Old Men In Love
Encyclopedia
Old Men In Love is a novel by Alasdair Gray
, published by Bloomsbury in 2007. Adapting its central conceit - that it represents a found manuscript by one John Tunnock, which Gray merely edits - from the author's earlier Poor Things
, the writing presented as Tunnock's likewise recycles earlier material by Gray. Tunnock's unfinished trilogy of novels, based on the lives of Socrates
, Fra Lippo Lippi and Henry James Prince, are thus re-workings of earlier stage and television drama by Gray. Such unoriginality is pointed out in the afterword to the novel (a trick Gray employs earlier in Something Leather
) by the literary critic Sidney Workman (a fictitious alter-ego used in his debut novel, Lanark
). Old Men In Love was met with an ambiguous critical reception, praised for its striking design and diverting contents, criticised for its lack of substance and cynical derivation from earlier material. Writing in the Observer, James Purdon commented that "In form as well as subject matter, this is probably the most twitchily onanistic fiction since Portnoy's Complaint
".
Alasdair Gray
Alasdair Gray is a Scottish writer and artist. His most acclaimed work is his first novel Lanark, published in 1981 and written over a period of almost 30 years...
, published by Bloomsbury in 2007. Adapting its central conceit - that it represents a found manuscript by one John Tunnock, which Gray merely edits - from the author's earlier Poor Things
Poor Things
Poor Things is a novel by Scottish writer Alasdair Gray, published in 1992. It won the Whitbread Novel Award in 1992 and the Guardian Fiction Prize for 1992....
, the writing presented as Tunnock's likewise recycles earlier material by Gray. Tunnock's unfinished trilogy of novels, based on the lives of Socrates
Socrates
Socrates was a classical Greek Athenian philosopher. Credited as one of the founders of Western philosophy, he is an enigmatic figure known chiefly through the accounts of later classical writers, especially the writings of his students Plato and Xenophon, and the plays of his contemporary ...
, Fra Lippo Lippi and Henry James Prince, are thus re-workings of earlier stage and television drama by Gray. Such unoriginality is pointed out in the afterword to the novel (a trick Gray employs earlier in Something Leather
Something Leather
Something Leather is a novel by Alasdair Gray which was published in 1990. Its framing narrative is the story of June's initiation into sado-masochistic activities by the female operators of a leather clothing shop in Glasgow....
) by the literary critic Sidney Workman (a fictitious alter-ego used in his debut novel, Lanark
Lanark
Lanark is a small town in the central belt of Scotland. Its population of 8,253 makes it the 100th largest settlement in Scotland. The name is believed to come from the Cumbric Lanerc meaning "clear space, glade"....
). Old Men In Love was met with an ambiguous critical reception, praised for its striking design and diverting contents, criticised for its lack of substance and cynical derivation from earlier material. Writing in the Observer, James Purdon commented that "In form as well as subject matter, this is probably the most twitchily onanistic fiction since Portnoy's Complaint
Portnoy's Complaint
Portnoy's Complaint is the American novel that turned its author Philip Roth into a major celebrity, sparking a storm of controversy over its explicit and candid treatment of sexuality, including detailed depictions of masturbation using various props including a piece of liver...
".
External links
- BBC Collective interviews Alasdair Gray on Old Men In Love, October, 2007.