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Title: Unlikely Stories, Mostly by Alasdair Gray ISBN: 0-86241-737-6 Publisher: Canongate Books Pub. Date: March, 1998 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $13.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.5 (2 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Unlikely author, mostly
Comment: 1982 Janine is Gray's best book (and his own favourite) but is difficult to get hold of, Lanark is his most important but difficult to get through, Poor Things is his most successful but not weighty enough. Unlikely Stories, Mostly is just right -- like Little Bear's porridge.
This book is more an anthology of Gray's early works than a collection of stories. One was written when he was 15, others were written when he was at Art College. Considering he was 46 when it was published, there's hope for all of us. Highlights are Five Letters From an Eastern Empire, a masterful portayal of censorship in art and the control a dictatorship can have on creative minds; the Tale of the White Dog, after reading it you'll be more enquiring about your potential in-laws; and The Cause of Some Recent Changes.
Some dislike the long central story Logopandocy. However if, before reading it, you know it is about a real person and the high-falutin' dense, sometimes willfully obscure, language accurately reflects Urqhuart's own writing (in fact, tones it down considerably) you may enjoy it more.
But despite the writing itself, the book would be a joy to own just for the way it looks. The paperback is a poor substitute for the original hardback, but is still one of the most beautiful mainstream publications you can own. The original had a slip inserted, which said "Erratum: This slip has been inserted by mistake". The whole is smothered in Gray's own wicked illustrations, inspired by Blake, Eric Gill and Stanley Spencer. I can't really recommend this highly enough.
Rating: 4
Summary: i bought this man a drink
Comment: and he said "whiskey" and I said "with what" and he said "just whiskey, I'm scottish."
this book is an irreplacable companion to any trip to Scotland. this book is neat. oh, and so much more.
as with all of Alasdair's work it is a lyrico-poetic journey through a scots writer's personal Scottish playland. and it is also a mini-history of his literary efforts, something not all of us can be proud of, but Alasdair's talent is such that he has been producing gems since infancy.
why four stars? the big long story in the middle. logopoan -- something. thoroughly unsatisfying and makes you ask, "Alasdair, Alasdair, what were you thinking?" Maybe I'd like it more if I was Scottish. I'm not.
But Prometheus. . . wow. Please read this story. Writer or artist or rocket surgeon. . . it'll change the way you look at things. Isn't that why we read books??
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Title: 1982, Janine by Alasdair Gray, Will Self ISBN: 1841953466 Publisher: Canongate Books Pub. Date: June, 2003 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
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Title: Elizabeth Costello by J. M. Coetzee ISBN: 0670031305 Publisher: Viking Press Pub. Date: 09 October, 2003 List Price(USD): $21.95 |
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Title: Ten Tales Tall & True by Alasdair Gray, Diane Sterling, Leonard Makowka ISBN: 0156001969 Publisher: Harvest Books Pub. Date: May, 1995 List Price(USD): $11.00 |
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