Karen Campbell is an experienced novelist. So as a reader you know you’re going to get something pretty good when you start a book by her. This isn’t the first novel about a homeless person, but I think Kelly is one of the most original characters from that genre and it was so good to see a story feature an older protagonist.
But Kelly is more than “just“ a homeless person. I think some of us have become too immune to homeless people on the street, and we can pass them by without a thought. This story highlights the old adage “there but for the grace of God go I“. Kelly’s present and her past play out in tandem throughout the book so we learn that she is an intelligent and educated woman. And despite the challenges life throws at her, her compassion, determination and resilience rarely leave her. Of course that hasn’t always been the case as her backstory reveals but I’m not going to offer any spoilers.
In many ways, there are a number of coincidences in the story which the purists may take exception to but this is a fiction and it works. Two chance events set the wheels in motion for Kelly’s Odyssey, I suppose you might call it. And she embarks upon a journey that takes us from the streets of Glasgow, so palpably portrayed, through to the paradox of a raw, beautiful, Scottish countryside. It’s very much a Scottish book, and this is mere Sassenach took a page or two to tune into the Scottish dialect but now I think I might be fluent!😉
The story pulls no punches but there is humour to balance out the stark brutality of Kelly’s story. Alcoholism and mental illness can deceive the true nature of the person. Another chance encounter shows Kelly’s understanding of responsibility for another life and what a powerful motivator that can be. The novel is also populated with many different characters that Kelly meets along the way.
There is a redemption in the book, whether you would call it a happy ever after I’m not sure, but you close the book feeling a little happier about Kelly’s future.
I read this as part of a Canongate Books read along, and I’m very grateful for the copy they gifted me.
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