Also at the Guardian, Ian Sansom reviews Rodge Glass's biography of Gray:
"When Alasdair has been concentrating on work," remarks Glass, "and is given a good opportunity to speak about it, listening to him is like opening up his brain and watching the contents spill gloriously on the table." The book includes plenty of glorious Gray brainspill in the form of reported conversation, letters and miscellaneous remarks. "I've found your life to be a lot of fun," says Glass. "The point is ..." replies Gray, "IT DIDN'T SEEM LIKE MUCH FUN AT THE TIME!"
I've never read Gray, though every once in a while someone recommends Lanark. But what really sounds good--how did I miss this?--is The Book of Prefaces.
ReplyDeleteI love this line from the review of the biography: "What one really wants from a biographer, after all, is biography - a little taste of the juice in the fruit, or the gravy to go with the pie."