creating life--writ both large and small--as is possible in literature."--Sabina Murray, author of "Tales of the New World" and winner of the Pen/Faulkner Award for Fiction

""Mo said she was quirky" is a brave, compassionate book, and Kelman is a singular and unique talent. I know of no other writer who conveys as accurately the rhythms and experience of everyday life. This is one of his best books."--Shannon Burke, author of "Black Flies"

"A bracing stream-of-consciousness tale of life on London's lower rungs from the veteran Scottish novelist and Booker Prize winner...a gritty and wise snapshot of urban life."--"Kirkus"

"A marvelous achievement, restrained and deeply moving."--"Booklist
"
""Mo said she was quirky" is an unassuming book that achieves a terrible grandeur. James Kelman gives us, in his compelling narrator Helen, a guide through the rough life of those who live with poverty, racism, doubt, and--in spite of it all--hope. This compassionate, humane novel comes as close to creating life--writ both large and small--as is possible in literature."--Sabina Murray, author of "Tales of the New World" and winner of the Pen/Faulkner Award for Fiction
""Mo said she was quirky" is a brave, compassionate book, and Kelman is a singular and unique talent. I know of no other writer who conveys as accurately the rhythms and experience of everyday life. This is one of his best books."--Shannon Burke, author of "Black Flies"
"A bracing stream-of-consciousness tale of life on London's lower rungs from the veteran Scottish novelist and Booker Prize winner...a gritty and wise snapshot of urban life."--"Kirkus
""[Helen's] perceptions are sharp, sweet, clever, mundane, startling, witty, poignant and humane - it's reminiscent of Molly Bloom's soliloquy in Ulysses, but more fun to read."--"Independent "(UK)
""Mo Said She Was Quirky" is a powerful and understated stream of consciousness tale that explores important themes of gender, class, and race."--"Largehearted Boy
"
"It [is] beautiful, the whole book. Helen is one woman representing so many other women..."--"Paper Blog
""Virginia Woolf's and James Joyce's studies of characters' inner ramblings are a Modernist artifact for plenty of writers and readers today. But for Kelman, they remain a useful way to explore the depths of people often considered outsiders."--"Kirkus
""With "Mo said she was Quirky," Kelman answers his character's question: because we learn about our own life by reading about the life of others."--"The Coffin Factory
""Kelman's latest novel slides easily between scene and free indirect rumination, combining ambitious psychological breadth with the necessary authorial restraint to fully inhabit the mind of Helen"--"Publishers Weekly
""Final exam question: Who's the best writer you've never heard of? It's not James Salter any more but the Scottish author James Kelman."--"On the Town
""This is a fascinating character study of a Scottish woman trying to keep from drowning though she wants to give up but others depend on her so she keeps treading."--"Genre Go Round Reviews
"

"Plunging into a novel by James Kelman is like diving head-first into a chilly lake. It's a shock to your system at first, and a bit disorienting, but the trick is to keep moving. Once your muscles get warmed up and you get your bearings, the experience is exhilarating."--"The Baltimore Sun
""Kelman masters poetic stream of consciousness with bleak but sometimes tender images, tugging at the bonds of blood versus the families we choose to make for ourselves. The author expertly explores how far we will go for those we love, even if they've already been lost to us for years, and what happens when the past we have run so far from seeps regardless into our present."--"Interview Magazine
.".".a fascinating character study..."--"Midwest Book Review
.."."here's hoping this restless and inventive novel raises [Kelman's] profile stateside."--"The New York Times Book Review"

About the Author:

James Kelman was born in Glasgow, Scotland. His story collections include Greyhound for Breakfast, The Burn, The Good Times and most recently If it is your life. His novel How late it was, how late won the 1994 Booker Prize. Other novels include Translated Accounts, You Have to be Careful in the Land of the Free and Kieron Smith, boy. In 2009 and 2011 James Kelman was shortlisted for the MAN Booker International Prize. Mo said she was quirky was the Saltire Society Book of the Year for 2012.

• Publisher: Penguin
• Publication date: 2013
• ISBN 10: 0141041617
• ISBN 13: 9780141041612
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 240