- Paperback: 176 pages
- Publisher: Sceptre; 2 edition (4 Jan 1990)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 034050918X
- ISBN-13: 978-0340509180
- Product Dimensions: 19.4 x 12.8 x 1.2 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 161,211 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- See Complete Table of Contents
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More About the Author
Product Description
Review
'A sad, brilliant, joyful tribute to the dreams that never make it' (Sunday Express )
'Angry as well as compassionate. It is a most effective and innovative piece of writing' (Guardian )
'McIlvanney's great skill lies not only in illuminating those fleeting event which hint at, or embody greater truths, but in evoking an entire life within the compass of a few hundred words' (Sunday Times )
'Angry as well as compassionate. It is a most effective and innovative piece of writing' (Guardian )
'McIlvanney's great skill lies not only in illuminating those fleeting event which hint at, or embody greater truths, but in evoking an entire life within the compass of a few hundred words' (Sunday Times )
Guardian
'Angry as well as compassionate. It is a most effective and innovative piece of writing'
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
In this collection of short stories, we visit the familiar McIlvanney landscapes of Glasgow and Ayrshire. In these stories we visit some characters we've already encountered in his other work, and we meet some new ones too. Without exception they all seem to be losers in life's lottery, though some of them, like Fast Frankie White, see themselves as winners in the image they project to the world. A wry, sometimes sad, sometimes funny, look at Scotland and an assortment of its people, which I would recommend as an introduction to McIlvanney's style if you haven't read him.
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This book tests all emotions in one book.
It's funny, heart searching, tear jerking thought provoking. Mr McIlvanney knows how to bring his characters to life and make his readers feel that they have at least rubbed shoulders with them in everyday life.
A wonderful book. Highly recommended to even the most reluctant reader.
Format:Paperback
This book was published in 1989 and contained 20 short stories, the author's first published collection.
The writer's best known for works set in or around contemporary Glasgow. The pieces here portrayed people stuck in dead-end jobs, marriages or lives, and sometimes rebelling against them. Themes included unfulfilled dreams and private longings, the need to seize the day, marriage or a job as a prison sentence, and the power of imagination to liberate.
After many downbeat stories, the last few contained a few positives such as a prison inmate's refusal to capitulate, an adult's second chance at love, an older couple's continuation despite their bickering, and the hopefulness of youth. I enjoyed the linked themes of many of the works. A few of the lesser pieces remained vignettes.
Dubliners it's not, but it was worthwhile for the use of language and insight into the author's concerns.
The writer's best known for works set in or around contemporary Glasgow. The pieces here portrayed people stuck in dead-end jobs, marriages or lives, and sometimes rebelling against them. Themes included unfulfilled dreams and private longings, the need to seize the day, marriage or a job as a prison sentence, and the power of imagination to liberate.
After many downbeat stories, the last few contained a few positives such as a prison inmate's refusal to capitulate, an adult's second chance at love, an older couple's continuation despite their bickering, and the hopefulness of youth. I enjoyed the linked themes of many of the works. A few of the lesser pieces remained vignettes.
Dubliners it's not, but it was worthwhile for the use of language and insight into the author's concerns.
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