A Scottish writer whose works are a captivating blend of realism, fantasy, and science fiction. His innovative approach to writing, often enhanced with his own illustrations and unique typography, positions his creations as landmarks of postmodern literature. Compared to literary giants like Kafka and Borges, his novels and short stories delve into profound themes and have inspired a generation of subsequent Scottish authors. Gray's body of work stands as a testament to his visionary spirit and distinct perspective on the world.
'Grandly conceived, gorgeously realised, and sparklingly alert to the making not just of works of art, but of a language, this crammed compendium, so copiously yet lightly learned, so drolly self-reflexive, yet enticingly accessible, so exhilaratingly, quixotically magniloquent, is the last word in forewords.' Herald
From the genius of Scottish letters, a satire of religion, the media and London
Describing etiquette, government, irrigation, education, clogs, kites, rumour, poetry, justice, massage, town-planning, sex and ventriloquism in an obsolete nation. Alasdair Gray was born in 1934. He obtained a diploma in Design and Mural Painting in 1957 and has since earned his living in Glasgow, mostly by painting and writing. Much of his fiction is published in Penguin, including 1982 Janine, Poor Things, Ten Tales Tall & True and Unlikely Stories, Mostly, from which Five Letters from an Eastern Empire is taken.
An authoritative collection of Alasdair Gray's stories gathered over the last twenty five years.
This novel is 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.
The unforgettable, challenging and experimental second novel from the author of Lanark. Introduced by Will Self schovat popis
Duncan Thaw, the narrator, has to cope with a loveless family and the drudgery of growing to maturity in Glasgow. Elsewhere the author moves Thaw into fantasy when he sends him to Unthank, a city he is condemned to after his death. From the author of "Something Leather".
This pamphlet is for anyone alarmed by the present British government. It argues that the component nations of the United Kingdom can become true democracies only by declaring themselves republics. The authors are Alasdair Gray, writer of fiction and pamphlets such as Why Scots Should Rule Scotland, and Adam Tomkins, Professor of Public Law in the University of Glasgow and author of Public Law and Our Republican Constitution. Both are committed republicans.
A fantastical comedy from the irreplaceable Alasdair Gray
Set in the disintegrating cities of Unthank and Glasgow, this modern vision of hell tells the interwoven stories of two men: Lanark and Duncan Thaw. As the Life in Four Books unfolds, the strange, buried relationship between Lanark and Thaw slowly starts to emerge. Lanark is a towering work of the imagination and is the culmination of twenty-five years of work by Gray, who also illustrated and designed the novel. On its first publication it was immediately recognised as a major work of literature, and drew comparisons with Dante, Black, Joyce, Orwell, Kafka, Huxley and Lewis Carroll. Thirty years on, its power, majesty, anger and relevance has only intensified.
Set in Glasgow of the 1880s, a story of the love life of two doctors, and a mature woman created by one of them.
Each selection of stories is preceded by a detailed portrait, drawn by Gray, above a reproduction of the writer's signature. The collection ends, as do so many of Gray's books, with a chapter detailing how the book got written. Postscript is a detailed memoir of Gray and Kelman, among others, attending Philip Hobsbaum's writing group in the 70s and their friendship with Agnes Owens. Gray had agreed to produce another collection of short stories, but didn't have enough written to fill a book on his own. So he used his position to help friends that he thoughts deserved the boost of publication by a major London-based publishing house. His decision has since been vindicated and the collection is seen as an early display of three talents that would be of great importance to the boom in Scottish writing in the late-80s/early-90s. Owens has since had several well-received novels published and Kelman has won the Booker prize.
The loves and lives of June, Senga and Donalda are told in this book which covers the period 1963 to 1990. Also featured are unhappy children, a liberal headmistress, a tobacconist's family, a commercial traveller, a lighthouse keeper and a pimp. From the author of "Lanark".
The final book from the late Alasdair Gray - the conclusion to his remarkable interpretation of Dante's Divine Comedy
The first short story collection from the irreplaceable Alasdair Gray, sublimely decorated throughout
"Beautiful, inventive, ambitious and nuts."--"The Times" (London) "Our nearest contemporary equivalent to Blake, our sweetest-natured screwed-up visionary."--"London Evening Standard" Alasdair Gray's work blends humor and metafiction, drawing inspiration from Laurence Sterne while fitting comfortably alongside modern literary mash-ups. "Old Men in Love" is a smart, down-to-earth, and multi-layered narrative filled with intertextual play. Similar to Gray's earlier novel "Poor Things," it presents multiple partial narratives, all discovered among the papers of the late John Tunnock, a retired Glasgow teacher. Tunnock's unfinished works are set in diverse locales, including Periclean Athens, Renaissance Florence, Victorian Somerset, and contemporary Britain under New Labour. This US edition features updates based on the author's corrections from the UK version and has been praised by British critics as one of Gray's finest. Beautifully printed in two colors and showcasing Gray's distinctive design, "Old Men in Love" promises to be a standout on any shelf. With a blend of fact and fiction, it invites readers to explore its depths. Alasdair Gray is a celebrated Scottish artist and author of nine novels, including "Lanark" and the award-winning "Poor Things," as well as various collections of stories, poetry, and nonfiction. He resides in Glasgow, Scotland.
Alasdair Gray's remarkable retelling of Dante's Divine Comedy; this edition brings Gray's Hell, Purgatory and Paradise together into a single edition for the first time
Die Menschen des 23. Jahrhunderts haben materielle wie psychische Not und Ausbeutung abgeschafft. Freilich ist ist dieses System umfassend praktizierter Ökologie und Weisheit weder ganz unproblematisch noch ungefährdet.
S podtitulem „Život ve čtyřech knihách“ se Lanark, autobiografická fantazie a moderní vize pekla zasazená do rozpadajících se měst Unthank a Glasgow, kombinující různé literární žánry, stala literární senzací a román je považován za stěžejní dílo moderní skotské literatury a srovnáván s Joyceovým Odysseem. Prosadil se hned při prvním vydání v roce 1981 a od té doby se dočkal mnoha reedic a cizojazyčných vydání. Podle slov jednoho kritika je to „sága města, kde je realita asi tak stejně spolehlivá jako hodinky Salvadora Dalího“.
