Reviews

How Late It Was, How Late by James Kelman

sloatsj's review against another edition

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3.0

Definitely well done and the premise of life after the lost weekend (blind) is a nice launch, but in the end I found this a bit of a slog.

salbulga's review against another edition

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challenging reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

sarah_dietrich's review against another edition

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3.0

James Kelman's Booker Prize winning How Late It Was, How Late is an excellent example of stream-of-consciousness. Kelman really takes us inside the head of our newly-blind protagonist - the disorientation, helplessness and paranoia are conveyed masterfully. This is one of those books that I wished I enjoyed more, but I just didn't. I wasn't that big a fan of the structure and found the ending unsatisfying. I'm probably being unfair on poor Kelman, because I had just got done reading Lanark, also set in Glasgow & written with lots of Scottish slang, and it's a tall order to measure up to Lanark.

bookswithbethany's review against another edition

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dark funny tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

phoebeburt's review against another edition

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lighthearted mysterious slow-paced

3.0

kittmonkey's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

bookhoarder_alissa's review against another edition

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2.0

I thought I would really hate it but somehow I don't really do. But I'm not a fan of it either and did not really enjoy reading it. Partly because some passages tended to make me frustrated about all the characters being so damn annoying. At the same time I was not as much bothered by the writing style as I had feared and there was an actual flow while following the stream of consciousness.

damc's review against another edition

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1.0

even had there not been so many f-bombs (sometimes as many as three in a line!), i still would have found myself at a loss to care much for the protagonist. hard to follow, repetitive, dull.

cathdm's review against another edition

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challenging dark funny tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Loved the language but confused by the ending