by James Kelman
First published 1990
Patrick Doyle stands before his classroom at 29, watching students who remind him daily of everything wrong with the system he serves. He teaches because he needs the paycheck, but each day deepens his resentment toward the bureaucracy that employs him. After school, Patrick drinks to numb his anger and obsesses over a colleague who doesn't return his feelings. His unrequited passion feeds his bitterness as much as the alcohol does. Over the course of one pivotal week, Patrick's frustrations boil over. He begins to act on his rebellion against the educational machine that traps him. His small acts of defiance grow bolder as he decides he can no longer live the way he has been living. Patrick's story unfolds through his internal monologue and daily encounters, revealing a man caught between his working class origins and middle class profession, struggling with the gap between his ideals and reality.
Genres: american-fiction, contemporary, adult-fiction, academic
Vibes: dark, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: social-commentary, unreliable-narrator
337 pages · Paperback · Picador
Content warnings: alcohol-abuse, depression, mental-illness