A Single Man by Christopher Isherwood
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Book Reviews of A Single Man
Book Review: "The readiness to remain at cross-purposes..."
Summary: 4 Stars
Concise - from a mechanically detailed opening of the daily start-up of George, to his increasing fluidity during the day's course to the guttering sputter of his own engine at the book's close. The conflict of his grief over his partner's death and the act of getting on with life - and at moment's enjoying himself, with and without guilt. The taughtness is excruciating. George's moments longing for release are always so close but just of of reach - not witheld, but self-denied.Book Review: A Different Perspective
Summary: 4 Stars
I read the book to get a deeper understanding of the movie, and instead got a different perspective. The characters are the same, but they have different messages for the reader. The movie and the book give two somewhat different versions of the main characters and reveal what a screenwriter can do when translating a book into a movie. Both versions are plausible.Book Review: Interesting read
Summary: 4 Stars
So I purchased this book after seeing the movie and have to say that this is one of the few instances when the film is actually better than the novel. Don't get me wrong, I liked the book and the elements included there in that did not make their way onto the screen, but reading it really highlighted the great work that Ford et.al. did on the film.Book Review: A Single Man
Summary: 4 Stars
"A Single Man' was a homosexual who lost his lover due to an accident...Homosexuals suffer a loss just like everyone else, but perhaps it may be more difficult and stressful since the relationship may be closetedBook Review: a quiet and subtle page turner
Summary: 3 Stars
From the back of the book: "In this brilliantly perceptive novel, a middle-aged professor living in California is alienated from his students by differences in age and nationality, and from the rest of society by his homosexuality. Isherwood explores the depths of the human soul and its ability to triumph over loneliness, alienation, and loss."
As you can perhaps tell from the plot summary, this book doesn't have a plot. It is actually not my kind of book at all, and yet despite my misgivings I found myself enjoying the story more than expected.
A Single Man is the recounting of one day in George the professor's life, literally from the moment he wakes up to when he goes back to bed. It's slice of life fiction, the snapshot of time. George is in an unusual situation: his longterm partner Jim has recently passed away and he is in a society where being gay is seen at best as an oddity.
George's only recourse to his bereavement is to keep on going as he always has, and find a safety net in that routine. As such the book very much focuses on the mundane details of George's day to day life -- his walk to university, lecturing the students, the small interactions he has with people.... And I think that's a strength of the book. The story is a very intimate portrayal of grief and loneliness, and how these emotions can touch even the smallest things.
The writing is sparse, succinct, and most of all very honest; we get to see George, warts and all. And yet there is a distance, too -- George is still numb, and being an intellectual he views things often dispassionately. The end result is a touching and dark portrayal of the human condition which reaches out even to the modern reader with its fumbling attempts to create relationships in order to give some meaning to existence.
In sum, it's a stark narrative, but a quiet and subtle page turner. George feels like he could be your next door neighbour, your friend, or even you.