Lanark: A Life in Four Books (Canons Book 1)

The cult classic Scottish novel of dreamlike fantasy and psychological realism: “a work of loving and vivid imagination, yielding copious riches” (The Times Literary Supplement). From its first publication in 1981, Alasdair Gray’s Lanark was hailed as a masterpiece, inspiring Anthony Burgess to proclaim Gray the most important Scottish novelist since Walter Scott. With its echoes of Dante, Blake, Joyce, Kafka, and Lewis Carroll, Lanark has been published around the world to unanimous acclaim. A man wakes up on a train with no memory and seashells in his pockets. He finds himself arriving in a peculiar place called Unthank—where the sun only comes up part-way and the inhabitants are prone to disappearing. He names himself Lanark and soon encounters a gallery of characters who suffer from joblessness, alienation, and strange maladies. The novel’s time-shifting narrative then draws readers into Lanark’s former life in Glasgow as it explores its twin themes of humankind’s inability to love and our compulsion to go on trying. This edition of Lanark features an introduction by the award-winning novelist Janice Galloway, as well as “Gray’s Tailpiece,” a fascinating addendum to the novel. “It was time Scotland produced a shattering work of fiction in the modern idiom. This is it.” —Anthony Burgess, author of A Clockwork Orange “A quite extraordinary achievement, the most remarkable thing in Scottish fiction for a very long time.” —Scotsman The cult classic novel of dreamlike fantasy and psychological realism by the author of Poor Things : A work of “vivid imagination, yielding copious riches.”— The Times Literary Supplement From its first publication in 1981, Alasdair Gray’s Lanark was hailed as a masterpiece, inspiring Anthony Burgess to proclaim Gray the most important Scottish novelist since Walter Scott. With its echoes of Dante, Blake, Joyce, Kafka, and Lewis Carroll, Lanark has been published around the world to unanimous acclaim. A man wakes up on a train with no memory and seashells in his pockets. He finds himself arriving in a peculiar place called Unthank—where the sun only comes up part-way and the inhabitants are prone to disappearing. He names himself Lanark and soon encounters a gallery of characters who suffer from joblessness, alienation, and strange maladies. The novel’s time-shifting narrative then draws readers into Lanark’s former life in Glasgow as it explores its twin themes of humankind’s inability to love and our compulsion to go on trying. This edition of Lanark features an introduction by the award-winning novelist Janice Galloway, as well as “Gray’s Tailpiece,” a fascinating addendum to the novel. “It was time Scotland produced a shattering work of fiction in the modern idiom. This is it.” —Anthony Burgess, author of A Clockwork Orange “A quite extraordinary achievement, the most remarkable thing in Scottish fiction for a very long time.” — Scotsman "A modern vision of hell, Lanark is set in the disintegrating cities of Unthank and Glasgow, and tells the interwoven stories of Lanark and Duncan Thaw. A work of extraordinary imagination and wide range, its playful narrative techniques convey a profound message, both personal and political, about humankind's inability to love, and yet our compulsion to go on trying. Widely recognized as a modern classic, Alasdair Gray's magnum opus was first published in 1981 and immediately established him as one of Britain's leading writers. Comparisons have been made to Dante, Blake, Joyce, Orwell, Kafka, Huxley, and Lewis Carroll. This new edition should cement his reputation as one of our greatest living writers."-- Amazon.com Lanark, a modern vision of hell set in the disintegrating cities of Unthank and Glasgow, tells the interwoven stories of Lanark and Duncan Thaw. A work of extraordinary, playful imagination, it conveys a profound message, both personal and political, about humankind's inability to love, and yet our compulsion is to go on trying. First published in 1981, Lanark immediately established Gray as one of Britain's leading writers, compared with - among others - Dante, Blake, Joyce, Orwell, Kafka, Huxley and Lewis Carroll. This new edition includes an introduction by William Boyd as well as the author's fascinating addendum, the 'Tailpiece' (2001). Probably the greatest novel of the century'Observer'Remarkable... A work of loving and vivid imagination, yielding copious riches'WILLIAM BOYD Lanark, a modern vision of hell, is set in the disintegrating cities of Unthank and Glasgow, and tells the interwoven stories of Lanark and Duncan Thaw. A work of extraordinary imagination and wide range, its playful narrative techniques convey a profound message, both personal and political, about humankind's inability to love, and yet our compulsion to go on trying. First published in 1981, Lanark immediately established Gray as one of Britain's leading writers. 'The best Scottish novelist since Sir Walter Scott' ANTHONY BURGESS The cornerstone epic, introduced by William Boyd