drumpjoker 's review for:

A Single Man by Christopher Isherwood

4.0

reflective medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

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This book is brilliant on a visceral level. It taps into many levels and aspects of life. It plays and jumps between the many levels of living. It zooms in, seeing the cellular level of a living, in other words, dying, specimen. It zooms out a bit, and here we have George, or the many versions of George, defined by the linkages to his surroundings and the sociological roles he plays. At this level, we see George in the spectrum between Past and Future, through Jim, Charley, and Kenny. And then we zoom out more and see not human beings with human beings' concerns, but entities and ideas transferring. George is the symbol of the Old, Kenny the Young. George the Man, Charley the Woman. Yes, Isherwood is fucking mastered in bringing all of this together in a smooth flow with intentional pacing across the 151 pages. Some parts require lots of cognitive loads to follow through, and some parts, such as the drunk talk between George and Char, feel like a memo. And then that high school-like, pushy, flirty, and rushy dialogue between George and Kenny.

All of these interactions, of differences and alignments, come together under a limited volume and speak to the mastery of Isherwood. He did a very decent job to keep it going, on a fine line. Was it a hard read? Yes. Was it rewarding? Hell Yes! A book that you must reread.

P/S: I love how the book portraits a middle-age man, but I can always picture how 'young' he is.