This is a Glasgow-eye view of life on the streets, featuring the gallus Kellie. Karen Campbell has a knack of bringing the lives and emotions of people from the margins of society to the fore and she has done it again with Paper Cup. My perception of refugees changed after I read “ This Is Where I Am” and now the spotlight has been turned onto homeless people. As Kellie herself cries, “ I’m a person! I’m a person, a person!”
Paper Cup is a Scottish masterpiece ; a beacon of compassion in our ever more self-centred world.

I did struggle with the way this book was written, I am not used to the Glasgow slang, and it kept me on my toes, not a bad thing but I had to really concentrate, and reread some things to get the hang of it. Good story and main character though so worth persevering. Quite different from my usual thrillers and urban fantasy but a good book to wander out of my comfort zone with.

Wow, this novel packs a real punch. Beautifully written and a well woven story. This is one that you’ll fly through and wonder where the time went. Kelly is a character that will stay with me for some time.

A beautiful, poignant, deeply realistic novel. With its use of Glasgow slang, its gritty sense of humour and its take on female alcoholism, it is reminiscent of Shuggie Bain, but is set in more recent years and focuses specifically on homelessness. Even before reaching the acknowledgments, it's obvious that Karen Campbell has researched extensively into her subject. She doesn't shy away from the darkest aspects of living in the streets, but Paper Cup is a luminous novel that doesn't dwell on misery. Kelly and Collieflower form a fantastic duo, and it feels almost sad to part with them when you turn the last page.

Fifty year old Kelly is homeless. She wanders the streets of Glasgow scadging what she can: half of someone's roll, a lukewarm coffee, a few pence to add up at the end of the day to buy the alcohol she needs to forget her past and the guilt it brings her. She's not from Glasgow though, she's from Galloway, a small town in the south of Scotland. When a young woman accidentally drops her engagement ring into her cupful of money, Kelly's first inclination is to sell it. But then she is witness to a terrible accident, tries to save a man and believing she's failed she runs away, drawn to her home town once again. On her way she decides to follow a pilgrim's route and she does so with several people on her tail: her friend Dexy, a journalist who scents a good story and a purple faced farmer armed with a shotgun.

This is a remarkable novel, full of compassion for the homeless and disadvantaged and never falling into the trap of mawkishness that sometimes hovers over it. Kelly is a real character. She has been formed by her life circumstances and yes, she will lift the money left to pay a bill on a table if she gets the chance even if the customers get accused of 'doing a runner'. Thanks to NetGalley and Canongate for the ARC.

I blitzed through this book over the weekend as I just could not get enough. Light and witty I enjoyed every second. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I love the name of this book and I absolutely love the cover. The book itself is just as beautiful. It's a really stunning book, written in a really beautiful way. The characters are so vivid that you feel like you know them and you really want the best for them. Just wow. It is a story of how life can give you a massive bag full of lemons and how you can pick yourself up, dust yourself off, find the beautiful things in life and find happiness in the small things in a journey that brings you back to knowing who you are and what things are truely important. It's really stunning.

I was kindly gifted this copy for review and omg what a beautiful book! I loved the writing style and couldn't put it down.

Brilliant book, I was simply unable to put it down, it’s well deserving of all the five star reviews and is one that you won’t regret reading

An incredibly powerful, thought provoking book that will stay with me for a very long time. Coming from Scotland it was nice to read a book set there.

This is such a brutally and beautifully raw read that is so honest and so gripping. It is well written with a heartbreaking storyline and well developed characters. I couldnt put this down and I will be thinking about this book and the characters for a long time to come.

As someone who has previously lived in Glasgow and who worked with homeless individuals in the city, I was immediately drawn to this book for obvious reasons.

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. I enjoyed this portrayal of the city of Glasgow and the descriptive realities that people who are homeless face on the street. 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.

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.

An excellent read from a very talented author I didn't know much about previously. I am now off to systematically go through her back catalogue!

Thanks to Netgalley and Canongate Books for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I don’t think I’ve adored a book this much since Shuggie Bain. Set in Glasgow, Kelly is a homeless woman who encounters a chain of events that push her to go back to her hometown on a pilgrimage. The language is astonishing and I was completely captured by the way Kelly saw the city. The picture she paints of homelessness is stark and very realistic. This is the kind of book that when you finish, you actually miss the characters for a long time afterwards. Can’t recommend it enough.