Translated Accounts

James Kelman's first novel since the Booker Prize winner How late it was, how late in 1994. Taking us into an unnamed territory that appears to be under military rule, Kelman creates a world that many know or have known, a world that may one day be thrust upon us, conjuring a grim awareness of the instability that lurks behind the veneer of order in any country. The language used is an atypical English form, but akin to the basic translation that might appear within a department of an overseas “foreign office”. Filtering the dark visions of Franz Kafka through the verbal brilliance of Samuel Beckett, Kelman has written a novel that is often shocking, yet surprisingly poignant, and totally unforgettable.