- Mass Market Paperback: 304 pages
- Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd; New edition edition (12 April 1984)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0140069259
- ISBN-13: 978-0140069259
- Product Dimensions: 19.6 x 12.7 x 2.5 cm
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 500,741 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
Unlikely Stories, Mostly (Canongate Classics)
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More About the Author
Product Description
Product Description
Alasdair Gray's first book of short stories is a masterful collection that further established him as one of Scotland's most original and important writers when it first appeared in 1983. This new edition, includes a new unlikely story, "Inches in a Column", that was lost at the time of original publication.
"An impressive, playful and beautiful book..". -- Times Literary Supplement
"The book is a wonder of ingenuity, a varied and rich collection in which Gray's abilities as a visual artist and illustrator are placed not only beside but within the products of his fertile imagination as a writer". -- The Washington Post --This text refers to the Paperback edition.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
9 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Gray's second turn, following his indespensible debut "Lanark", is a book that truly desrves the epithet "iconoclastic". We have never seen its like before nor, sadly, will we ever again. A series of short narratives that recall the surrealism and invention of "Lanark"'s 3rd and 4th books and that lay down the recurring themes that would mark Gray's work throughout the 1980s. From the opening tale of "The Star", a narrative written when Gray was only 17 and already displaying his prodigious talent, through the typographical pyrotechnics of "Logopandocy" to the utterly sublime "Five Letters from an Eastern Empire", Gray never fails to astonish or disappoint. As you would expect from the erstwhile artist, it is also a gorgeous book to behold, embellished with Gray's quirky black & white illustrations throughout and experimental typesetting that would come to a head in "1982, Janine".
"Unlikely Stories" is a perfect starting place for those curious about the work of Scotland's greatest living writer as well as essential for fans of his other work.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
4 reviews
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
i bought this man a drink
1 Aug 1999
Format:Paperback
and he said "whiskey" and I said "with what" and he said "just whiskey, I'm scottish."
this book is an irreplacable companion to any trip to Scotland. this book is neat. oh, and so much more.
as with all of Alasdair's work it is a lyrico-poetic journey through a scots writer's personal Scottish playland. and it is also a mini-history of his literary efforts, something not all of us can be proud of, but Alasdair's talent is such that he has been producing gems since infancy.
why four stars? the big long story in the middle. logopoan -- something. thoroughly unsatisfying and makes you ask, "Alasdair, Alasdair, what were you thinking?" Maybe I'd like it more if I was Scottish. I'm not.
But Prometheus. . . wow. Please read this story. Writer or artist or rocket surgeon. . . it'll change the way you look at things. Isn't that why we read books??
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Unlikely author, mostly
31 Aug 2001
Format:Paperback
1982 Janine is Gray's best book (and his own favourite) but is difficult to get hold of, Lanark is his most important but difficult to get through, Poor Things is his most successful but not weighty enough. Unlikely Stories, Mostly is just right -- like Little Bear's porridge.
This book is more an anthology of Gray's early works than a collection of stories. One was written when he was 15, others were written when he was at Art College. Considering he was 46 when it was published, there's hope for all of us. Highlights are Five Letters From an Eastern Empire, a masterful portayal of censorship in art and the control a dictatorship can have on creative minds; the Tale of the White Dog, after reading it you'll be more enquiring about your potential in-laws; and The Cause of Some Recent Changes.
Some dislike the long central story Logopandocy. However if, before reading it, you know it is about a real person and the high-falutin' dense, sometimes willfully obscure, language accurately reflects Urqhuart's own writing (in fact, tones it down considerably) you may enjoy it more.
But despite the writing itself, the book would be a joy to own just for the way it looks. The paperback is a poor substitute for the original hardback, but is still one of the most beautiful mainstream publications you can own. The original had a slip inserted, which said "Erratum: This slip has been inserted by mistake". The whole is smothered in Gray's own wicked illustrations, inspired by Blake, Eric Gill and Stanley Spencer. I can't really recommend this highly enough.
This book is more an anthology of Gray's early works than a collection of stories. One was written when he was 15, others were written when he was at Art College. Considering he was 46 when it was published, there's hope for all of us. Highlights are Five Letters From an Eastern Empire, a masterful portayal of censorship in art and the control a dictatorship can have on creative minds; the Tale of the White Dog, after reading it you'll be more enquiring about your potential in-laws; and The Cause of Some Recent Changes.
Some dislike the long central story Logopandocy. However if, before reading it, you know it is about a real person and the high-falutin' dense, sometimes willfully obscure, language accurately reflects Urqhuart's own writing (in fact, tones it down considerably) you may enjoy it more.
But despite the writing itself, the book would be a joy to own just for the way it looks. The paperback is a poor substitute for the original hardback, but is still one of the most beautiful mainstream publications you can own. The original had a slip inserted, which said "Erratum: This slip has been inserted by mistake". The whole is smothered in Gray's own wicked illustrations, inspired by Blake, Eric Gill and Stanley Spencer. I can't really recommend this highly enough.
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Quite Likely, Really
25 Jan 2007
Format:Paperback
Lurking betwixt the whacky covers which feature gray Gray art, are these brilliantly witty little tales which explode between your ears. Think of Vonnegut, Kafka, even Philip Dick, or the late great Robert Altman's shock/horror movie,'Images'. No, this is not the comfort zone, but the stimulation zone, the traveller's tonic...the world re-mapped in Surrealist vent and the colonisers' grasp in all the wrong places. Powers are misplaced and misappropriated. Vasco Pyjama(thank you Michael Leunig) is out there at the far edge of consciousness. Start anywhere in the collection (though they're arranged chronologically for those so fixed on 'development'). Anyway, I'd start with'The Spread of Ian Nichol' as a primier and don't draw breath until you've finished,'The Axel Tree' with its Swiftian swipe at Modernism. Go Alisdair! This is my grey pick since its advent to my shelves during a bitter mid 1990s winter.
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