51 pages • 1 hour read
James KelmanHow Late It Was, How Late
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1994A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Background
Authorial Context: James Kelman
James Kelman was born in 1946 and raised in the residential districts of Govan and Drumchapel on the outskirts of Glasgow, Scotland. He grew up in a working-class family, an experience that shaped his worldview and writing style. His upbringing in a post-industrial city provided him with a firsthand understanding of the struggles, resilience, and frustrations of working-class Scottish people, which he portrays in his literature.
James Kelman’s background as a working-class Scot is relevant to How Late It Was, How Late. His own experiences and intimate knowledge of Glasgow’s working-class communities underscore his exploration of class divisions and the human spirit’s resilience in the face of adversity.
Throughout his life, Kelman participated in activism for left-wing causes such as workers’ rights and social justice. He identifies as a supporter of socialist anarchism, a political movement that rejects all forms of authority and undermines institutional power within a state. These ideas are represented in How Late It Was, How Late by Sammy’s distrust and defiance of the police and all agents of the institutions that he encounters.
Kelman abandoned his studies at the age of 15, but he is an autodidactic writer influenced by many literary figures. In his novels, the working-class characters he depicts speak coarsely while also showing an interest in culture and reading. Sammy, the protagonist of How Late It Was, How Late, references several literary texts that he used to read before experiencing vision impairment. Thus, Kelman represents the working-class intellectual in his novels, depicting his own reality as a celebrated author from a working-class background.
Literary Context: The Scottish Literary Renaissance
James Kelman is part of the Scottish literary renaissance that took place in the 1980s and 1990s. Kelman uses literary techniques and devices that belong to realism. However, the use of stream of consciousness, vernacular, and non-linear narrative adapt Modernist and Postmodern conventions.
Among Kelman’s literary influences are Franz Kafka, James Joyce, Émile Zola, James Miller, Albert Camus, and Samuel Beckett. His focus on language and the socio-cultural context of his characters demonstrates the inspiration that he draws from European Existentialism. Existential themes, such as the individual’s freedom in the face of adversity and social condition, are at the core of Kelman’s work. Kelman’s writing style challenges traditional forms, and his narratives reject hierarchical structures found in English literature.
James Kelman’s writing has been influential for a generation of Scottish writers. On the international literary scene, Kelman’s writings are considered part of a wave of new literature emphasizing the local and personal perspective of marginalized communities in Scotland. Thus, Kelman’s writings are considered as “minor literature,” which is the literature written by a minority “in a major language” (Böhnke, Dietmar. Kelman Writes Back: Literary Politics in the Work of a Scottish Writer. Galda and Wilch, 1999, 100).
Some critics have commented on the connections between the Scottish literature that Kelman wrote and influenced and the works of Irish Modernists (Barlow, Richard Alan. Modern Irish and Scottish Literature: Connections, Contrasts, Celticisms. Oxford University Press, 2022). Both literary streams arise from feelings of cultural and linguistic inferiority caused by English political hegemony or colonialism and the subsequent dominance of English literary traditions. Kelman’s writings mark a period of literary innovation in Scottish literature that coincides with a period when Scotland, a country with a distinct culture, started reimagining and asserting itself. The use of Glaswegian dialect of Scots in Kelman’s writings and the freedom that his characters seek demonstrate the sense of recognition between the Scottish and Irish literary forms. On the Irish side, this literary tradition is represented by writers such as James Joyce, Edna O’Brian, and Samuel Beckett.
Socio-Historical Context: Glasgow in the Mid- to Late 20th Century
The novel’s socio-historical context is rooted in the aftermath of deindustrialization in Glasgow. In the mid-20th century, Glasgow was a thriving industrial hub, with shipyards and factories providing employment to thousands. However, starting in the 1950s, demand started to shrink, and both Conservative and Labor governments encouraged the population to leave Glasgow. By the 1980s, the city’s main industries were in sharp decline, leading to mass unemployment and a sense of hopelessness among the working-class population. Kelman captures this reality through Sammy’s struggles to find work and his economic migration within the UK.
The novel unfolds during a time of political change in the UK. The 1980s saw the rise of Margaret Thatcher’s Conservative government, which implemented policies with profound effects on Scotland. The privatization of industries, cuts to social services, and a staunchly individualistic ideology exacerbated the challenges faced by working-class communities. Kelman’s portrayal of Sammy, who has fallen through the cracks of society, is a commentary on the impact of these policies on ordinary people.
Another significant socio-historical context in the novel is the portrayal of disability and the healthcare system. Sammy experiences vision impairment after being beaten by the police, and his struggles to access healthcare services and navigate a world that does not accommodate his disability highlight broader issues of accessibility and support for people with disabilities. Kelman sheds light on the inadequacies of the healthcare system and the challenges faced by those with disabilities, adding a layer of social critique to the narrative.
One of the novel’s notable features is its use of Glaswegian dialect of Scots and colloquialisms, which connects Sammy’s voice to his context. The novel’s gritty realism and unapologetic use of vernacular language make it a statement on the socio-historical forces at play in the lives of its characters.
