When A Single Man was originally published, it shocked many by its frank, sympathetic, and moving portrayal of a gay man in midlife. George, the pr...
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Apr 24, 2010
Evan
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This book is a truly beautiful thing; a completely exquisite experience. Page after page it spoke to me, as eloquently and profoundly as any book I've ever read. It was sad and funny and wise and observant without ever becoming sentimental or maudlin.
In 186 pages of concentrated, yet langorous, stream-of-consciousness prose Isherwood gets to the heart of what means to be a middle-aged man, a loner, a fish out of water, an expatriate on several levels -- as a Britisher in a new land, More...
In 186 pages of concentrated, yet langorous, stream-of-consciousness prose Isherwood gets to the heart of what means to be a middle-aged man, a loner, a fish out of water, an expatriate on several levels -- as a Britisher in a new land, More...
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Oct 12, 2011
Lavinia
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I'm one of those people that would have never read "A Single Man" if it weren't for Tom Ford and Colin Firth. To be truly honest, I think I'd rather watch the film again than reread the book (despite some changes in the film version), and that's mostly for the incredible cinematography, the stunning interiors and have you noticed how awesome Colin looks in those suits?
However, one year apart, I've totally forgotten one important detail: everything happens in an ordinary, augm More...
However, one year apart, I've totally forgotten one important detail: everything happens in an ordinary, augm More...
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Jun 03, 2009
Iris
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An intense, subtle page-turner that will so absorb you that you'll wonder if you've briefly become another person. Specifically, the keen main character, George, who we follow through a day in which he thinks about Jim, his recently deceased partner, while he walks through life: driving to Laurel Canyon, teaching an Aldous Huxley novel in a lecture hall, going to the gym, passionately opining, and observing others' awkwardness or obliviousness around his gayness. Isherwood's focus on careful obs
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(4 people liked it)
Jan 06, 2010
Eric
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A Single Man is a day in the life (quaint naturalist device, that) of a middle-aged Englishman and English professor grieving in a numbed, autopilot kinda way after the recent death of his partner. I remember Don Bachardy saying in the film Chris and Don: A Love Story that Isherwood wrote this novel during one of their trial separations; the intensity of George’s sense of loss was therefore underwritten by Isherwood’s own dreadful imagination of life without Don.
I loved George’s mor More...
I loved George’s mor More...
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(17 people liked it)
Dec 12, 2010
Shelley
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Very rarely does a film entice me to read the novel afterwards, but this one did. It is a short day-in-the-life story about an English professor, George and how he was coping with the loss of his partner. I was amazed with what few details were shared about Jim, I was feeling the loss profoundly right along with him. It was wonderful - the prose was spare and the feelings of sadness and loneliness were powerfully captured. I loved it.
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Dec 29, 2009
Gail
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If you have not read Christopher Isherwood you have missed the work of a brilliant author. This particular book was praised by the NY Times as "...a sad, sly report on the predicament of the human animal." Isherwood's prose is spare, mesmerizing; his words well chosen, succinct, meaningful. Most importantly, his writings are true.
When first published about a half century ago A SINGLE MAN was considered shocking as it portrayed for the first time the life of a gay man, Geor More...
When first published about a half century ago A SINGLE MAN was considered shocking as it portrayed for the first time the life of a gay man, Geor More...
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Jan 04, 2012
Andreea
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Oh, Mr Isherwood my heart breaks for you. How could it not with lines like these:
Because the persecuting majority is vile, says th liberal, therefore the persecuted minority must be stainlessly pure. Can't you see what nonsense that is? What's to prevent the bad from being persecuted by the worse? Did all the Christian victims in the arena have to be saints?
I think, to a large extent, Isherwood's purpose in this extraordinary book was to show that a mature attempt at ensu More...
Because the persecuting majority is vile, says th liberal, therefore the persecuted minority must be stainlessly pure. Can't you see what nonsense that is? What's to prevent the bad from being persecuted by the worse? Did all the Christian victims in the arena have to be saints?
I think, to a large extent, Isherwood's purpose in this extraordinary book was to show that a mature attempt at ensu More...
