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70th out of 151 books
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69 voters
1982 Janine
1982, Janine is a liberal novel of the most satisfying kind. Set over the course of one night inside the head of Jock McLeish, an aging, divorced, alcoholic, insomniac supervisor of security installations, as he tipples in the bedroom of a small Scottish hotel, it makes an unanswerable case that republicanism is a state of absolute spiritual bankruptcy. For Jock McLeish, b
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76th out of 100 books
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3 voters
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Note: This is a review from March 18th 2007. Paul Bryant approved.
Anyone For Glum Scottish Fiction?
Following up the most important Scottish novel since Walter Scott published Waverley in 1814 must have been rather arduous for obsessive, self-taught polymath Alasdair Gray. Then again, arduous is more or less the status quo for the bruiser of contemporary Scottish fiction.
A few facts for those unfamiliar with Gray – born in Glasgow in 1934, the man is a walking encyclopaedia of literature who embr...more
Anyone For Glum Scottish Fiction?
Following up the most important Scottish novel since Walter Scott published Waverley in 1814 must have been rather arduous for obsessive, self-taught polymath Alasdair Gray. Then again, arduous is more or less the status quo for the bruiser of contemporary Scottish fiction.
A few facts for those unfamiliar with Gray – born in Glasgow in 1934, the man is a walking encyclopaedia of literature who embr...more
16 likes · like · see review
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Gray is an experimental novelist; this was his second novel. It takes tremendous risks with form, with the reader's sympathy, with coherence, and with the author's capacity to suspend disbelief. Gray is also a painter and printmaker, and he made the cover and drew his own self-portrait for the jacket. (More on that later.) The book also has some pages of graphical typography, which he says are unconsciously borrowed from "Tristram Shandy." (More on that later.)
The protagonist, John McLeish, is a...more
The protagonist, John McLeish, is a...more
Some of my most meaningful reading experiences have been the completely unexpected ones--not the comfort of reading a book from a favorite writer, but the shock of discovering something completely new, the thrill of grabbing a book that, for example, has been sitting on the backseat of my car for four months and for some unknown reason is the thing I pick up as I'm heading into a restaurant I don't even like for a lonely Saturday lunch.
Four months ago, I'd stumbled upon an interview with Alasda...more
Four months ago, I'd stumbled upon an interview with Alasda...more
9 likes · like · see review
Jul 19, 2011
Alan
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Anyone for whom a hero isn't necessarily the most important part of the story
Recommended to Alan by:
Sordid imaginings; long, lonely nights
I don't know where to begin. So much has been said already about 1982 Janine. The book doesn't need my apologetics—odds are, it'll just make you sad, unhappy or angry anyway. You could do a lot worse than to just read Will Self's Introduction to this edition, before proceeding on to the thing itself. But I want to share my impressions, even so.
1982 Janine has always struck me as sui generis, despite the author's own protestations and list of antecedents in the Epilogue—one of those rare and amaz...more
1982 Janine has always struck me as sui generis, despite the author's own protestations and list of antecedents in the Epilogue—one of those rare and amaz...more
This book was recommended by Will Self: an author who ‘had me at hello’, so I embarked on my first Alasdair Gray. The book does exactly what it says on the tin: erotic fantasy intermixed with philosophical ruminations and nostalgic recollections. But is it shocking? For Pauline Reage devotees, hardly. For virgins and/or Mills and Boon fans: just about maybe. Anyway, the erotic fantasies seem almost as an afterthought in this novel, despite the considerable amount of time Gray spent on constructi...more
4 likes · like · see review
My thoughts on this book can be summarized by one word: Interesting. It was not what I would call a page turner, but the unique writing style and presentation, along with the subject matter, had me quite intrigued. The book centers around a single character - Jock McLeish, an aging alcoholic security alarm installer who attempts to spend the night in a motel creating in-depth pornographic fantasies. These scenes become quite graphic at certain points in the novel and I've since read that apparen...more
The reviews of Gray's books are remarkably similar to those one finds on Kathy Acker's novels, so it's no surprise that I adored this book. Like Acker, Janine masquerades as a work of pornography, but it's really about gender, impotence resulting from global capitalism, pleasure despite (even, to spite) it, and, strangely enough, ends up being a story about love. I'm about to read another book of his that is out-of-print and was actually inspired by Acker's work...it's been a long time since I d...more
A terrific read but terribly depressing. Although it ends on an upnote, you've almost gone too far down to really believe the character could go back up again. Not having read too many (read: any) Scottish novelists, it was very interesting to think about a country that feels itself under the thumb of England. I enjoyed the political discussions, too--it's both strange and sad to see Marxism juxtaposed with Capitalism as a viable alternative; 30 years later, this kind of talk could only happen i...more
He invites the reader to participate in the narrative. The scenes shift, the wardrobes shift, the characters transform often and on the whim of the narrator who recounts...Reading 1982, Janine, becomes piecing fragments of the narrator/author's mind together, and enhancing those fragments with our mind, (as we seem to have permission to do.) The language also changes but remains consistently poetic/exploratory/fresh and inventive "Because Big Momma has taken off her denim waistcoat and blouse. B...more
This book was a wonderful surprise. I had never heard of the author before and read it more or less at random at the recommendation of a friend who thought I might like it. I was completely blown away. The action of the entire novel takes place over the course of one night in the mind of a middle-aged alcoholic installer of security systems. The opening chapters consist of the narrator's elaborate sexual fantasies involving the "Janine" of the title. Through the course of the book these fantasie...more
I don't quite know how to describe this book. It is about depression, suicide, sex, and divine intervention, and the text does some strange things at times. [return][return]I like it, but then I like weird stuff.
