I was rooting for Kelly, along with the people rooting for her whether she knew it or not. It’s so beautifully written and so specifically Scottish, with a smattering of Scots language, that it felt like home. It’s funny, and painful, and poignant and so compassionate. It might be a work of fiction but we all know Kelly. We’ve seen her, or him, sitting outside on the pavement with their paper cup, asking for nothing but 20p and possibly a sandwich. In this world, in 2022, this shouldn’t be happening but it still is - this series of nets lets people slip through. 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. Glowing with empathy and wry intelligent wit. Let Kelly into your life. She’ll change you, and you won’t forget her” How often do we get the opportunity to experience this? Not at all, I would say - or not very often. There’s a wonderful line in here about how libraries are “beacons of light”, as they are places where people with no internet access could avail themselves of the library WiFi. As well as the human interaction with the librarians, and a place to come in out of the cold. Despite these coincidences, Paper Cup is often a poignant and harrowing read. Campbell gambles on our empathy when she shows Kelly at her worst, and she wins because she has written, without judgment or criticism, an original and memorable protagonist; one who moves through a landscape described with love and care, and whose interior voice will continue to ring in the reader’s head even after the long journey’s end is reached.

Kelly is used to being starving, to ignoring the rumble in her stomach even when it becomes a roar. Kelly is used to eating out of bins. Carefully watching office workers rush by on their lunchbreak, throwing away half eaten sandwiches.This book was set in Glasgow and Scotland, which was a nice change for me. The audio delivery was amazing, and I loved the accents. The story flowed seamlessly and the narrator was in full command of the story. This is where I imagine authors are left feeling their book is in good hands, Caroline Guthrie was the right choice.

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. When I returned my copy to my local library yesterday, I felt kind of sad. Like a piece of me was missing. I was so used to seeing it all over the house as I was reading it. I took it everywhere. This is a story that I’ll carry around with me, and ponder on, for a long, long time. 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. An old English teacher of mine liked to quote that Tennessee Williams line from A Streetcar Named Desire. “I have always depended on the kindness of strangers”.

It also reminds you that friendship can come in many forms, like a four legged friend, your sister or someone that has taken you in when you have nowhere else to go. The great Scottish poet Robert Burns is referenced once, and once only, in Karen Campbell’s wonderful, empathetic, timely and moving new novel Paper Cup. But the truth is that while reading Karen’s book I couldn’t get him out of my head. The words on the dust cover say that your world will be a better place for reading this story. It may or may not be. But the novel is a reminder that, should we wish, it can be. We have choices. Agency.

Anders Frang is a freelance illustrator from Denmark. He studied at the Danish Design School in Copenhagen as well as Edinburgh College of Art. He is currently based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Keep collections to yourself or inspire other shoppers! Keep in mind that anyone can view public collections - they may also appear in recommendations and other places.

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. No possessions, no money, and the constant choice between some hot chips and cheap booze. Kelly has suffered so much, and her ability to see glimpses of positivity made me love this story. Karen Campbell is the author of eight novels. A former police officer, then Glasgow City Council press officer, she won the Best New Scottish Writer Award in 2009. She also teaches creative writing and has worked with young offenders, homeless people, refugees and asylum seekers, and was recently Writer in Residence at Dumfries and Galloway Council. She lives in Galloway. For all this, Paper Cup remains only just on the safe side of whimsy. Occasionally it strays into the realm of the inspirational quote. “If we all put something in the kindness bank, it’s an investment, isn’t it? Maybe it will be there when we need it,” says one of the characters Kelly meets. Some of these people are unconvincing, too straightforwardly good or bad: the hippies who give Kelly a lift in their camper van; the posh Englishman whose dog Kelly steals; kindly Clara who makes her breakfast. 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 biggest convenience of all is that the wedding just happens to be in the same town where Kelly grew up.

Do they think people want to live like this? Crusted with their own filth? Cold and old and hungry. Wanting to be seen, and be unseen. Wanting to be present, even in their self appointed margins. Do they think it’s a choice to be scared and lonely?” But it’s never judgemental. The posh divorcee who feeds Kelly (and her dog) on her pilgrimage seems almost offended when asked why she did it. Kelly is living rough in all aspects, an alcoholic who seems to have accepted her lot in life, something dreadful has happened with someone she loves dearly earlier in her life, and she will not return home. The way this story unfolds shows simply not how hard it would be to walk a mile in her shoes, or how impossible it would be to sleep on the streets, or how awful one is treated when begging. It is more than that. It shows the desperation of one human being who believes it is what she deserves, the ability for this person to still see good in what she is in the midst of, and the select few who still help and care. The blatant experience with what seemed to me an almost non existant support and welfare agency was frustrating, Kelly certainly was buried deep in loss. One wanted this woman to get there, wherever there was.On her journey from Glasgow 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 for ever move closer with every step.