Book description
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 Scotland. His story collections include
Greyhound for Breakfast, The Good Times, The
Burn, Busted Scotch, Not Not While the Giro 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, The Busconductor Hines, A Chancer, A
Disaffection,
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.
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.
