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Showing 1 - 22 of 22 matches in All Departments
SOON TO BE A MAJOR FILM STARRING EMMA STONE, FROM THE DIRECTOR OF THE FAVOURITE Winner of the Whitbread Novel Award and the Guardian Fiction Prize A life without freedom to choose is not worth having. Godwin Baxter's scientific ambition to create the perfect companion is realized when he finds the drowned body of the beautiful Bella, who he brings back to life in a Frankenstein-esque feat. But his dream is thwarted by Dr. Archibald McCandless's jealous love for his creation... But what does Bella think? This story of true love and scientific daring whirls the reader from the private operating-theatres of late-Victorian Glasgow through aristocratic casinos, low-life Alexandria and a Parisian bordello, reaching an interrupted climax in a Scottish church. ________________________ 'A magnificently brisk, funny, dirty, brainy book' London Review of Books 'Visionary, ornate and outrageous' The Independent 'Witty and delightfully written' New York Times 'A brilliant marriage of technique, intelligence, and art.' Kirkus Reviews 'The greatest Scottish novelist since Sir Walter Scott' Anthony Burgess Those who, like me, are unsure if they are Alasdair Gray fans or not, ought to fall on Poor Things with delight, and not just because of the almost excessive beauty of its appearance' Philip Hensher, Spectator
What strange secret made rich, beautiful, tempestuous Bella Baxter irresistible to the poor Scottish medical student Archie McCandless? Was it her mysterious origin in the home of his monstrous friend Godwin Baxter, the genius whose voice could perforate eardrums? This story of true love and scientific daring whirls the reader from the private operating-theatres of late-Victorian Glasgow through aristocratic casinos, low-life Alexandria and a Parisian bordello, reaching an interrupted climax in a Scottish church.
Jock McLeish, failed husband, lover and businessman is alone in a hotel room, drinking whisky, fantasising about sex and contemplating suicide. As he tries to distance himself from reality, his lonely, alcohol-fuelled fantasies are interrupted by a flood of memories, reminding him of his own shortcomings. An unforgettably imaginative book, deeply experimental in its form and charged with a dark humour, 1982, Janine is a searing portrait of male need and inadequacy. Gray's exploration of politics, religion, powerlessness and pornography has lost none of its power to shock and entertain.
It is the Swinging Sixties and Kelvin Walker has moved from Scotland to London to make his fortune. Through his wanton ambition, a megalomania surfaces that is unrelieved by his insensitive attempts at friendship and romance. Yet is he all bad, or are the true villains the establishment figures who he tricks and deceives? And, ultimately, does it matter? Gray's twist on the follies of religion, the media and the imperial British centre is as relevant now as ever.
The first thing I remember is... falling. A young man arrives in a dying city with seashells in his pockets. He doesn't know who he is, or how he got here. He goes by the only name he can think of: Lanark. Lanark is a portrait of the outsider artist as a young man, an exploded life story like no other. This theatrical re-imagining of Alasdair Gray's classic novel takes us from the Dragon Chambers to the Cathedral of Unthank, from the post-war Glasgow School of Art to the sinister underground Institute, from the heavenly city of Provan to the hellish Elite Cafe, combining science-fiction, realism, fantasy, and playful storytelling. 'Insanely ambitious... a heady, unsettling, unpredictable dream... this is a darkly playful and intriguingly dislocated evening in which chronological time, theatre's fourth wall, character conventions and all expectations get smashed.' Guardian Lanark: A Life in Three Acts was conceived in collaboration by David Greig and Graham Eatough and adapted for the stage in collaboration with the creative team. It was presented as a co-production between the Citizens Theatre and the Edinburgh International Festival at the Edinburgh International Festival 2015.
40th anniversary edition 'Probably the greatest novel of the century' Observer Lanark, a modern vision of hell set in the disintegrating cities of Unthank and Glasgow, tells the interwoven stories of Lanark and Duncan Thaw. A work of extraordinary imagination, its playful narrative conveys a profound message, both personal and political, about humankind's inability to love, and yet our compulsion to go on trying. First published in 1981, Lanark established Alasdair Gray as one of Britain's leading writers and kick-started the modern renaissance of Scottish literature.
