Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.03 AVERAGE
4.03 AVERAGE
A man named Jock McLeish is alone in a hotel room ruminating on his life. He is suicidal, contemplating his past, his lovers, his wife, his parents, his failures. Sometimes he fantasises about a variety of women (Janine being one of them), and he tells stories about these women and their sexual adventures in between telling stories of his actual life. The first third of this book was just magnificent, so unique and inventive, so clever and entertaining. Gray brilliantly interweaves reality and fantasy making the reading experience a joy, the narrative vibrant and alive, full of intrigue and originality. He manages to make you want to know more about both his real life experiences and, very successfully, his made-up stories too -- you are enthralled by both and the switch from one to the other makes the book an absolute joy to read. There's a story, for example, about one of his fictional women (named Superb) where she is cheating on her husband and going to meet a man. She is stopped by the police and taken to the station in a surreal arrest that combines sexual fantasy with comical farce. But then Jock returns to his real life story for a while and we take a break from that narrative. Then he goes back to it but this time instead of being stopped by the police, she meets her lover and we get an entirely new, improvised story that goes in a completely different direction than it did before The whole thing works effectively to make the piece always feel fresh and interesting. You get sucked into his life and his fantasies. Like I said, the first third is just fantastic.
But then, sadly, as the book goes along, it starts to outstay its welcome. The very premise of the book is somewhat abandoned. The deeper you get, the less frequent these fantastical stories become and by the halfway point, Gray has essentially focused most of his attention on Jock's parents, his work life, his ex-wife, his first girlfriend, Denny, and the countless other aspects of his real life. I kept getting bored and waiting for Janine to return, or Superb, or any of the other fictional creations he might conjure but their presence becomes increasingly sparse and the book starts to drag. Eventually, it even begins to feel a little self-indulgent as Jock (or is it Gray?) continue to tell you rather banal things from his own life which are very rarely interesting. A lot of writers seem to fall into this trap; they become a little solipsistic and self-serving, failing to realise that what they're saying is only interesting to them. Sure, a story about THAT man going to the shop for some milk isn't very interesting but a story about me - a great writer who can make his life fascinating with sublime prose - going to the shop for some milk would be mesmerising! Gray gets sidetracked by the real life elements of Jock McLeish, and the memory of Janine and Superb gradually begins to fade. I wanted more of them both (even the less developed Big Momma character). I wanted Gray to follow through with the idea more fully and break the narrative up with these entertaining interludes, these flights of sexual fancy, but he chooses instead to focus more on Jock's real life which, in truth, isn't that interesting at all. His time working as a security installation man, his failed marriage, or an especially dull part of the book where he is working in the theatre (I think... I was tuning out by this point) all slow things down to a standstill.
I wish Gray had stuck with the premise. It was fun and original, had a unique perspective, almost surreal and magical (momentarily very reminiscent of Andrew Sinclair's wildly unique book 'Gog'). But the book loses momentum as it goes along and gets a little bogged down in the mundane qualities of Jock which left me a little bored. Why start with such explosive concepts if you intend to defuse them? By the halfway point Janine is an afterthought, a dissipating character with little involvement in his fantasies or his mind. In fact, Superb probably gets more attention as the most prominent of his fictional creations. But she too is gradually left by the wayside in favour of the real women in his life.
The book had the potential to be amazing. But it loses its way. Gray is patently a writer I need to learn more about and hopefully his inventive style and voice will resonate with me more in his other works. I'll probably read Lanark at some point but avoid Poor Things until after the film stuff has died down. The man is clearly a great writer and worth investigating. This book had me for a while (really HAD ME) but then, unfortunately, it lost me. Nonetheless, this is still very highly recommended. Unique and different in a world that is often tediously predictable.
