Paper Cup

Product Information

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.

This story gives a name and a face to at least a segment of our unsheltered brothers and sisters. While a complex issue with multiple pathways into it, some are there because of tough circumstances, impulsive decisions, individual challenges, while the stepping stones to finding solid ground again are rife with holes and tilts. It's an unpredictable scrabble out once there. 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. 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." While this could have been a downer of a read, it was not. There was compassion, humor, tenderness in unexpected places, and a sense of purpose and hope beyond all reason that buoyed the story even as it dealt with harsh realities. Occasional bit players popping in and out broadened the character base and brought more depth to the story.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.

How often do we get our first impressions of someone else through another? The start of this book introduces us to Kelly, homeless and living on the streets, through the eyes of the hen party that stumble across her.

The language itself was also beautiful, incredibly realistic and will strike right at the heart of those who live in Scotland, particularly the West of Scotland. I am not sure how other non-natives may feel about it however I don't believe you would get an accurate portrayal of the story without it. 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.

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. I’m not sure you will find a better novel featuring a homeless young woman and hearing everything she goes through daily, from being treated like she is a thief, scum, a nobody or just being invisible to most people who walk by her, Kelly has it tough but she would rather endure this than return to her home. I saw a fresh perspective of how difficult it must be for people with no fixed abode. The myriad of social workers who are overrun with case work. Kelly falling through safety net after safety net.Throughout the book we get glimpses of Kelly’s past, giving hints at how she ended up on the streets after what seemed like a fairly privileged upbringing. I loved how these parts of the story were randomly inserted into the story, it was almost as if they were thoughts creeping into Kelly’s mind, reminding her of who she was, who she’s become and maybe who she really wants to be. It also shows how easy it can be for people to become homeless but how difficult it can be to escape. I wanted to write something about vulnerability,” Campbell explains when I ask her about the starting point for Paper Cup. “A kind of kernel of an idea can just be an emotion. Then you circle round it and you start thinking what would be the best way to explore that? I thought about somebody who is just stripped of everything, exposed.” Safe in their hoose with their telly and their walls, they have no concept of a soul’s fragility. Nobody does, until they are made vulnerable themselves. Strip away your trappings, rip off your shell and let’s see how hard you are. When you beg, you have to think of everything. How you look, how you sit. Where you sit. In what manner do you hold out your hand? Cupped (greedy)? Outstretched (pathetic)?”

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?”Praise for Karen Campbell: I am in awe of Karen Campbell's writing . . . Brilliant, unputdownable storytelling -- MEL GIEDROYC The novel centres on Kelly, who, on her journey from Glasgow to the south-west tip of Scotland, 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. This tale begins with a group of young women on a hen night. They are so drunk that the bride gives her engagement ring to Kelly, a homeless woman, who has been begging on the streets of George Square in Glasgow. They tell Kelly that Susan is getting married to Connor in Gatehouse of Fleet, in Dumfries and Galloway, in a few days’ time. The drunken hen party leave Kelly with the engagement ring. On her journey down 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.