Jun 27, 2011
Dolly
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Walking in the rain cowering under a decrepit umbrella I inadvertently caught glimpse of A Single Man in the bookshop window. Having read the book and recently seen the film I started thinking about the latter’s unfulfilled promise and that perhaps it is impossible to credibly enact the abreaction of heartbreak. Irrespective of this notion I must concede that Colin Firth did a stellar job playing George Falconer, an impeccably well-groomed and dapper 58 year old English professor, domiciled in
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May 18, 2011
Savs (Savvy Escapades)
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A Single Man is yet another of the books I am currently reading for my Modern Novel class, and I also have the fabulous opportunity of reading it under the guidance of one of the most dedicated Isherwood scholars around. From the very first passage, you know you are reading something fantastic. Isherwood doesn't have the impressionistic style of Woolf, and he doesn't feel the need to write EXACTLY how people think, like Joyce. He simply lets a few thoughts run, and sees where they go for howe
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May 02, 2011
Chelsea
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A Single Man, Christopher Isherwood’s novella, focuses on a day in the life of George, a slightly-more-than-middle-aged English professor at a California University who, from the first page, is mourning the recent and sudden death of his lover, Jim. George gets ready for work, goes about his day, and can’t keep himself from alternately enjoying so much of the beauty he sees around him (there is quite a beautiful description of two men playing tennis who George turns into Demigods) and being dist
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Apr 05, 2011
This is a hauntingly beautiful book portraying one day in the life of 58 year old George. Written in stream-of-consciousness, the reader is privy to George's unrelenting struggle to cope after losing his lover of 16 years.
Though it has been a year since Jim died, George finds each day difficult, and the simple act of dressing, driving, functioning as a college professor and relating to students, co-workers and friends requires much more energy and emotion than he is capable of exhibiti More...
Though it has been a year since Jim died, George finds each day difficult, and the simple act of dressing, driving, functioning as a college professor and relating to students, co-workers and friends requires much more energy and emotion than he is capable of exhibiti More...
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Nov 27, 2010
Gerry
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How do you go about reviewing Christopher Isherwood [“A Single Man,” Methuen & Co. Ltd., 1964, Vintage Classics, 2010] without the urge to genuflect at the beginning of each chapter? Answer: You don’t! It is somewhat similar to reviewing E.M. Forster, or perhaps Charles Dickens. To comment on Isherwood’s strengths as a writer would be presumptuous to say the least. His strengths lie in each word, times the number of words in a phrase, multiplied by the number of phrases in a paragraph, etc., etc
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Nov 21, 2010
Rachel
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After getting a new job this fall 1.4 miles away from my home, I decided it'd be fun to walk to/from work and listen to an audiobook. Through searching the local library's selections, I decided to pick this as my first audiobook. I knew it had been recently made into a movie (with one of my favorite actors, Colin Firth), and the story intrigued me.
Admittedly, I'm not sure I got as much out of the book as I would have had I read it. I find myself daydreaming while listening to an aud More...
Admittedly, I'm not sure I got as much out of the book as I would have had I read it. I find myself daydreaming while listening to an aud More...
Oct 11, 2010
Alan
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A Single Man is a day in the life of George, a man who recently lost his male lover in an auto accident. From waking up, to having breakfast, to driving to work where he fantasizes and converses with co-workers and students as he goes through his day as an English professor at a state college in Los Angeles. While George steps through his routine, the ghost of his dead lover, Jim, flits in and out, a constant reminder that no matter how many people George surrounds himself with, he is still al
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Sep 21, 2010
Patrick
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I read this book after seeing the film of the same name, Tom Ford's directorial debut, which was a beautiful portrait of a grieving middle-aged gay man whose partner is suddenly killed in a car crash. The characters of the novel are portrayed in similar but different, subtler and more poignant ways. What I liked more about the novel was its ability to make us feel simultaneously sympathetic toward and scared of George. In the book, we only empathize with him and feel for his loss, and admire
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(2 people liked it)
Apr 26, 2010
Joan
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Apr 18, 2010
C.C.
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This novel about one 24-hour day in the life of a gay English professor, an expatriate Brit living in Los Angeles during the 1960s, was recently made into a film. I knew of Christopher Isherwood but hadn't read anything by him. This novel was amazing--lovely prose, clear and original descriptions of what it feels like to be human. The protagonist, George Falconer, is a quiet but witty intellectual struggling with the phenomenal sadness of his partner Jim's death within the last year. He wake
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Feb 26, 2010
It’s 1962 and the Cuban missile Crisis has left most Americans fearful of complete annihilation by the Russians. But George, a middle-aged professor at San Tomas State College in Los Angeles, is afflicted with grave issues of his own. He lost his partner the year before in a tragic car accident and—when alone—he’s still numb with grief. Christopher Isherwood’s A Single Man follows a day in George’s life…a day that begins with George’s routine morning despondency, his mid-day encounters at school
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Jan 17, 2010
David
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A Single Man tells one day in the life of George, a man trying to cope with his day to day existence after the death of his partner, Jim. This is a no holds barred portrayal of his existence. We meet George as he awakens in the morning, starting his day, coming to the determination that he must get out of bed, shower, dress, get ready to face his day. From there we follow him through the actions of the day, driving to work, teaching classes (he's a professor at the university), interacting with
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Jan 09, 2010
Ray
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This was an excellent novel. And, as a bonus prize, I now feel off the hook from ever even having to attempt to read "Ulysses."
