Paper Cup

Product Information

Having books out there like these makes readers like you and I think deeply about our role in the lives of these people. This journey and the people we meet along the way show just how much one meeting can have an impact in someone else’s life (and likewise how they can impact your own life). We need more people like Kelly and Dexy in my opinion. But it’s never judgemental. The posh divorcee who feeds Kelly (and her dog) on her pilgrimage seems almost offended when asked why she did it. This book was set in Glasgow and Scotland, which was a nice change for me. The audio delivery was amazing, and I loved the accents. The story flowed seamlessly and the narrator was in full command of the story. This is where I imagine authors are left feeling their book is in good hands, Caroline Guthrie was the right choice. I didn’t like the fact that the story lines of other characters didn’t go anywhere. I felt like their stories had been cut short, and that what had been put in before seemed a bit unnecessary. They could have been told through other characters and not have whole chapters dedicated to them to then lead nowhere. And so begins a pilgrimage across Scotland, starting in Glasgow to Kelly’s home town, as she is determined to return the ring before the Wedding takes place. I won’t tell you how she knows these details, but the journey is all set up in the first chapter.

Then at the balance let’s be mute / we never can adjust it / what’s done we partly may compute, but know not what’s resisted”. A]mbitious … picturesque … generous and often wryly comic novel: a nice variety of incident and characters, fine descriptions of street life in Glasgow and of Kelly’s journey - a quest that is both physical and spiritual, offering the prospect of recovery and redemption … readers are surely likely to find pleasure and satisfaction in the humanity of Campbell’s treatment of people who have led difficult lives” When I returned my copy to my local library yesterday, I felt kind of sad. Like a piece of me was missing. I was so used to seeing it all over the house as I was reading it. I took it everywhere. This is a story that I’ll carry around with me, and ponder on, for a long, long time. Karen Campbell is an extraordinary storyteller. She has a deft touch leading you through the narrative with complete enjoyment. There is not a word out of place or a sentiment that is wrong. While Kelly hitchhikes and walks around Scotland, a journalist is also seeking HER out, following a seeming act of bravery on the part of the Homeless Heroine. We see a very different Kelly from the one the media is portraying though.A] poignant and harrowing read. Campbell gambles on our empathy when she shows Kelly at her worst, and she wins because she has written, without judgment or criticism, an original and memorable protagonist; one who moves through a landscape described with love and care, and whose interior voice will continue to ring in the reader’s head even after the long journey’s end is reached” Being a dog lover, Collie of course won my heart, and I loved watching the bond between him and Kelly grow.

Kelly is used to living outdoors in all weathers. For relying on herself, despite the craving, the absolute craving to quench the thirst that never leaves her. Paper Cup is a pensive, heart-tugging novel that takes us to Glasgow and into the life of Kelly, a homeless alcoholic estranged from her family who, after finding an engagement ring and witnessing a horrific accident, embarks on a journey south, meeting some interesting characters and visiting some historical places along the way, heading to Gatehouse of Fleet, Galloway to not only return the ring to its rightful owner but to finally confront the demons she fled from and the family she hasn’t seen in years. For all this, Paper Cup remains only just on the safe side of whimsy. Occasionally it strays into the realm of the inspirational quote. “If we all put something in the kindness bank, it’s an investment, isn’t it? Maybe it will be there when we need it,” says one of the characters Kelly meets. Some of these people are unconvincing, too straightforwardly good or bad: the hippies who give Kelly a lift in their camper van; the posh Englishman whose dog Kelly steals; kindly Clara who makes her breakfast. And there are a few handy gaps and conveniences: Kelly rubs her finger with seaweed to try to remove the stubborn engagement ring, but never tries with soap in the various public toilets she visits. The biggest convenience of all is that the wedding just happens to be in the same town where Kelly grew up. A]mbitious . . . picturesque . . . generous and often wryly comic novel: a nice variety of incident and characters, fine descriptions of street life in Glasgow and of Kelly's journey - a quest that is both physical and spiritual, offering the prospect of recovery and redemption . . . readers are surely likely to find pleasure and satisfaction in the humanity of Campbell's treatment of people who have led difficult lives -- Allan Massie * * Scotsman * * Failed asylum seekers? Imagine failing at that. Just failing at asking for help. That has to be be pretty low. That’s why she rarely put themselves in the hands of others. Why let them unskin you more?”On her journey from Glasgow to the south-west tip of Scotland, Kelly encounters ancient pilgrim routes, hostile humans, hippies, book lovers and a friendly dog, as memories stir and the people she thought she’d left behind forever move closer with every step. Kelly seems to give without asking for any return. She will break your heart along the way if you decide to take this journey with her. The book certainly had a portion of whimsy, and things seemed to contain an element of good timing, but this did not detract my sheer delight of enjoying a full five star experience. It simply is a wonderful book. Kelly reflects on the words she hears from the cold dead voice of the system. Sanctioned. Outcome. Zero hours. And she thinks: “you’d like a world where the words are kindness. Care. Maybe ‘listening’”. Wouldn’t we all.

