Old Men in Love

 I finished another novel, probably the only other one I will complete before the end of the year: Alasdair Gray's Old Men in Love. Looking tonight, I cannot find it in print. 

As much as I really like Alasdair Gray, it is difficult knowing between him exercising his sense of humor and just throwing things together. He admits to doing as much in the Epilogue. Maybe there is no difference - packing things together shows his sense of humor. There are several parts to this: the diary of John Tunnock, an introduction by a relative, the epilogue by a scholar, and four love stories as written by Tunnock. There are also notes provided by Alasdair Gray, the editor.  I do not think it matches up with Lanark, the only other novel I have read by Gray. It as uneven The Ends of Our Tethers, but not as bonkers (the bonkers part make the uneven parts irrelevant).

Alasdair Gray: Old Men In Love (Modern Novel) has a longer description of the plot, and concludes:

Does it work? In a way, it does. However, the three part novels are not very interesting and written in a more vernacular style than in the normal style we would expect from a historical novel. The longest one – about Prince – is particularly dull. The diaries are fascinating, as they concern an old man in love (and not old men) or, more particularly, an old man who wants sex and they show not only that but the generation differences in more than one way. But, ultimately, it is clear that Gray is no Italo Calvino. The fact that some of the work is recycled probably does not help. The idea of writing about the devil’s bargain is certainly interesting but, as Calder says, he could perhaps have chosen a better subject than Henry James Prince. John Tunnock is undoubtedly the more interesting character in this book. Perhaps Gray should have given us more of him.

I agree that Tunnock was the high point, but disagree about the Henry James Prince section. Prince, a historical figure, is a bonkers character. IIRC, Gray was an atheist, so his treatment of a man deluded by his own sense of divinity is interesting.

I gave it to KH for Christmas. He may read it before Lanark, which I think he has had for two years now. I think if you have not read Gray, this might be a way into his work. It might even provide insights into Lanark.

Some other reviews picked up tonight:

Old Men in Love by Alasdair Gray  (the complete review). I agree with the reviews, even those disparaging his plotting and character development. They just lack the imagination to keep up with Alasdair Gray. The site's own review includes:

   If the assemblage of different stories makes for a somewhat unfocussed whole, Gray's writing is a pleasure throughout. If anything, his firm (indeed, complete) command in the modern-day scenes -- Tunnock's diary and autobiographical prologue-chapters -- make the occasional sputtering or insecurity in the historical narratives seem worse than they are (and it must be said that Tunnock's repeatedly voiced concern that perhaps he's not doing justice to what he's writing about because he doesn't speak the language or know enough about the day-to-day lives his characters would have experienced makes any flaws more obvious again).
       There's a lot to Old Men in Love, but it's also simply a very good read (and here perhaps the variety works out well, as the almost constant change of focus means it's never boring). Very good indeed, and certainly recommended.

In case you have not been following my Alasdair Gray posts on here, let me give you a short introduction to him:

Alasdair Gray: unseen artworks offer insight into a profoundly creative and original artist (The Conversation)

A Gray’s place 

Who was Alasdair Gray? (The University of Strathclyde)

Great Glaswegians: Alasdair Gray - the Riddrie-boy who revolutionised Scottish literature (Glasgow World)

The Alasdair Gray Archive 

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