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A Single Man
  
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A Single Man (Paperback)

by Christopher Isherwood (Author)
4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)

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Product details

  • Paperback: 158 pages
  • Publisher: Methuen Publishing Company (Dump list); New e. edition (27 April 1978)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0417028504
  • ISBN-13: 978-0417028507
  • Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 156,713 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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    #8 in  Books > Fiction > Authors, A-Z > I > Isherwood, Christopher

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Product Description

Review
His key postwar work. A quarter-century ahead of its time in its portrayal of a quotidian homosexual life, it inspired a generation of gay writers in Britain and the US --Independent --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Review
This mix of humour and stoicism in the face of pent-up grief is essential Isherwood --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

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Customer Reviews

4 Reviews
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Average Customer Review
4.5 out of 5 stars (4 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Stunning! undervalued masterpiece from an undervalued author, 7 Nov 2001
By c westwood (London) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)      
This review is from: A Single Man (Paperback)
Isherwood's writing had as many ups and downs as a rollercoaster, which he would have been the first to admit, but this is (I think) the rose amongst the thorns that were his 'middle' books - a sensitive, heart warming and tender depiction of the life of a middle aged, gay male in mid-century America. This was the first of his books I read, and lead me to read all the others.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant, 15 Nov 2007
This review is from: Single Man (Paperback)
This is Isherwood's finest piece of writing. Chanced upon it in a library, having heard about his Berlin novels and decided to give "Single Man" a go.

Isherwood's brilliance is his attention to detail, bringing to the reader's attention the world with an almost visceral quality, whilst retaining a resounding subtlety that makes this book really stand out. It is truly outstanding and a book for those who know about books.

Easily read in one sitting it is a book you can return to every now and again without feeling like you could be doing something better with your time.

The story revolves around an old man, lecturer at an LA university and a stranger to his neighbours. The people he meets during his routine are cause for much of the story's development, addressing key themes in the process.

This is my favourite book. It is well worth a read. If at all interested in North American literature (J.D. Salinger, Sylvia Plath, Douglas Coupland to name a few) and its concern with lonliness and the search for meaning and identity then this will be a book for you.
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4.0 out of 5 stars Essential, 7 Aug 2008
By Erastes (Norfolk, UK) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Single Man (Paperback)
When I told a friend about this book, I said "it's very well written" and she said "Well, der! Isherwood!" and I laughed. But then I've only read Goodbye to Berlin and I was very young then, and didn't know good from bad.

It's possibly one of the most perfect little books I've read, absorbing from the first page and written in such a way that it feels like first person but it's actually written in third, astoundingly clever to my eyes. You get as easily into George's head as if it were first person.

Set over 24 hours, it simply covers his thought processes as he moves through the day and you learn a lot about him and the world in which he lives. From the first section he touches your heart as - as anyone who has suffered bereavement will understand - he wakes up and remembers again that his lover is dead. But he's not pessimistic about his outlook - he doesn't like the way that conservatism is encroaching upon the once bohemian area where he lives - once where there was artists and poets and easy sexual values, families are moving in, with more straight-laced ideals, but in juxtaposition to this, he loves youth.

He teaches at the University and the scenes with the Gidget-era youth are rather sweet and truly give a window into a lost American world. He does watch the athletes for his own enjoyment which was a nice touch.

I loved his optimism, despite how much he missed Jim, and the way that he finds the light and the dark in his life. He interacts with many people throughout the day, he's not at all an isolated person, but I was left feeling that he was spinning on the spot, lonely despite all the people who know and care from him. Without the one intimate friend he needed.

And really - that's about it apart from(spoilers below) He's a truly likeable guy, and towards the end of the book he's feeling optimistic about life. He had a lovely drunken evening first with a neighbour and then with a student friend, skinny dipping and a lot of drink. It's difficult to tell whether anything happened, but I don't think it did. He goes to bed at the end of his 24 hours feeling that it was time that he moved on with his life and that he was ready to look for love again. What would have been far more realistic and upbeat would have been if Isherwood had left it there. It would have been lovely to think that's what George does next. But - whether for literary merit - or for the tradition that - in books of this period - all gay guys MUST die at the end - he doesn't. And it was the ending that spoiled it for me and made me want to throw the book across the room, and made it lose a five star ranking.
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4.0 out of 5 stars brilliant but flawed
When I told a friend about this book, I said "it's very well written" and she said "Well, der! Isherwood!" and I laughed. Read more
Published 11 months ago by Erastes

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