God's Teeth and Other Phenomena by James Kelman

God's Teeth and Other Phenomena by James Kelman

Jack Proctor, a celebrated older writer and curmudgeon, goes off to residency where he is to be an honored part of teaching and giving public readings, he soon finds the atmosphere of the literary world has changed since his last foray into the public sphere. Unknown to most, unable to work on his own writing, surrounded by a host of odd characters, would-be writers, antagonists, handlers, and members of the elite House of Art and Aesthetics, Proctor finds himself driven to distraction (literally in a very very tiny car). This is a story of a man attempting not to go mad when forced to stop his own writing in order to coach others to write. Proctor's tour of rural places, pubs, theaters, fancy parties, where he is to be headlining as a Banker-Prize-Winning-Author reads like a literary version of Spinal Tap. Uproariously funny, brilliantly philosophical, gorgeously written this is James Kelman at his best.

In 1946, James Kelman was born in Glasgow. He worked in the printing industry and as a bus driver after dropping out of school at the age of 15. In 1971, he enrolled in creative writing night classes, and his first collection of short stories, An Old Tavern Near the Angel, was published by an American firm in 1973. Greyhound for Breakfast won the 1987 Cheltenham Award; A Disaffection was shortlisted for the Booker Prize and won the James Tait Black Memorial Prize; and How Late It Was, How Late won the 1994 Booker Prize in the middle of a storm of controversy. He's also authored a number of theatrical and radio plays. With his wife and children, he lives in Glasgow.