poetry • prose • photography • spoken word • handbound • limited edition • trade

james kelman • a lean third • short stories • alasdair gray woodcut

James Kelman — A Lean Third
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  • Three editions: trade paperback; 74 numbered & 26 lettered copies

James Kelman has long been regarded as one of the finest writers of fiction in the world. Born in Glasgow, Scotland in 1946, he has won numerous awards, accolades and prizes including the James Tait Black Memorial Prize for his novel A Disaffection; also shortlisted for the Booker Prize, which he won in 1994 with How late it was, how late. Mr. Kelman continues to be a huge influence on Scottish literature.

A Lean Third contains stories that were originally published in Lean Tales (1985), alongside the work of Alasdair Gray and Agnes Owens. The majority of the eighteen stories have been substantially revised by the author, making these 'new versions' of great interest to academics and fans alike. Of particular note is a 3000 word afterword, written especially for this edition. The author gives revealing insights into the background of many of the stories, his lifestyle at the time and writing methods, etc. A fascinating and essential new edition which Tangerine Press are extremely proud to be publishing.

AVAILABLE IN THREE EDITIONS WITH ROGUE VARIANT:

Paperback/artwork £12

* * * Please remember to choose your postal region from the Paypal drop-down box as per example below * * *

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Numered/signed/artwork £**

Lettered/signed/artwork £***

More detailed information here:

First printing

£12 plus shipping

112 pages. Approx. With updated afterword. 7"/170mm wide x 10"/240mm tall. 100% recycled, acid-free text paper; acid-free midnight blue endpapers; recycled forest green card covers. Text set in Gill Sans, at the author's suggestion. Printed and bound in England. ISBN: 978-0-9573385-6-2

Includes reproduction of a woodcut of the author by Alasdair Gray.

SECOND PRINTING DUE SOON

74 Numbered/signed copies

£30 plus shipping

82 pages. Large format, approx. 7”/175mm wide x 10”/250mm tall. Handbound at the Tangerine workshop with cloth-covered acid-free boards, conservation glue and hemp cord; foil embossed front cover artwork; three-colour title page. The letters K,E,L,M,A and N have been slipcased. Text set in Gill Sans, at the author's suggestion. ISBN: 978-0-9573385-1-7

All copies include a b&w woodcut portrait of the author by Alasdair Gray.

Fully bound in Colorado Green Tweed cloth; front cover artwork embossed in black; 3-page ‘stepped’ Canson Mi-Tientes front endpapers — the page colours being sepia, burst orange and royal blue; Canson Mi-Tientes sepia back endpapers; Heritage Book White archival quality, Fourdrinier made, acid-free text paper.

SOLD OUT

26 Lettered/signed copies, inc. variant edition

£*** plus shipping

82 pages. Large format, approx. 7”/175mm wide x 10”/250mm tall. Handbound at the Tangerine workshop with cloth-covered acid-free boards, conservation glue and hemp cord; foil embossed front cover artwork; three-colour title page. The letters K,E,L,M,A and N have been slipcased. Text set in Gill Sans, at the author's suggestion. ISBN: 978-0-9573385-1-7

20 Lettered/signed copies

Quarter bound with Canson Mi-Tientes black paper covered boards, with Japanese silk/natural linen spine; front cover artwork embossed in gold; 3-page ‘stepped’ Canson Mi-Tientes front endpapers—the page colours being sepia, burst orange and royal blue; Canson Mi-Tientes sepia endpapers; Heritage Book White archival quality, Fourdrinier made, acid-free text paper.

SOLD OUT

6 Lettered/signed/slipcased copies

Fully bound in black 'with flecks' Japanese Silk; front cover artwork blind debossed onto the front cover; 3-page ‘stepped’ 160gsm Canson Mi-Tientes front endpapers—the page colours being sepia, burst orange and royal blue; Canson Mi-Tientes sepia back endpapers; Heritage Book White archival quality, Fourdrinier made, acid-free text paper. Slipcase bound in Black & Green streaked/lacquered Japanese Awagami paper. The letters K,E,L,M,A and N have been slipcased.

SOLD OUT

"If James Kelman ever receives the Nobel Prize, his short fiction will have been an important part of his achievement. The wit and profundity (A Lean Third) contains will reward unlimited reading."
The Independent

"Kelman has always been an artist, and a highly conscious one. Whatever the social content of his work, he also makes art for art’s sake. The tone of voice sounds unforced and natural, but is never exactly a transcript of spoken language. It is finely wrought, artificial as an Impressionist’s still-life. He is a master of the brief encounter between people who may never see each other again, or indeed have any desire to do so. He is a poet of transience, catching the passing moment as it wings its way out of sight."
The Scotsman

Kelman’s reworked stories are an outstanding addition to an already stunning body of work."
Post Magazine

"Tangerine Press has produced a beautiful reissue of Kelman’s third. Each tale has been updated by the author, who follows them with a long afterword on writing, collaborating and the pressure to conform that has dogged his career (those at the BBC are “guardians of High English Culture who will commandeer the very nails from your fingers and show amazement if you offer resistance”). Here are snapshots of Scots abroad, nightlife, chance encounters, the thrill and buzz and sadness of working-class life."
New Statesman

"Kelman suffers perhaps, in the same way as Beckett and Joyce, by not being recognised for his humour. These stories are narrated by people at the bottom or on the periphery. The style is plain. Perhaps that inclines readers to expect grimness. Kelman is, in fact, a very funny writer. His angle of narration is amusing. It comes from being unable to take contemporary reality, or at least that inhabited by his narrators, entirely seriously. He gives it slant, as Emily Dickinson advised, but not merely oblique; he is disillusioned before he writes a word... Perhaps Kelman is more than just a literary genius."
The Penniless Press

"These 18 stories are... the bare bones of a novel that was never written. The afterword, 3000 words of it, has been written especially for this very pleasing publication by Tangerine Press and even if you are not a devotee of the author's numerous works, feels like essential reading."
— The Sunday Herald

*For an indepth review/consideration of the book, please visit thi wurd website

James Kelman has long been regarded as one of the finest writers of fiction in the world. Born in Glasgow, Scotland in 1946, he has won numerous awards, accolades and prizes including the James Tait Black Memorial Prize for his novel A Disaffection; also shortlisted for the Booker Prize, which he won in 1994 with How late it was, how late. Mr. Kelman continues to be a huge influence on Scottish literature.

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