num_pages: 373
description: Winner of the 1994 Booker Prize, this witty, controversial, and brilliant bestselling novel has been compared to the works of Joyce, Beckett, and many other masters.A raw, wry vision of human survival in a bureaucratic world, "How Late It Was, How Late" opens one Sunday morning in Glasgow, Scotland, as Sammy, an ex-convict with a penchant for shoplifting, awakens in a lane and tries to remember the two-day drinking binge that landed him there. Then, things only get worse. Sammy gets in a fight with some soldiers, lands in jail, and discovers that he is completely blind. His girlfriend disappears, the police probe him endlessly, and his stab at Disability Compensation embroils him in the Kafkaesque red tape of the welfare system.A masterpiece of black humor, subtle political parody, and Scottish lower-class vernacular "How Late It Was, How Late" is a classic-to-be from one of today's most talented novelists."A work of marvelous vibrance and richness of character...It convinces, it charms, it entertains, it informs and it has life."-- "New York Times Book Review""Witty, irreverent and thoroughly engrossing...Kelman is a major talent, and this is a bold, highly accomplished novel."-- "San Francisco Sunday Examiner and Chronicle"
language: English
title: How Late It Was, How Late
titlecomplete: How Late It Was, How Late
genres: Classics, Fiction, 20th Century, Literature, Scotland, Crime, Contemporary, Literary Fiction, Novels, British Literature
ratings_count: 4289
places: Glasgow, Scotland
awards: awardedAt: 757411200000
name: Booker Prize
publisher: Delta