How Late It Was, How Late - James Kelman

This book came to my possession on recommendation from my English Teacher as an incredible piece of Scottish Literature and this combined with its Booker Prize status gave me high hopes. In the first 10 pages I was intrigued as to how the slightly controversial event of disability caused through police force would be handled by Kelman. Unfortunately as I read I became more and more disappointed and had to force myself to read right to the end in hope of a big ending, which anyone who knows the book may agree is that the ending can feel greatly anti-climactic and I personally was devastated as I closed the book and dropped it on my bed with a sigh. However, it must be noted, after a week or two of consideration it is clear why so many people love the book, despite it still not holding a special place in my heart.
One of the things How Late It Was, How Late has gained a reputation for is it’s abundance of brutal dysphemism. Blake Morrison estimates that Kelman uses "fuck" four thousand times in this single text. It cannot be denied that this language is what dominated my judgment of the text throughout my reading. I (rather cruelly) concluded with myself that his Booker Prize was a consequence of the readers hilarity at this excessive use of dysphemistic language. And it would seem I am not alone, Simon Jenkins accused Kelman of doing no more than "transcribing the rambling thoughts of a blind Glaswegian drunk". I would agree with Jenkins as to me that is exactly what How Late It Was, How Late is on the surface, however I feel that there is a deeper message that is hard to reach without a dedicated literary mind. To me, particularly as I read, the story just seemed to be following a man who became blind in highly unfortunate situation who then spent the next 300 pages walking around going 'oh I’m blind' 'being blind is so much more different to having normal vision', which seems a futile and barefaced message. Another issue with the language of Kelman's novel is the working class Scottish dialect, to me this didn't cause issue if I focused but I can understand why to some people this vernacular can cause struggle. Yet I feel due to the characterisation of Sammy (the main character) this is a necessary narrative choice and actually added a lot to the text rather than taking great amounts away. 

I believe there is an important message behind what Kelman had narrated. We see a man put through significant physical and emotional distress by the Scottish police force, or "sodjers", and gain no sense of sympathy. This raises serious concerns of police oppression, in that their superiority gives them power to neglect the working class. Sammy's blindness can be taken as a metaphor for the blindness of society which is emphasized through his refusal to claim compensation. Is this just because Sammy is a mid aged, lazy, drunk Glaswegian or because of fear over the police's response? Personally I believe it is the later, but the influence may be the attitude Sammy has as a mid aged, lazy, drunk Glaswegian which constructs his opinion of the police force as oppressive. Perhaps the police as a whole in the novel are symbolic of the fear authority puts on normal people, allowing them to be an oppressive force.

Despite criticism of Kelman on certain elements, particularly language, its merit’s are present; however, I feel the ending really lets the novel down. In my opinion there are multiple directions Kelman could have taken the ending, even the slightest adaptation could improve it. The most obvious question the ending left me with is “what about Helen?” which I’m sure was one of Kelman’s intentions. When I read the last line I felt like I’d lost pages at the end as there were so many unanswered questions, though this can generally be seen as an effective literary technique I feel Kelman failed it. Instead of a dramatic ending that left the reader pondering questions, the text just seemed to fall on its face. There was further Kelman could of taken the text from the ending but by the phrasing of the ending I get the feeling any extension would continue much the same as the rest of the text, and frankly I would not be interested in reading it.

I would recommend that this text is for the more mature reader (advanced GCSE, A-level, degree level, or simply an adult mind), but it should be approached with a more keen literature attitude. Personally, I would not jump at the opportunity to read it again for leisure, but I would not protest to working with it again in a more academic circumstance. I would give How Late It Was, How Late a rather harsh 5/10... Sorry Kelman!