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英國版的麥田捕手！
2009 年度布克獎提名作者
Kieron Smith, boy by James Kelman
Hardback / 978-0-2411-4241-7 / Hamish Hamilton
Fiction / 432 pages/ April 2008
Material: manuscript
Rights sold:
UK: Hamish Hamilton;
US: Harcourt Brace Inc (pub October 2008);
Korea: Sapiens21
關於本書：
故事描述小男孩 Kieron 不僅從小就被父母忽略，也被哥哥排擠，家中唯一讓他感
到慰藉是愛他的祖父母，原本就已經看似慘澹的童年，又因全家將從密集的公寓
住宅遷居到郊區的房子，這下他不僅必須面對討厭家人還加上完全陌生的環境…
而他將如何適應他的新生活？
作者藉由當時社會變遷的背景及人們對未來的憧憬，以小男孩為主體，營造出一
個困惑的童年，不僅別人無法聽到他的聲音，更包含對自我的疑慮。
作者簡介：
詹姆斯‧凱爾曼（James Kelman），1946 年出生於格拉斯哥 Glasgow，15 歲時決
定離開學校，專心寫作，1970 年時即出版首部文選並加入由英國作家 Philip
Hobsbaum 所創辦的寫作團體，之後所創作的短篇故事有陸續刊登在雜誌媒體。
其長篇作品包括榮獲 1987 年 The Cheltenham Prize 的 Greyhound for Breakfast ；
1989 年 James Tait Black Memorial Prize 的 A Disaffection 及 1994 年 Booker
Prize 的 How late it was, how late。
Book Description:
KIERON SMITH, BOY is both particular and universal. It is particular in its depiction
of a time and place during a period of profound social change, flourishing sectarianism,
yet high hopes for the future. And it is universal in its portrayal of the unique obsessions
of childhood, those imaginative spirals of thought about everything and nothing.
There’s fishing, climbing, fighting, books, brothers, dogs, ghosts, sex, faces, girls and
souls, even censorship and the perils of paid employment. This novel is a powerfully
honest and emotionally resonant evocation of boyhood by one of the most influential
writers at work today.
Rejected by his brother and largely ignored by his parents, Kieron Smith finds comfort
– and endless stories – in the home of his much-loved grandparents. But when his
family move to a new housing scheme on the outskirts of the city, a world away from
the close community of the tenements, Kieron struggles to find a way to adapt to his
new life.
In his brilliantly evoked post-war Glasgow, Kelman depicts the city during a period of
profound social change, with flourishing sectarianism, yet high hopes for the future.
And in his central character, he creates a universal portrayal of the unique obsessions of
childhood, whether fishing, climbing, books, brothers, dogs, ghosts, faces or souls...
Warm, funny, with searing insight and astonishing empathy, in Kieron Smith, James
Kelman has created an unforgettable boy.
About the author:
James Kelman was born on 9 June, 1946 in Glasgow.(1946-06-09) He left school at
fifteen and by the age of twenty-one had decided he wanted to write stories. His first
collection was published in the 1970s and he became involved in Philip Hobsbaum’s
creative writing group along with Tom Leonard, Alasdair Gray and Liz Lochhead.
Shortly after, his short stories began to be published in magazines.
Kelman has also written for televison, radio and the stage. He spent three semesters
teaching at the University of Texas (1998, 1999 and 2001) and is currently attached to
Goldsmiths College, London, and the University of Glasgow.
Kelman was awarded The Cheltenham Prize in 1987 for Greyhound for Breakfast;
James Tait Black Memorial Prize in 1989 for A Disaffection; the Booker Prize for
Fiction in 1994 for How late it was, how late; Writers' Guild Award in 1994 for How
late it was, how late; the Scotland on Sunday/Glenfiddich Spirit of Scotland Award in
1998 for The Good Times and the Stakis Prize for Scottish Writer of the Year in 1998
for The Good Times. A Disaffection was shortlisted for the Booker Prize for Fiction in
1989 and You Have to be Careful in the Land of the Free was shortlisted for the Saltire
Society Scottish Book of the Year Award in 2004 and the Scottish Arts Council Book of
the Year Award in 2005.
Praise for KIERON SMITH, BOY:
“A masterpiece of boyhood recalled. Kelman has written the finest book of his life” The
Spectator
“Rings true at every turn. It is beautifully done. This coming of age story is
exhilaratingly good.” The Daily Telegraph
“Kieron Smith and Holden Caulfield are hardly twins separated at birth but, in its
psychological depth and emotional reach, I have read no other depiction of the inner
life of a boy that comes as close as this to Salinger's.” The Literary Review
"Scotland's most influential living writer...a pure artist. Kieron Smith is universal...he is
every boy" The Times
“A true original… A real artist… It’s now very difficult to see which of his peers can
seriously be ranked alongside him” Irvine Welsh, The Guardian