Customer Reviews

Book Of Man

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

...is the main theme of this plangent novel, set in Scotland's lower depths amidst the literal & spiritual wreckage left by the Thatcher era. The prose is beautiful, the characters warmly realized, & the experience, though sad, is also exhilarating.

...is the main theme of this plangent novel, set in Scotland's lower depths amidst the literal & spiritual wreckage left by the Thatcher era. The prose is beautiful, the characters warmly realized, & the experience, though sad, is also exhilarating.

With two recent titles of Barry Graham's cancelled due to Incommunicado Press going, well, incommunicado, I'm dismayed to see this book fall out of print. Luckily, it's available used. Here Graham is at the top of his form, delivering brutality and hope at a relentless clip. There's nothing forced here, nothing false. Innovations in technique are employed towards a definite end, not just to look hip. The dialogue is perfect, the characters seem real, and I'm convinced after finishing it that if there is any justice in the world (and there is a little left) BOOK OF MAN will be remembered as one of the finest novels of the 90's.
My only gripe? The cover design and the plot summary on the back make the book seem a lot more flip and dated than it is. And that's the publisher's fault, not Graham's, so I don't know why I'm bothering to mention it...

Fans of writers like Irvine Welsh, Charles Bukowski, and Eileen Myles will find this riveting. It should be on the shelf of every aspiring fiction writer. It should be in print. It should be next on your list.

The Book of Man -- A story of a mans love for a friend -- for his lover and mother of child -- and for his son. I read the book in one sitting. Barry goes back and forth in memories -- so ya gotta be quick. Couldn't put the book down. ....amazing!

This book is a masterpiece. I have never read anything else that comes close. (I haven't read his other books, but I'm going to now.) I can't even describe how good this book is. Please read it.

The Book of Man is the most touching piece of thrash fiction I've ever read. Barry Graham made me laugh, gag, cry and fall in love.