In what may be an attempt to compound the anxiety there are no quotation marks or even dashes to indicate direct speech. Many times the line gets blurred between what is being said and what is being thought. In addition, so much of the presentation is done through dialogue and reflection that it is sometimes difficult to understand what is going on. The importance of dramatic action diminishes as the physical world begins to fade. A knocking at the door goes unanswered.
Nobody lifts the phone when it rings.
This emphasis on alienation makes Kelman a hard author to finally respond to. How Late , frustrating and incomplete. It is as though Kelman has become one of his characters - trapped in a mental box while struggling to say something that never quite gets expressed. There are moments of light, but then the blinds are pulled and the door is closed. Review first published October 17, 1998.