With the trailer for *Poor Things* that came out last month (with its v reduced number of Scottish accents – odd for such a Scottish novel..) I’m glad Gray might be getting some posthumous but deserved recognition.
But does he have any name-brand recognition already? Or none at all? Even in the UK you’d be hard-pressed to find *Lanark,* his biggest novel, under bookshops’ letter G. Will Self called him the greatest (then-)living British writer. On the basis of the two novels I’ve mentioned, plus *1982 Janine* and I’d throw in the collection *Unlikely Stories, mostly* too, he is definitely up there. So why’s he not more widely read?
by maybethatsthepoint
17 Comments
interesting. will selfs word is worth taking, but no. I don’t think I’ve heard of him. was he maybe not published outside the UK?
I know here in Toronto when we hadmore bookstores than we do now, it was easy to find Lanark, Poor Things and 1982 Janine. I think Lanark in particular sold well, on a cult level, at least. I’ve bought it at least 4 times in paperback. These days he’s harder to find, but the adaptation of Poor Things might change that.
My SO (Belgian) read Lanark. I remember it because it had a naked woman on the cover and she was uncomfortable reading it on the train. She liked it though.
Read Janine 1982 in college for a “Madness in the Contemporary British Lit” class. Reminded me a lot of Irvine Welsh writing, specifically Filth and how the tape worm talked.
Lanark is one of those books that seemed to sit on bookstore shelves for years without being bought. At least in New York.
He always struck me as being one of those writers like Wyndham Lewis, whose books you can easily find in bookstores, without being able to find a single person who read them.
I’m in the US and have never heard of him.
I’m a huge fan here in the US, but I’ve never met any other fans here. (Bought a first edition Lanark at this AMAZING used book store in Berkeley, Serendipity Books, now sadly gone.)
Never heard of him, but I checked and Lanark is on Kindle Unlimited, so maybe I’ll give it a try.
I have a copy of Lanark but only because my aunt used to live near him and would trade scotch for books while she was teaching in Glasgow. Easily a top five book I’ve read and want to get into more of his work
My wife bought me, and I read Poor Things back in the late 90’s. I read one of his others after. I would guess he’s known in fairly literary circles, especially those 50 and older, but not to the general reader.
Ukraine. It is the first time I hear about him.
I live in Scotland and this is news to me. I must not get out enough.
Love Alasdair. Have most everything he published, including *Lanark* on both Canongate and Braziller, and all three of his version of Divine Comedy. Missing *Something Leather* and I’ll probably pick up *Every Short Story* sometime. *Lanark* was released again not too long ago, I think.
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In the US and Lanark is one of my favorite novels. I love his murals and one day hope to see them in person in Glasgow.