- Paperback: 336 pages
- Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd; New edition edition (5 Aug 1993)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0140175547
- ISBN-13: 978-0140175547
- Product Dimensions: 19.4 x 12.8 x 2.8 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 54,411 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Description
Anthony Burgess
"The greatest Scottish novelist since Sir Walter Scott"
--This text refers to an alternate
Paperback
edition.
The List Festival Guide 9-15th August 2001
"It wouldn't be an exaggeration to hail Alasdair Gray as one of Scotlands greatest living novelists."
--This text refers to an alternate
Paperback
edition.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
19 of 21 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Fascinating, intelligent and entertaining. These are just some of the conclusions that I have come to in the year since I first read Poor Things. Is Baxter a man or a creation himself?Why does he have such bizarre eating habits? Similarly, is Bella quite the woman she believes herself to be? What happened to her daughter? Why can she not write using vowels? How does she learn to relate to the world around her? This is a very clever re-write of Shelly's Frankenstein, itself a text that is very concerned with issues of language and how we aquire it.That, however, is not all it is. It's also a really good romp around such key areas of examination such as class divide,feminist issues and Empire in the Victorian world of the Industrial Revolution .You be the detective sifting through the authors 'found' collection of journals and letters ( a classic Victorian writing device). Enjoy the artwork and take time afterwards to ponder what you have read. How can you ignore a novel in which the main female character (Bella) turns a noted philanderer into a Bible-bashing lunatic as a result of her insatiable nymphomania? I'm still thinking about what I've read and that doesn't happen often with me. A modern classic!
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is a kooky story, told with warmth and charm. Gray's imagination is never less than fecund and highly flavoured, his characters are so real you can smell them. Another reviewer mentioned that there's a distinct flavour of Scot, but it doesn't get in the way of the text so don't let it put you off. He reminds me of Anthony Burgess in terms of his sense of fun, confidence and style, and the way he will make a story into something original and lovely of his own. Enjoy the ride.
Format:Paperback
This is a strange little book. Bizarre characters and an even more bizarre plotline, would on most occasions be a big turnoff for me. Yet I found myself unable to put this book down, and a month after first reading it I found myself reading it again!
Quirky Characters, and a certain depth of feeling, combine to instill within the reader a certain warmth. I honestly can't put my finger on it as to why I enjoyed 'poor things' quite as much as I did? But it is certainly a book I would recommend.
Quirky Characters, and a certain depth of feeling, combine to instill within the reader a certain warmth. I honestly can't put my finger on it as to why I enjoyed 'poor things' quite as much as I did? But it is certainly a book I would recommend.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Poor Things
This book is totally different to what I normally read but having picked it up and read a few pages in an office I had to keep reading. Poor Things
Published 13 months ago by Joan Anderson
A RELATIVELY CHALLENGING NOVEL, BUT QUIRKY AND ENTERTAINING
unusual book. Interesting and informative, albeit silly at times. Would be surprised if the author had not been influenced by Sterne's Tristram Shandy.
Published 17 months ago by Educated Hausfrau
Intriguing, titillating and impressive
Behind a front of Victorian correctness is a book of abandon and excess, both in its content and its style. Read more
Published on 16 Mar 2010 by Ignorant Bystander
Quality writing, exceptional visual presentation
As usual with Gray, the design is superlative.
Published on 14 May 2000
Yuck!
Highly pretentious! A ridiculously stupid main character set within an even stupider plot! This novel takes itself too seriously from cover to cover (and, indeed, even the cover... Read more
Published on 28 April 2000
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