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3.54 AVERAGE
3.54 AVERAGE
challenging
dark
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Den endeløse strøm af tanker og handlinger og samtaler er ret intetsigende.
Such an interesting book. Not bad, necessarily… I’ve not read a book before where I’ve been so impressed with the form, whilst being so disappointed in the narrative. That’s the crux of the issue- the book feels like an experiment conducted by Kelman. The style is, for me, perfect- I have not read a book with the stream of consciousness done so well. But, it doesn’t go anywhere with it, I don’t think it takes it anywhere interesting.
How is the solution to Sammy’s problems going to London? Why bother introducing Ally? Why bother introducing Peter? The police investigation, we never hear the end of. We never find out what happens to Helen.
Maybe that’s intentional, but… the book ultimately feels just frustrating. Technically, I think it’s fantastic, but sadly lacking in a supporting narrative framework to take the experiential prose to another level.
Maybe that’s intentional, but… the book ultimately feels just frustrating. Technically, I think it’s fantastic, but sadly lacking in a supporting narrative framework to take the experiential prose to another level.
It wasn't the Scots vernacular; I was fine with that. It was the rambling stream of consciousness with no real points of interest, and seemingly, no point (maybe there'd have been one if I made it to the end).
Quite a simple story but unexpected in many ways. It was easy to visualize the main character Sammy Samuels. I imagined him to be like a Scotch streetwalker with the twitch in Mike Leigh's film Naked. Written in colloquial Glaswegian, there are layers in this story if you choose to look for them. What really happened to Helen? Did the rep Ally have an ulterior motive? Was Sammy really blind? What crimes did he commit? I loved the sly ending and could imagine this being made into a film by Ken Loach.
reflective
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.
challenging
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes