Lanark (Alasdair Gray)
30 January 2013
"Lanark", a modern vision of hell, is set in the disintegrating cities of Unthank and Glasgow, and tells the interwoven stories of Lanark and Duncan Thaw. A work of extraordinary imagination and wide range, its playful narrative techniques convey a profound message, both personal and political, about humankind's inability to love, and yet our compulsion to go on trying. Widely recognised as a modern classic, Alasdair Gray's magnum opus was first published in 1981 and immediately established him as one of Britain's leading writers. Comparisons have been made to Dante, Blake, Joyce, Orwell, Kafka, Huxley and Lewis Carroll. This new edition should cement his reputation as one of our greatest living writers.
Average Rating:
Avril Stringer (7 March 2013 12:55)
This book felt like one of the paintings described in the middle section .... trying to write something perfect but always re-defining what perfect is and ending up with a confused mess. Don't get the point of the book - why did he bother? Although I read the book all the way through, I was constantly thinking "how many pages left?" and looking forward to getting through it.
Marc Reynolds (6 March 2013 20:08)
A great piece of writing which I am really glad to have read, it did however feel like two separate books which are stitched together in the middle. Gotta love any book that has an Index of plagarisations!