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4.03 AVERAGE
4.03 AVERAGE
George makes himself remember. He is afraid of forgetting. Jim is my life, he says. But he will have to forget, if he wants to go on living. Jim is death.
…
Damn the future… it is Now that he must find another Jim. Now that he must love. Now that he must live-
Spoiler
Like the 70 other people who put this book on hold before me, I took the book out because of the beautiful movie starring Colin Firth and Matthew Goode. What I did not expect was the rage in the first pages of the book, the rage against a heteronormative complacency and conformity in CA, and the homicidal fantasies (that echo ones I have all the time, and what bliss to read it written by a gay man decades ago...) to the beauty of the male body that even Tom Ford's cinematography and direction could not capture with the intensity that Isherwood did, to the depth of grief of a man trying to make it through one day. Gorgeous evocative writing of a time and place that shaped lives.SPOILERS!!!! I felt a bit cheated at the ending of the movie, but had no idea it was the ending of the book itself. The gun had to be introduced in the movie version to give the film momentum, and I understand that now, seeing as how the sudden death of the protagonist at the end of the book comes much more out of left field. I was also surprised at the inclusion of a character, Doris, who is there to be death itself, but with the added infidelity to Jim's character, which was much more angelic and idealized in the movie. Interesting to know who was included or excluded and to what purpose.
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
relaxing
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
i have no idea how i got to be 33 years old, have an entire bookshelf sagging with the gay books i've acquired over some omg 17-ish years of collecting and taking classes and i all but have a degree in queer studies, people -- and yet i'd never read any christopher isherwood novels before last month. i don't even remember anyone telling me i should and me having some snarky eh, another old gay white guy response. (i vaguely remember reading some excerpts in a magazine, possibly out, but so vaguely i don't think it counts here.)
after we saw a single man, i read berlin stories, the collection of two novels he wrote (which in part later became cabaret). then i found this book in a bookstore in austin -- i was for a moment incensed when i couldn't find it in "fiction," thinking it'd been relegated into the smaller gay section upstairs, only to find it instead shelved under "classics." (you win, book people of austin. good call.)
here's what i wish someone would have told me, spoiler-free:
this book -- published in 1964, set the year before -- is more forthright, less ashamed, more delightfully lusty and yet undeniably domesticated in its queer love than probably anything i ever read that was written at or before that time (and more so than a great many books written since). i am only shocked at my own surprise and ignorance, and in that delightful way that i always feel when so boldly reminded that we are inventing none of this whatsoever, no matter how much freer we are to live it as we want.
after we saw a single man, i read berlin stories, the collection of two novels he wrote (which in part later became cabaret). then i found this book in a bookstore in austin -- i was for a moment incensed when i couldn't find it in "fiction," thinking it'd been relegated into the smaller gay section upstairs, only to find it instead shelved under "classics." (you win, book people of austin. good call.)
here's what i wish someone would have told me, spoiler-free:
this book -- published in 1964, set the year before -- is more forthright, less ashamed, more delightfully lusty and yet undeniably domesticated in its queer love than probably anything i ever read that was written at or before that time (and more so than a great many books written since). i am only shocked at my own surprise and ignorance, and in that delightful way that i always feel when so boldly reminded that we are inventing none of this whatsoever, no matter how much freer we are to live it as we want.
emotional
slow-paced
3.5 rounded up.
At first, A Single Man seems simple, understated, and even a bit stagnant. I initially saw the movie, starring Colin Firth and Julieanne Moore, and was struck by the artistic vibe - the subtle despondency that clouds the entire plot. After the sudden death of his partner, (and no this is not a spoiler), readers witness the days that follow as George processes his emotion. Ranging from shock, to slight sexual deviance, to outright denial of emotion, his struggle feels really personal. I told a friend the entire book feels like a heavy blanket that you want to climb out from under, but instead, you're forced to sit there and endure. It's not really comfortable, but it seems important. You will not be uplifted by A Single Man, but you may understand how pain might be experienced, especially by a marginalized community. If you're looking for a fast plot or a book with a strong message, this may not be one for you either. It just is what it is.
After I finished reading, I slowly closed by book and sat in silence for a few minutes, simply existing. It's that kind of book.
“Think of two people, living together day after day, year after year, in this small space, standing elbow to elbow cooking at the same small stove, squeezing past each other on the narrow stairs, shaving in front of the same small bathroom mirror, constantly jogging, jostling, bumping against each other’s bodies by mistake or on purpose, sensually, aggressively, awkwardly, impatiently, in rage or in love – think what deep though invisible tracks they must leave, everywhere, behind them.”
At first, A Single Man seems simple, understated, and even a bit stagnant. I initially saw the movie, starring Colin Firth and Julieanne Moore, and was struck by the artistic vibe - the subtle despondency that clouds the entire plot. After the sudden death of his partner, (and no this is not a spoiler), readers witness the days that follow as George processes his emotion. Ranging from shock, to slight sexual deviance, to outright denial of emotion, his struggle feels really personal. I told a friend the entire book feels like a heavy blanket that you want to climb out from under, but instead, you're forced to sit there and endure. It's not really comfortable, but it seems important. You will not be uplifted by A Single Man, but you may understand how pain might be experienced, especially by a marginalized community. If you're looking for a fast plot or a book with a strong message, this may not be one for you either. It just is what it is.
After I finished reading, I slowly closed by book and sat in silence for a few minutes, simply existing. It's that kind of book.
“Think of two people, living together day after day, year after year, in this small space, standing elbow to elbow cooking at the same small stove, squeezing past each other on the narrow stairs, shaving in front of the same small bathroom mirror, constantly jogging, jostling, bumping against each other’s bodies by mistake or on purpose, sensually, aggressively, awkwardly, impatiently, in rage or in love – think what deep though invisible tracks they must leave, everywhere, behind them.”