But then, sadly, as the book goes along, it starts to outstay its welcome. The very premise of the book is somewhat abandoned. The deeper you get, the less frequent these fantastical stories become and by the halfway point, Gray has essentially focused most of his attention on Jock's parents, his work life, his ex-wife, his first girlfriend, Denny, and the countless other aspects of his real life. I kept getting bored and waiting for Janine to return, or Superb, or any of the other fictional creations he might conjure but their presence becomes increasingly sparse and the book starts to drag. Eventually, it even begins to feel a little self-indulgent as Jock (or is it Gray?) continue to tell you rather banal things from his own life which are very rarely interesting. A lot of writers seem to fall into this trap; they become a little solipsistic and self-serving, failing to realise that what they're saying is only interesting to them. Sure, a story about THAT man going to the shop for some milk isn't very interesting but a story about me - a great writer who can make his life fascinating with sublime prose - going to the shop for some milk would be mesmerising! Gray gets sidetracked by the real life elements of Jock McLeish, and the memory of Janine and Superb gradually begins to fade. I wanted more of them both (even the less developed Big Momma character). I wanted Gray to follow through with the idea more fully and break the narrative up with these entertaining interludes, these flights of sexual fancy, but he chooses instead to focus more on Jock's real life which, in truth, isn't that interesting at all. His time working as a security installation man, his failed marriage, or an especially dull part of the book where he is working in the theatre (I think... I was tuning out by this point) all slow things down to a standstill.
I wish Gray had stuck with the premise. It was fun and original, had a unique perspective, almost surreal and magical (momentarily very reminiscent of Andrew Sinclair's wildly unique book 'Gog'). But the book loses momentum as it goes along and gets a little bogged down in the mundane qualities of Jock which left me a little bored. Why start with such explosive concepts if you intend to defuse them? By the halfway point Janine is an afterthought, a dissipating character with little involvement in his fantasies or his mind. In fact, Superb probably gets more attention as the most prominent of his fictional creations. But she too is gradually left by the wayside in favour of the real women in his life.
The book had the potential to be amazing. But it loses its way. Gray is patently a writer I need to learn more about and hopefully his inventive style and voice will resonate with me more in his other works. I'll probably read Lanark at some point but avoid Poor Things until after the film stuff has died down. The man is clearly a great writer and worth investigating. This book had me for a while (really HAD ME) but then, unfortunately, it lost me. Nonetheless, this is still very highly recommended. Unique and different in a world that is often tediously predictable.
È il 1982, Jock/John McLeish è in una camera di albergo ad ubriacarsi e a masturbarsi creando frenetiche e dettagliatissime fantasie erotiche popolate dalle donne che ha incontrato nella sua vita. Il flusso di coscienza viene ripetutamente interrotto da pensieri intrusivi che lo riportano allo squallore della realtà: il divorzio, l'amico morto, la carriera in fase discendente, gli amori persi, il male fatto, l'alcolismo.
Sarà quindi costretto ad affrontarsi, pesare la propria vita, e decidere se portarla avanti o meno.
Come già in Lanark, Gray si diverte ad alternare una scrittura onirica e confusionaria, e una chiara e linerare per cui la lettura non è sempre facile (o interessante) finché non diventa chiaro dove si sta andando a parare.
Un libro decisamente particolare, molto sentito da chi l'ha scritto.
Sarà quindi costretto ad affrontarsi, pesare la propria vita, e decidere se portarla avanti o meno.
Come già in Lanark, Gray si diverte ad alternare una scrittura onirica e confusionaria, e una chiara e linerare per cui la lettura non è sempre facile (o interessante) finché non diventa chiaro dove si sta andando a parare.
Un libro decisamente particolare, molto sentito da chi l'ha scritto.
adventurous
challenging
funny
reflective
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
i want to start by saying that i think alasdair gray is unbelievably good. his books remind me why i care about books, write as if youre in the early days of a better canon, etc.
however. i hated reading this. there was something so upsetting about the way horrible realities poked up through horrible fantasies. of course, of course, that’s testament to how effective the book was, but i’m rating my experience and whether i want to return to it, and i don’t.
i thought the fringe section was really interesting, unexpectedly topical.
however. i hated reading this. there was something so upsetting about the way horrible realities poked up through horrible fantasies. of course, of course, that’s testament to how effective the book was, but i’m rating my experience and whether i want to return to it, and i don’t.
i thought the fringe section was really interesting, unexpectedly topical.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes