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4.04 AVERAGE
4.04 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Un livre déroutant, complexe…mais passionnant. Ce grand monument de la littérature écossaise et faisant d’office d’un renouvellement de la littérature britannique est assez spécial. Dans le chaos le plus kafkaïen, Alasdair Gray plonge le lecteur dans un Glasgow gris, froid et maussade. Empruntant à de genres divers tels que la science-fiction, le fantastique, le gothique et même le gonzo, Alasdair Gray sait jouer d’humour noir et d’auto-dérision, tout en dressant un tableau précaire de l’absurdité de l’existence. Comportant 4 livres en un, et en commençant par le 3e, on a affaire à une aventure abracadabrante teintée de surnaturelle qui nous bouscule, nous laisse pantois. Même si ma réflexion doit s’approfondir davantage sur ce roman unique, il n’en demeure pas moins un chef d’œuvre et un exemple phare de créativité prodigieuse.
I think that this book is incredibly interesting and important for Scottish literature in general and Glasgow in particular, but I just find it terribly exhausting. It's tedious to read, it's too long, I enjoyed bits and bobs, but not the entire thing. Yes, I know I'm being unjust, yes I know how influential and important and in parts incredibly funny "Lanark" is. Yes, I enjoy the meta level of it. But I still found it a chore to read and still think you could cut parts of it and make it a more enjoyable book. I know it's not meant to be entirely enjoyable, but still. This is a book that I'm sure tons of people DNF. And I can relate. 3 stars max
challenging
emotional
mysterious
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Absolutely mad in a brilliant way. It's very hard to say what's a flaw and what's intentional, got me thinking the whole way through. Some sections dragged. It was worth it
i don't know if i hated this book because i was forced to read it or because i really wasn't interested in the plot or because the main character was awful and i couldn't sympathise with him or listen to anything he was saying. probably a mix of all three. i skimmed most of this, i couldn't tell you what happens in the last quarter tbh, but i finished it, so. success?
Farewell, Lanark.
I loved it. Nobody I know has heard of it. I preferred books one and two, but the sheer ambition and uniqueness of the others really shine. I’ve never seen such a conscious awareness and cataloguing of influences (“plagiarism”). The order of the books. The Vonnegutisms. The artwork which suggested a much more Conanesque fantasy. The bleak prescience. The way with words.
I loved it. Nobody I know has heard of it. I preferred books one and two, but the sheer ambition and uniqueness of the others really shine. I’ve never seen such a conscious awareness and cataloguing of influences (“plagiarism”). The order of the books. The Vonnegutisms. The artwork which suggested a much more Conanesque fantasy. The bleak prescience. The way with words.
Particularly liked the middle two books. Couldn't really get into the quasi-sci-fi stuff that topped and tailed them. Found myself drifting off and on autopilot too much. Read pages and pages but took very little in.
A sprawling, surrealist nightmare in search of fulfilment.
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This is an almost perfect book for me. It is massive yet still satisfying. It is coherent but wildly imaginative. The book plays with structure in the disorder of the numbered books, introductions, and not-quite-epilogue epilogue AND in the construction of the typography on the page. The plagiarism revelations, the potent tragedy of Thaws earthly life and the whimsical, magical hell of the after life make this one of the most unique and filling reads of my life.