The autobiography in words and pictures of the fascinating and acclaimed author of "Lanark," a key figure in postmodern art Alasdair Gray is known throughout the world for his writing, but he is also a highly regarded artist who not only illustrates and designs his own books, but has created many beautiful and intriguing portraits, paintings, posters, and murals. Alasdair started painting and writing from an early age, and in his seventies he's still vigorously doing both. In this autopictography he gathers together the work that has mattered most to him over the years, and weaves the story of his life through and around these pictures in his own unmistakable style. A beautifully and copiously illustrated book, designed by himself, this is life as seen by one of the millennium's most entertaining and wry creative geniuses.
Mungo McGrotty's career in Whitehall is going nowhere. But when he finds the mysterious (and deadly) Harbinger Report, he realises he can blackmail his way to the very top. This twisted Grayian retelling of the Aladdin story under the Thatcher regime sees our hero rise from pawn to power. But at what cost?
A man finds a bald patch on the back of his head that looks curiously like a face, then discovers he's splitting in two. A bored student suggests digging a tunnel into the foundations of the art school. An elderly man is healed by hundreds of tiny people working on repairs inside his own head. Unlikely Stories, Mostly is Alasdair Gray's first collection of short stories. Gloriously illustrated, darkly funny, and steeped in myth and fable, they capture Gray's singular imagination.
Now in paperback, an authoritative collection of Alasdair Gray's stories gathered over the last 25 years, with illustrations and information to amuse the curious reader The first 16 stories in this collection were published in 1983 with the title "Unlikely Stories, Mostly." The "Washington Post" called it "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" Bookseller" said "Gray's is an extravagant imagination." This collection also has 57 tales from later books, and 16 new ones published here together for the first time. This last section, Tales Droll and Plausible, shows that Gray's recent 21st century fiction is as uncomfortably funny and up-to-date as his earliest.
'Probably the greatest novel of the century' Observer 'Remarkable' William Boyd Lanark, a modern vision of hell, is set in the disintegrating cities of Unthank and Glasgow, and tells the interwoven stories of Lanark and Duncan Thaw. A work of extraordinary imagination and wide range, its playful narrative techniques convey a profound message, both personal and political, about humankind's inability to love, and yet our compulsion to go on trying. First published in 1981, Lanark immediately established Gray as one of Britain's leading writers.
The two-volume set LNCS 9981 and 9982 constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 15th International Semantic Web Conference, ISWC 2016, which was held in Kobe, Japan, in October 2016. The 75 full papers presented in these proceedings were carefully reviewed and selected from 326 submissions. The International Semantic Web Conference is the premier forum for Semantic Web research, where cutting edge scientific results and technological innovations are presented, where problems and solutions are discussed, and where the future of this vision is being developed. It brings together specialists in fields such as artificial intelligence, databases, social networks, distributed computing, Web engineering, information systems, human-computer interaction, natural language processing, and the social sciences. The Research Track solicited novel and significant research contributions addressing theoretical, analytical, empirical, and practical aspects of the Semantic Web. The Applications Track solicited submissions exploring the benefits and challenges of applying semantic technologies in concrete, practical applications, in contexts ranging from industry to government and science. The newly introduced Resources Track sought submissions providing a concise and clear description of a resource and its (expected) usage. Traditional resources include ontologies, vocabularies, datasets, benchmarks and replication studies, services and software. Besides more established types of resources, the track solicited submissions of new types of resources such as ontology design patterns, crowdsourcing task designs, workflows, methodologies, and protocols and measures.
A tale of border warfare, military and erotic, set in the twenty-third century, where the women rule the kingdom and the men play war games. This is the fictional memoir of Wat Dryhope - edited, annotated and commented upon. History has come to an end, war is regulated as if it's all a game. But Wat, the History Maker himself, does not play entirely by the rules, and when a woman, Delilah Puddock, joins the fray, this 'utopian' history is further enlivened. Alasdair Gray cleverly plays with the notion and writing of history, as well as perennial modern debates on war, sexism and society - entertaining and thought-provoking, this is a delightful satire illustrated throughout by the author.
In this masterful retelling of one of the greatest works of world literature, Alasdair Gray - in his last work - offers an original translation in prosaic English rhyme. Lyrical and modern, this complete edition brings all three parts of Dante's epic journey through Hell and Purgatory and on to Paradise together in a single volume for the first time.
