[TC8]∎ [PDF] Gratis Lanark A Life in Four Books Canongate Classics Alasdair Gray Janice Galloway 9781841951201 Books

Lanark A Life in Four Books Canongate Classics Alasdair Gray Janice Galloway 9781841951201 Books

Download As PDF : Lanark A Life in Four Books Canongate Classics Alasdair Gray Janice Galloway 9781841951201 Books

Lanark A Life in Four Books Canongate Classics Alasdair Gray Janice Galloway 9781841951201 Books

Wait! No it wasn't. It was the worst of times (again!), I think. Or, the times were at least as bad as the last time. But, what's happened to time? And, what's happened to place? Most of all, what's happened to me?

We are being taken somewhere that is not like where we were, but we can't remember where we were - or when. There's that time thing again; maybe, we think, we don't need time; but we do, so we have to find a way to find some.

This book is about something, somewhen, leading somewhere with some point that Gray wanted to make. I really hope he made it. It isn't important whether I recognized it as it went by. I was trying to figure out how I could avoid being what, when and where this was.

The main character is named Lanark and/or Thaw. He, or one of him, is dead. Or, the one who was that is now dead is also the one who is now alive or this second one is the dead first one somewhere else. Whatever he is, he isn't very likable. This puts him in good company with every other unlikable person. We are told about him(s) and the others by the author or the author's author.

Is a metafiction created by the author as author the same as a metafiction created by the author about another author? Is it still a metafiction or is it only the author sticking himself into the one fiction? Does the answer to either of those questions make a bit of difference? And, was there any reason for the last question, before this, or was it presumed to be asked before it, or this second question before this question mark and after the previous?

Confused (there should be a question mark next, but I don't want this to be confused as being a part of the previous questions, so I'll consider 'Confused' (the first) to be a statement of fact rather than an interrogatory).

It is worth the price of the book to read the Epilogue (which isn't one). By the by, Part 1 is not first, either; though, given everything else going on, no one should expect it to be. And, part of the time is spent in hell. All for one inclusive price and set of pages - that include Gray's art work.

To put it succinctly, if you need a book to start at A and go to Z and say The End - run from this one. If you need a book to actually make sense in such a way that you know what's going on or has gone on - join the race to the door. If you need likable characters or characters that make sense - recite the Who's on First? routine as you put this book down (un-bought).

If anyone is left, this is not an easy book to read or like - but it is a lot of fun. That's why I spend so much time reading. I've ordered three more by Gray. Consider that statement as a recommendation for this one.


Tags : Lanark: A Life in Four Books (Canongate Classics) [Alasdair Gray, Janice Galloway] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. From its first publication in 1981, Lanark was hailed as a masterpiece and it has come to be widely regarded as the most remarkable and influential Scottish novel of the second half of the twentieth century. A work of extraordinary imagination and wide-ranging concerns,Alasdair Gray, Janice Galloway,Lanark: A Life in Four Books (Canongate Classics),Canongate Books Ltd,184195120X,379781841951201,Literary,Fiction,Fiction Literary,General & Literary Fiction,Literature: Classics

Lanark A Life in Four Books Canongate Classics Alasdair Gray Janice Galloway 9781841951201 Books Reviews

I read this again 30 years after first reading it in the early eighties. This time around my understanding was completely different. Thirty years of living gives new meaning to the metaphors packed into Lanark. A fascinating experience.
Alasdair Gray's Lanark is a grimy and dystopian allegory of the afterlife and working class life in Glasgow (renamed Unthank) in the latter half of last century that bookends a poignant and often dark realistic bildungsroman.

Most importantly, it is highly readable novel littered with musings on the nature of art, writing, sex, class and politics.

The four books together defy classification it is part satire, part tragicomedy, part polemic. I highly recommend.
A strange and intriguing novel of a dystopian world. Excellent writing by a gifted and imaginative author.
There's no-one quite like Alasdair Gray from the Blakean illustrations to the quirky stories. But even among his output, Lanark is special. An alternative SF history of Scotland and Glasgow in particular. I go back to it once a decade or so, and it's always worth it.
It's one of the most magnificent things I've ever read. Gray has an ability to capture profound truths in words that I would liken to Vonnegut, combined with a style that recalls Kafka, Joyce, Dante. If you like any of those authors I just listed, do yourself a favor and pick up this book immediately. You will not be disappointed.
A unique and surreal read, the range of stylistic devices and tones used added interesting layers to the work and often revel the hand of the writer. The main character (the eponymous Lanark) is well developed and complex, independent of his likability or relate-ability at different points in the book. The changing landscape in location, time period, and pacing keep the reader on unsure footing, awaiting the next oddity.
A worthy read. A good sign is that I keep wandering back to it in my mind and making discoveries about what it meant to me. I happen to love Pynchon (he'd get a 5 star) so poor Alasdair gets a 4 star. Don't overlook this book, particularly if you like Pynchon.
Wait! No it wasn't. It was the worst of times (again!), I think. Or, the times were at least as bad as the last time. But, what's happened to time? And, what's happened to place? Most of all, what's happened to me?

We are being taken somewhere that is not like where we were, but we can't remember where we were - or when. There's that time thing again; maybe, we think, we don't need time; but we do, so we have to find a way to find some.

This book is about something, somewhen, leading somewhere with some point that Gray wanted to make. I really hope he made it. It isn't important whether I recognized it as it went by. I was trying to figure out how I could avoid being what, when and where this was.

The main character is named Lanark and/or Thaw. He, or one of him, is dead. Or, the one who was that is now dead is also the one who is now alive or this second one is the dead first one somewhere else. Whatever he is, he isn't very likable. This puts him in good company with every other unlikable person. We are told about him(s) and the others by the author or the author's author.

Is a metafiction created by the author as author the same as a metafiction created by the author about another author? Is it still a metafiction or is it only the author sticking himself into the one fiction? Does the answer to either of those questions make a bit of difference? And, was there any reason for the last question, before this, or was it presumed to be asked before it, or this second question before this question mark and after the previous?

Confused (there should be a question mark next, but I don't want this to be confused as being a part of the previous questions, so I'll consider 'Confused' (the first) to be a statement of fact rather than an interrogatory).

It is worth the price of the book to read the Epilogue (which isn't one). By the by, Part 1 is not first, either; though, given everything else going on, no one should expect it to be. And, part of the time is spent in hell. All for one inclusive price and set of pages - that include Gray's art work.

To put it succinctly, if you need a book to start at A and go to Z and say The End - run from this one. If you need a book to actually make sense in such a way that you know what's going on or has gone on - join the race to the door. If you need likable characters or characters that make sense - recite the Who's on First? routine as you put this book down (un-bought).

If anyone is left, this is not an easy book to read or like - but it is a lot of fun. That's why I spend so much time reading. I've ordered three more by Gray. Consider that statement as a recommendation for this one.