James Kelman

Sammy Samuels, 38 años, típico representante de la clase baja de Glasgow, ratero y exconvicto, se despierta un día tirado en una acera tras dos días de borrachera. No tarda en liarse a tortas con unos policias y pasa la noche en la carcel. Ya alli, poco a poco toma consciencia de su estado: le han dejado molido y esta completamente ciego. Cuando por fin regresa a casa se da cuenta de que su novia se ha ido. Retrato del perdedor, del hombre humillado por los demas y por los suyos, en continua huida de si mismo, Sammy intenta desesperadamente adaptarse a la nueva situacion. Persigue alguna ayuda por su invalidez, que le es negada y retomar sus maltrechos negocios, recuperar la relacion con su hijo. Escrita en el lenguaje de las clases bajas de Glasgow, con el uso frecuente de palabras obscenas e insultos, la novela desperto la ira de los criticos mas conservadores. Uno de los miembros del jurado del Booker amenazo con dimitir si la novela recibia el premio, y cuando finalmente lo gano abandono el jurado diciendo: Francamente, esta novela es una mierda. Y un columnista de The Times la califico de vandalismo literario.

Waking up after a two-day drinking binge, ex-convict and shoplifter Sammy gets in a fight, lands in jail, goes blind, loses his girlfriend, and becomes embroiled in the Glasgow welfare system.

Patrick Doyle is a twenty-nine-year-old teacher in an ordinary comprehensive school. Isolated, frustrated and increasingly bitter at the system he is employed to maintain, he begins his rebellion, fuelled by drink and his passionate, unrequited love for a fellow teacher.

A local tries to sell his sister to a trucker as he passes through town; a couple put their children to bed and hear a loud scratching at the wall; a man looks into a mirror and reflects on becoming more like his father.Sparky, touching and brilliantly daring, these stories uncover human feeling in the ordinary and the everyday, and are a reminder of Kelman''s exceptional talent.

Sammy ha tenido una mala semana: su cartera ha desaparecido, junto con sus zapatos nuevos, ha sido arrestado y luego golpeado por la policía y arrojado a la calle y acaba de perder la vista. Recuerda una pelea con su novia, pero ella parece haber desaparecido. Las cosas no pintan demasiado bien para Sammy y sus problemas acaban de comenzar

Rejected by his brother and largely ignored by his parents, Kieron Smith finds comfort - and endless stories - in the home of his much-loved grandparents. But when his family move to a new housing scheme on the outskirts of the city, a world away from the close community of the tenements, Kieron struggles to find a way to adapt to his new life. In his brilliantly evoked post-war Glasgow, Kelman depicts the city during a period of profound social change, with flourishing sectarianism, yet high hopes for the future. And in his central character, he creates a universal portrayal of the unique obsessions of childhood, whether fishing, climbing, books, brothers, dogs, ghosts, faces or souls...Warm, funny, with searing insight and astonishing empathy, in "Kieron Smith", James Kelman has created an unforgettable boy.

Just one quick drink to help him sleep, a last few hours to think about what's ahead of him - and what's in the past. And gradually it becomes less a question of whether he'll make that flight tomorrow, more a question of whether he'll make it through the night at all. Because if there's one thing Jeremiah has learned for sure from his uncertain existence, it's that you have to be very careful in the land of the free.

In May 2005 Penguin will publish 70 unique titles to celebrate the company's 70th birthday. The titles in the Pocket Penguin series are emblematic of the renowned breadth of quality of the Penguin list and will hark back to Penguin founder Allen Lane's vision of good books for all.

Booker Prizewinner James Kelman sets this novel in the US and in his native Glasgow. A man named Jeremiah Brown, living in the American West and separated from the woman he loves and from his daughter as well, takes a trip back to Scotland to visit his aged mother, his first in seven years. The story is told in Kelman's trademark Scottish dialect, filtered this time through an Americanized sensibility.