James Kelman’s brilliant and complex character study tells the story of one week in a man's life, in which he decides to change the way he lives.

Set in Glasgow, A Disaffection is written in the Scottish dialect in a stream-of-consciousness style. Patrick Doyle is a 29-year-old teacher in an ordinary comprehensive school. Disaffected, frustrated and increasingly bitter at the system he is employed to maintain, Patrick begins his rebellion, fuelled by drink and his passionate, unrequited love for a fellow teacher.

Shortlisted
The Booker Prize 1989
Published by
Secker & Warburg
Publication date

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James Kelman

James Kelman

About the Author

James Kelman was born in Glasgow. His novel How Late It Was, How Late won the 1994 Booker Prize.
More about James Kelman

Other nominated books by James Kelman

Translated Accounts
How late it was, how late
Prize winner