Paper Cup

Product Information

I can often be critical of books which sentimentalise homelessness and poverty and give an impression of a lovely, wee community of people who are homeless but happy. If you actually strip everything away, actually give someone a chance, treat everyone with patience, kindness and understanding then who’s to say who you would learn to love. Campbell doesn’t shy away from writing about Kelly’s flaws and actions that can seem shocking at times but we also get to see a side of Kelly that has been broken by a lack of support and being perpetually disappointed by people who have ulterior motives in their supposed kindness.

It's overall a very positive story of human decency and perseverance and even though it did feel a little disjointed in parts it was a lovely read. Here are a few ways you can make use of any paper cups you might have around for a fun and educational activity. 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 "Paper Cup" of the title being the literal one that sometimes got filled with a smattering of change from busy passers by. 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.As the book progresses, we learn that Kelly had a childhood companion, Mands, and that something terrible happened to her for which Kelly felt responsible. It shows how fast life can drag you down and how we are all just a fraction away from a circumstance that will take us down that path too. The descriptions of the streets, the characters, the services available and staff who work within them were immediately recognisable to someone who has worked within this environment. It’s one of those stories that feels like it should be compulsory reading, to give people who have been unaffected by homelessness a reality check of what it’s like to live on the streets. Scenes are too long, sometimes, it seems, simply because of the pleasure she has had in elaborating them, so they continue long after their point is clear.

The novel sees Kelly walk from Portpatrick to Glenluce to Whithorn, on the pilgrim trail, en route to destiny.Some of the minor characters really added to it, thd kind driver, the lovely Clara, the idiot woman who forced the drink. If nothing else, this book casts a light into that shadow and will hopefully encourage readers to volunteer, to add to that cup, to see that person as a person. This book highlights how society as a whole, but especially the processes that are put in place to help vulnerable people in society can and do fail.

Let’s not judge so quickly, let’s humanise those who are struggling and let’s not just turn a blind eye. I enjoyed this portrayal of the city of Glasgow and the descriptive realities that people who are homeless face on the street. The present tense tends to freeze the action and it tempts the novelist to dwell excessively on detail. In Paper Cup, Karen Campbell gives it a new slant; her protagonist who takes an extended walk is a homeless alcoholic. Last but not least, another really fun activity to try is this STEM Craft Stick Balancing Challenge!She has been on her hen night, but her friends seem to have deserted her, and you are led to believe that it is her story we will read. The descriptive writing, the character development, the chosen family, the journeys, the little side stories, the portrayal of addiction and homelessness and shame and hope, the portrayal of life. Certain sections of this book were quite traumatic to read and something that happens early on really impacted me as someone who knows and loves Glasgow.

Listened to this story and found the narration great for setting the tone of the story with the Scottish accent.Then a driver has a heart attack behind the wheel of a bus, which careens into the crowd in George Square, causing a scene that looks like Armageddon. Kelly’s story is gently teased out to the reader in small increments, through past drunken stories, childhood memories, and the experiences which led her to where she is today. She travels south via a series of pilgrimage sites, and with the help of various characters, to Gatehouse of Fleet in Galloway, the town where she grew up and where her estranged family may still live. The narrative is a relatively simple one, but many layered and carefully placed so we understand why Kelly does what she does, at least in part. Kelly bumps into a hen's booze-up in Glasgow and ends up with the ring of the bride to be - she embarks on an odyssey to find this lady.