'Reveals Gray's powers of insight and invention' Guardian 'One of the most vital retellings of the poem to date' Spectator Dante, now guided by Beatrice, faces the final third of his epic journey through the wheels of divine justice. Yet as he passes through the spheres of Heaven, he struggles with his faith, striving to understand the scales of good and evil that determine the fate of a human soul. The final book from Alasdair Gray, Paradise is a fitting conclusion to his own irreplaceable body of work, as well as to his masterful retelling of Dante's trilogy.
This extraordinary work is at one and the same time an account of a personal spiritual crisis and a hilarious spoof on academic learning, early Victorian values and materialism. In Sartor Resartus ('the tailor retailored') a fictitious editor retells the theories of an equally fictitious German professor who has come to the conclusion that human institutions and morals are only clothes to shield us from nothingness, clothes that can be changed as the whims of the age or fashion dictate. This radically deconstructive vision reveals the very highest symbols of belief for what they are - merely symbols. How to believe in anything after such an insight is a question even more acute today than it was in Carlyle's time, when he first asked it in this masterpiece of invention, parody and profound laughter. This Canongate Classics edition incorporates illustrations by Edmund Sullivan, reproduced as they appeared in the 1898 edition of the text. Also included is the notable Emerson preface to the original American edition and an incisive, specially commissioned introduction from Alasdair Gray.
In this frank, playful and typically unorthodox collection of essays, Alasdair Gray tells how his early life experiences influenced his writing, including the creation of those landmarks of literature, Lanark and 1982, Janine. He details the inspirations behind his many acclaimed artworks and murals, and makes clear how his moral, social and political beliefs and his work are inextricably linked. Incisive, funny and fired with passion, Of Me and Others is as much about people, place and politics as it is about Gray's own life in art.
The two-volume set LNCS 9981 and 9982 constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 15th International Semantic Web Conference, ISWC 2016, which was held in Kobe, Japan, in October 2016. The 75 full papers presented in these proceedings were carefully reviewed and selected from 326 submissions. The International Semantic Web Conference is the premier forum for Semantic Web research, where cutting edge scientific results and technological innovations are presented, where problems and solutions are discussed, and where the future of this vision is being developed. It brings together specialists in fields such as artificial intelligence, databases, social networks, distributed computing, Web engineering, information systems, human-computer interaction, natural language processing, and the social sciences. The Research Track solicited novel and significant research contributions addressing theoretical, analytical, empirical, and practical aspects of the Semantic Web. The Applications Track solicited submissions exploring the benefits and challenges of applying semantic technologies in concrete, practical applications, in contexts ranging from industry to government and science. The newly introduced Resources Track sought submissions providing a concise and clear description of a resource and its (expected) usage. Traditional resources include ontologies, vocabularies, datasets, benchmarks and replication studies, services and software. Besides more established types of resources, the track solicited submissions of new types of resources such as ontology design patterns, crowdsourcing task designs, workflows, methodologies, and protocols and measures.
Peers may describe him as 'a great writer ...perhaps the greatest living in Britain today,' (Will Self); but Alasdair Gray sees himself as 'a fat, spectacled, balding, increasingly old Glasgow pedestrian.' Such is the humour that abounds in Gray's first work of fiction in seven years. In these 13 Sorry Stories, Gray reaffirms his position as a master of the short story. Illustrated throughout with the author's own eccentric drawings, there are tales of love and loss as the body, ungracefully ages: stories of mischievous, old men and effective messages from Gray himself, proving he is not at the 'end of his tether'.
Published to collide with the General Election, this pamphlet is for anyone alarmed by the present British government of every nation in the British islands. It argues that each one of them can only become a democracy by becoming a republic. It shows how the Westminster Parliament has largely abandoned responsibility for the doings of those legal, security and welfare offices collectively known as the Crown. It is a passionate argument for responsible government, democracy and freedom.
One of the masterpieces of world literature, completed in 1320, Dante's La Divina Commedia describes his journey through Hell, Purgatory and his eventual arrival in Heaven. In this new version of Dante's masterpiece, Alasdair Gray offers an original translation in prosaic English rhyme. Accessible, modern and sublimely decorated, this remarkable edition told in three parts yokes two great literary minds, seven hundred years apart, and brings the classic text alive for the twenty-first century.
This text presents the books of Jonah, Micah and Nahum. The book of Jonah shows the people of Nineveh being forgiven, yet this overturns usual biblical narrative such as Micah and Nahum where Israel's enemies are expected to get their come-uppance. With an introduction by Alasdair Gray.
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