My lit snob friend, Robert, recommended Alasdair Gray to me. Generally, I cast aside his suggestions b/c I immediately assume that the books are too dense for my brain to handle, but I was attracted to Alasdair. I looked him up in Wiki and found that he describes himself as "a fat, spectacled, balding, increasingly old Glasgow pedestrian." Yep, he's someone I want to be friends with, and not only is he a writer, but he's an artist and illustrates all of his books. I dug through some of his books...more
Another terrifying piece of brilliance from Gray, who is perhaps my favourite writer, for now at least. Loved the typographical flights of fancy, and the whole thing was like a lesson in how to build a full human character and make them interesting. Painful at points, I'll be taking notes from Jock's life as an example of how not to lead mine. Slight redemption at the end? One complaint: the implication in Gray's epilogue that the Glasgow mafia helped get the book published. I hope that's a joke...more
Apr 27, 2008
Maureen
rated it
1 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
fetishists with dangerous sociopathic tendancies
Gray's own cover blurb says it best:
This already dated novel is set inside the head of an ageing, divorced, alcoholic, insomniac supervisor of security installations who is tippling in the bedroom of a small Scottish hotel. Though full of depressing memories and propaganda for the Conservative Party it is mainly a sadomasochistic fetishistic fantasy. Even the arrival of God in the later chapters fails to elevate the tone. Every stylistic excess and moral defect which critics conspired to ignore...more
This already dated novel is set inside the head of an ageing, divorced, alcoholic, insomniac supervisor of security installations who is tippling in the bedroom of a small Scottish hotel. Though full of depressing memories and propaganda for the Conservative Party it is mainly a sadomasochistic fetishistic fantasy. Even the arrival of God in the later chapters fails to elevate the tone. Every stylistic excess and moral defect which critics conspired to ignore...more
Dec 02, 2008
Tia
marked it as to-read
ah ha...
like so.
like so.
A most odd book...
Mad but great.
Expertly written middle-aged shame.
It's not porn.
Jock almost definitely exists.
G'on yersel' Jock!
It's not porn.
Jock almost definitely exists.
G'on yersel' Jock!
I hated this so much during the most of the reading of it. The character has a pornographic obsession with Janine, which is what primarily contributed to the difficulty of reading it. I kept at it because I trust Mr. Gray, and my trust was affirmed in that there is a major shift at the end of the book which accounts for my five-star, "it was amazing" rating.
Why doesn't anyone talk about what a badass Gray is? This entire book is a guy's inner monologue while he tries to get himself off. At one point he talks to god and god is like "Quit whining, dickhead."
Marxism, nationalism, love, Conservatism, the class system, secession, alcoholism, you name it. All wrapped up in a pansexual sado-masochistic fantasy. Lovely.
Gray has the ability to craft a story about bizarre S&M fantasies and insomniatic heartbreak that made me cry. This book will change how you feel about books in general.
I could have sworn I hadn't read this one - either my memory is at fault or it made very little impression on me.
Aug 11, 2008
Marta
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
joe plese
Recommended to Marta by:
will self
alasdair gray is a scottish socialist and painter and is unspeakably good. oh! this book is so sad! and hot! etc!
Difficult, challenging, interesting, a struggle at points but overall worthwhile.
introduction by Will Self c2003
May 22, 2013
Yasiru
marked it as to-read
May 19, 2013
Anna
marked it as to-read
May 15, 2013
Robert
marked it as to-read
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Alasdair Gray trained as a painter at the local Glasgow school of art. He was 47 when he published his first novel, Lanark (1981), which combines all sorts of genres, from sci-fi to autobiography and literary criticism, into a fantastic account of the city of Unthank - a thinly disguised Glasgow.
Gray shows an interest in sex which borders on the unhealthy, as indicated by the title of his 1990 nov...more
More about Alasdair Gray...
Gray shows an interest in sex which borders on the unhealthy, as indicated by the title of his 1990 nov...more
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“What would happen if most people tried to act intelligently on their own behalf? Anarchy. (....) So what can we do with this intelligence we don't need and can't use? Stupefy it. Valium for housewives, glue-sniffing for schoolkids, hash for adolescents, rotgut South African wine for the unemployed, beer for the workers, spirits for me and the crowd I left downstairs fifteen minutes ago.”
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2 people liked it
“Every stylistic excess and moral defect which critics conspired to ignore in the author's first books, LANARK and UNLIKELY STORIES, MOSTLY, is to be found here in concentrated form.”
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1 person liked it
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