Despite that – and despite being shortlisted for prestigious annual crime writing award the Gold Dagger – Campbell doesn’t view herself as a crime writer and never has. And she certainly doesn’t think of the Anna Cameron books as crime novels. While the story may sound stark, it’s anything but. It has a warmth and humour. It shows the love and friendships that can occur between people of all social stratas. The companionship that animals provide. And how strangers could well surprise you. The great Scottish poet Robert Burns is referenced once, and once only, in Karen Campbell’s wonderful, empathetic, timely and moving new novel Paper Cup. But the truth is that while reading Karen’s book I couldn’t get him out of my head. The words on the dust cover say that your world will be a better place for reading this story. It may or may not be. But the novel is a reminder that, should we wish, it can be. We have choices. Agency.For the majority of this, I was completely and utterly in love. I loved our flawed main character, the writing style and the contrast between bustling Glasgow and the small towns of Galloway (especially in the phonetic language, very clever)!

As the story progresses, it’s clear that Kelly has tried – and failed – to resist one hell of a lot. And what Karen does brilliantly is to convey that struggle with real empathy. And Kelly is a raw and brilliant commentator on the terrible injustices inflicted on the voiceless and the faceless, not least when she shares a shelter with a couple, seeking asylum and expecting a child. This is one of the most emotional books I’ve read in a very long time and by the end of it I really felt like I’d been through the wringer - but it was totally worth it. The Writer Karen Campbell is a former police officer and press officer for Glasgow City Council. This shows as she succinctly describes the increasing desperation of Kelly’s situation, resulting in her living on the streets, despite the efforts of social workers.

Summary

The prose is rich and vivid. The characters are vulnerable, flawed, and troubled. And the plot is a memorable tale of unlikely friendships, familial drama, poverty, homelessness, addiction, guilt, compassion, honesty, survival, mental illness, kindness, and ultimately finding your way home. Campbell, aformer police officer and winner of the Best New Scottish Writer Award in 2009, said: " Paper Cup is a story about a woman who has nobody and nothing. Who tells herself it’s better that way, because no one can let her down – and she can’t hurt folk either. But Kelly was once a girl with hopes and plans, same as everyone else. So Paper Cup is me, following her on her journey, to see if that girl is still inside. Canongate are my dream publisher, and I’m delighted at the love they’ve already shown Kelly and her crew." Paper Cup is told in the third person and focuses on a homeless young female called Kelly. Set in Scotland, the book opens with a bride-to-be descending on the park bench where Kelly is trying to sleep. The woman is extremely drunk and has lost her hen party. When the hens eventually find her they donate some money to Kelly but in the haste to get going the bride’s engagement ring is left with the cash. Campbell followed the Cameron quartet with three more novels, including one set in Italy during the Second World War. Now comes Paper Cup, a new novel with a new publisher – Edinburgh-based powerhouse Canongate. A voyage of self-discovery, the audiobook encapsulates the vulnerable and very human Kelly in a worldly-wise yet still likeable Scottish voice. It's third person but still works as an audiobook you feel connected to. Kelly's is the life we wouldn't want for our children, the one we often try and ignore when we see it, and it's upsetting to see behind the overcoat and dirt to the person underneath. The person.