Customer Reviews
A dire novel. Simple as that. - By: Peter M, 15 Aug 2008 
I feel compelled to write this review as, after reading "Lanark", I completely fail to understand why this novel is heldin such high regard. I was looking forward to this novel after reading so much about it & how important it's placein Scottish writing etc is but, well, oh dear....
It's overlong & utterly pretentious, turgid rubbish. The post-modern elements of it are so contrived, it feels like it was composed by "a join-the-dots to make your make you own novel!" guide. The supposedly intelligent & genre-smashing technique of opening the novel on Book Three is a misnomer: the `plot' of "Lanark" is linear, & simply altering the numbers of sections does not disguise this fact. The desperately-tying-to-be-inventive sectionsin Unthank (oh, what a deliciously intelligent & thought provoking name for a fantastical society. Not) are lofty, whilst those more `conventional' sectionsin Glasgow are simply boring &in no way justified by the ridiculous length of the book.
"Lanark" screams 'look at me, look at me! I'm so artificially constructed & God, don't I just know it!' I found reading this novel aggravating & nauseating (not to mention time consuming!) Is it a joke? Or is the critical reaction to it the biggest joke of all?
Please don't email me saying I don't understand the novel etc. There's nothing to understand; the political posturing of an ill-informed sixth former (with apologies to sixth formers- that's a huge insult to compare them to Gray) & a composition so self-conscious that disappears up it's own behind through sheer self indulgence are not complex. Just annoying.
If you want good Scottish Literature, avoid this pretender to the throne like the plague.
self important - By: C. Nicklin, 28 Jun 2008 
I have read Gray before & he is obviously a man of intelligence & talent BUT, all the way through Lanark i had the feeling that the book is not as good as he thinks it is. At it's worst the prose are over descriptive & self indulgent, particularlyin book one & the start of book four. Book two stands alone as an excellent piece of literaturein itself, while book four eventually builds itself up to a high standard peaking with the epilogue, before going slowly downhill & finishing with a whimper. Lanark as a character seemed to be built up as a strong willed, determined man with principles. He finished up being somewhat of a cretin. This is explained to some extentin the epilogue [one man against the machine being ineffectual], but it still makes the end of the book comparatively uneventful & disappointing. A mixed book that I'm glad I read but wouldn't return toin a hurry.
Interesting And Bleak - By: Iain A Donaldson, 04 Sep 2001 'Lanark' clearly has some moments of greatness (namely the 'Epilogue'), but I couldn't help but have a niggling feeling that there was something I just wasn't getting. I'm sure it probably is a great book, I just don't think I took the time to get it. Why am I writing a review then? Well, everyone else seems to love it so I thought I'd show some difference of opinion. Duncan Thaw is good, but no Prentice McHoan!
Wow - By: , 13 Aug 2001 
Lanark is,in so many ways, a straight forward tale of two people-who may or may not be one & the same- struggling through their difficult lives. Gray, however, has taken these two tales & twisted them mesmerically together &in doing so has undoubtedly produced one of the most original & exciting novels ever. Lanark, under the pen of any other author, would be two fairly regular stories, but Gray's wit & skill has turned it into something breath-taking. His epiloguein particular showcases his intelligence & arrogance as a writer. A real must-read.
This is a book that quite literally changed my life. - By: , 17 Jun 2000 A book that is an exemplar of anti-realist fiction - more importantly, it overturns all what you would expect a conventional novel to be. It changed the way that I viewed fiction & was a revelatory experience. By reading Lanark, I totally reviewed the way that I read novels & it lead me into a completely new & exciting pathways. If you only ever read one book, read this one - especially the epilogue!
