It’s also got all of the classic Kelman themes, motifs and preoccupations that run throughout his oeuvre: working-class life, dialect and vernacular, Scottishness, politics, inequality, identity, masculinity, alcoholism, existential dread, the self, as well as some deliciously inventive swearing. It takes someone like Kelman to come along and point out that we don't know what we think we know about the here and now.
We follow the humdrum, day-to-day existence of a Glasgow busconductor, Robert (or Rab) Hines, as he struggles to provide for his wife and young son, working in a position that’s becoming redundant.
I was reassured that Kelman had a family, a place to live, means of support. But in his own head, he's a Prince among Men, being cruelly held back by a society that fails to appreciate his talents. One of the things that staggered me about Hines was the rigour of it: there's no sloppiness, no cliché, nothing stale. He's regularly drunk, regularly late, and a pretty terrible father to boot.
I remember I stayed up half the night just to take one chapter more all the time... Superbly realistic slice of Glaswegian life.
This is a true slice of working-class life; also reminded me a bit of the movie The Full Monty.
And Truth, his constant small lies and untruths where they do not matter because the world itself is made of them and Hines prefers the cold darkness of some less comforting Truth.
Fantastic book - I read it many years ago and have never forgotten it.
I feel like I should've appreciated this more than I actually did; at times I got into it but it just didn't quite grab me enough or consist of enough for me to recommend it very strongly. Warm and grand that a 'busconductor', a uniform, a timetabled part of some machine is worth it as a man, weak and dreaming, confused and clear, shabby and idealistic, not fitting the system but unable to be out, worth it, of as great and less a value as any fictional hero.
It allows our most engaged readers to debate the big issues, share their own experiences, discuss real-world solutions, and more. Kelman's characters are always frustrated with something. I don't know what I would have done if the answer had been "No". It was brought out by Polygon Books, a tiny house owned and run by Edinburgh students.
No_Favorite. a bit disjointed probably not well received if you need a plot driven story this won't work for you.
Superbly written, of course. Jest so youse don't think I'm spinnin some yarn here, I did this wee scan for yis tae prove ma point, see if ah'm tellin the absolute God's bollock honest truth : A well written, depressingly realistic, memorable, sometimes humorous, character driven read about a few months in the life of a Glasgow bus conductor, Robert Hines, aged 38. Rab Hines works on the buses, his wife and bairn are the darlings of his eye, but he is stuck in a dead end, with his best hope of getting a new place to live are if his block of flats is condemned. Waterstones . [James Kelman] Home. Novels. I absolutely loved this book. Whether it be Patrick Doyle's disaffection with the teaching profession or Kieron Smith's escapist dreams from a drab childhood, they're always angry and looking for a way out. Book of a lifetime: The Busconductor Hines, By James Kelman, You may not agree with our views, or other users’, but please respond to them respectfully, Swearing, personal abuse, racism, sexism, homophobia and other discriminatory or inciteful language is not acceptable, Do not impersonate other users or reveal private information about third parties, We reserve the right to delete inappropriate posts and ban offending users without notification. [5], Harry Ritchie, writing in the Sunday Times, notes that Kelman found his voice "halfway through The Busconductor Hines [...] The voice is an uncompromisingly working-class Glaswegian one, which must pose problems for non-Scots [...] and which also can mask its idiosyncrasies. I was 21 and in my last year at Edinburgh University when James Kelman's The Busconductor Hines was published. They live in a no bedroomed tenement flat. As realism goes, this book is spot on.
Search. And as a result, I've pretty much forgotten most of it.
The book is written in 5 chapters, each detailing the unsatisfactory life of Hines who is caught up in a job he feels desperately unhappy in, a struggling marriage and early signs of depression. Addressing his audience, Cobb recalled with astonishment: "There was even one novel written entirely in Glaswegian!" Kelman's portrayal of Glasgow in the 1980's is accurate. Just a moment while we sign you in to your Goodreads account.
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It's just brilliant on all counts. I felt sympathy for Hines and could relate to h. HIGHLIGHTS: I was blown away by how real The Busconductor Hines felt.
EMBED.
Kelman makes such a loud argument for the intelligence and intellectual validity of the characters in his milieu, but provides. As realism goes, this book is spot on. It is possible that even if you combine all of Henry Miller's works they still would not outnumber the times the words "fuck," "fucking," and "cunt" are used in this novel which is not even a sex book.
Kelman is a Scottish author and does write using Scottish vernacular, so some words may become confusing and unintelligible, but it does not effect the understanding or appreciation of his work. Too much of a chancer to toe the line at work, his dream of becoming a bus driver can never crystallise into a definite ambition. Living in a no-bedroomed tenement flat, coping with the cold and boredom of busconducting and the bloody-mindedness of Head Office, knowing that emigrating to Australia is only an impossible dream, Robert Hines finds life to be 'a very perplexing kettle of coconuts'. Independent Premium Comments can be posted by members of our membership scheme, Independent Premium. HIGHLIGHTS: I was blown away by how real The Busconductor Hines felt. The compensations are a wife and child, and a gloriously anarchic imagination.
But I can't imagine asking that about anyone else I was reading.
Robert Hines lives in a Glasgow slum with his wife and child and works (kind of) collecting fares on the buses.
The Busconductor Hines was steeped in realism. Kelman's writing style is difficult.
I could almost have been reading a memoir. Superbly written, of course.
I also laughed out loud a few times.
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Start by marking “The Busconductor Hines” as Want to Read: Error rating book. Let’s say it now and say it proud: Horror is back. The character of Hines is expertly, beautifully drawn, as are the supporting cast - a varying class of Scots. Kelman makes Hines so funny and endearing and human, I ripped through this one to see how it turned out, and couldn't have been more pleased that nothing much changed. Highly recommended! Not a good one for making progress through the list. This added to the sense of realism. The novel’s set in Glasgow, where I’ve lived for 7 years. It can always bear re-imagining.
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