Apparently Edmund White claims "A Single Man" as the first modern gay lit. And I would have to agree. This fits right in with every Violet Quill book I have ever read.
More importantly, the prose is exquisitely beautiful and full of insights. And as another bonus, it is sort of a love letter to mid-century So Cal (even if it More...
Apparently Edmund White claims "A Single Man" as the first modern gay lit. And I would have to agree. This fits right in with every Violet Quill book I have ever read.
More importantly, the prose is exquisitely beautiful and full of insights. And as another bonus, it is sort of a love letter to mid-century So Cal (even if it More...
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Dec 17, 2009
Elizabeth
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The stunning trailer to the upcoming movie based on this novel is perfectly matched by Isherwood's prose (let's hope the movie lives up to both). This book takes place in a single day of a single man's life, and is best read in one day as well (I would have read it in one sitting if I didn't have a meeting to attend). Isherwood perfectly paces the novel, alternately advancing its action and stepping aside to ruminate on the political and social climate of the time (early 1960s). Though the book
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Nov 16, 2011
Dakota
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Wow! Chose randomly from the shelf of my childhood public library after going through surgery, loss of home through hurricane and death of a friend.
very few books to read when you are in certain states; spiritual books get redundant, mindless books don't hit the spot...and suddenly there was this book. read it slowly...cliche adjectives: bitingly funny! tender yet bawdy! gay without queenie! written in the sixties, but exlcluding one of two pc (wincingly) incorrect references totally curren More...
very few books to read when you are in certain states; spiritual books get redundant, mindless books don't hit the spot...and suddenly there was this book. read it slowly...cliche adjectives: bitingly funny! tender yet bawdy! gay without queenie! written in the sixties, but exlcluding one of two pc (wincingly) incorrect references totally curren More...
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Apr 13, 2010
Ayu
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A Single Man takes us to one day in the life of George, a homosexual English professor living in America. In one day, we won't know much about George's life, but at the same time, Isherwood gives us a chance to know much about George and feel sympathy for him. We see how he feels lonely after his boyfriend cheated him then died, and somehow isolated. Honestly, this is not a kind of book that I'll read again and again. I even doubt that it'll be on my favourite list.
Yet Isherwood is More...
Yet Isherwood is More...
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Mar 29, 2010
shana naomi
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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 vague
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(4 people liked it)
Feb 02, 2010
Sarah
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I read about the film A Single Man in the New York Times; the review was very favorable. The movie is based on a novel of the same title, and since the reviewer called the novel "a foundational text in modern gay literature," I decided to read it. I don't have a lot of previous experience with Christopher Isherwood's work, other than Berlin Stories, which was, of course, the basis for the film Cabaret. I found the novel A Single Man incredibly beautiful, somewhat heart-breaking. The no
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Jan 06, 2012
Sofia
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Dec 30, 2011
K.D.
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Christopher Isherwood (1904-1986) was an English novelist who pioneered the writing of novels with gay themes in English literature. He was openly gay, lived with and befriended fellow gay men some of them were famous also like W. H. Auden and Truman Capote. At some points in his life, he also became friends and was mentored by E. M. Forster. In turn, when he met Ray Bradbury in a chance encounter in a bookstore, he wrote a glowing review for his The Martian Chronicles that helped launch the lat
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(13 people liked it)
Apr 12, 2011
Catie
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I am not sure if I am just ignorant of what the humor was like in the 60’s, or if Christopher Isherwood was way ahead of his time, but this book definitely has what I would call a modern sense of humor. It’s that special blend of bittersweet heartbreak, self-deprecation, and sardonic wit. I am very familiar with this type of humor from my favorite movies and television shows, but I am pleasantly surprised to find it here, in this brilliant little book that, on the surface, appears to be about
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(9 people liked it)
Mar 10, 2011
Oleg
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A Single Man is the unusual type of book that is complemented by a movie rather than overshadowed or insulted by it. Having seen the movie first, I was struck by the differences in a good way. Isherwood's George is not necessarily Tom Ford's George but the loneliness, the internal conflict between private/public George, the weight of life after a significant loss permeate both characters in such a way that neither is less effective than the other. This is a powerful novella and it comes highly r
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Jun 30, 2010
Jackie
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