Mo Said She Was Quirky - Hardcover

Kelman, James

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0241144566 ISBN 13: 9780241144565

Publisher: Hamish Hamilton, 2012

Synopsis

In Mo Said She Was Quirky James Kelman, the Booker prize-winning author of How late it was, how late, tells the story of Helen - a sister, a mother, a daughter - a very ordinary young woman.

Her boyfriend said she was quirky but it was more than that. Some things were important. You had to fight for them. Only Helen wasn't as strong as people thought. She tried to be but didn't always succeed. Nobody does, not all the time.

Trust, love, relationships; parents, children, lovers; death, wealth and home. The ordinary stuff of life - but extraordinary too when you think about it. As Helen did, each waking hour, till that strangest of moments on the way home from work when this skinny down-at-heel guy crossed the road in front of her. Brian? Her long-lost brother? How could it be? But it was his shape, his very presence. Could it be?

So begins Mo Said She Was Quirky - James Kelman's inspired and absorbing story of twenty-four hours in the life of a croupier - an ordinary young woman, as ordinary, as unique, as each and every one of us.

Praise for If it is your life

'Like Kelman's best work, it is tender and funny in a way that may surprise' Daily Telegraph

'A collection by turns heart-breaking, profound and bitterly funny. It also amply demonstrates Kelman's skill in writing about women, his rich understanding of the psychological dance that goes on between couples and strangers' Scottish Herald

'Kelman portrays his world with bleakly beautiful honesty' The Times

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.

About this title

Review:

Praise for If it is your life: - Like Kelman's best work, it is tender and funny in a way that may surprise Daily Telegraph A rollicking, riveting read ... A collection by turns heart-breaking, profound and bitterly funny. It also amply demonstrates Kelman's skill in writing about women, his rich understanding of the psychological dance that goes on between couples and strangers Scottish Herald The mixture of the precisely but surreally bureaucratic and the casually macabre is perfectly judged, while the laconic tone immediately establishes a narrative voice that draws the reader in Sunday Times A set of strange tales that both frustrate and delight ... As well as being a keen observer of society's underclasses and disenfranchised, Kelman also has a great eye for the absurdity of everyday life, something which comes to the fore in this collection Independent on Sunday The musings on men and women, and on the difficulty of connecting with other people, ring touchingly true ... James Kelman still has the power to compel Daily Telegraph Kelman portrays his world with bleakly beautiful honesty The Times

About the Author:

James Kelman was born in Glasgow, Scotland. His story collections include Greyhound for Breakfast, 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.

About this edition

• Publisher: Hamish Hamilton
• Publication date: 2012
• ISBN 10: 0241144566
• ISBN 13: 9780241144565
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 240