1982, Janine
LC Class | PR6057.R3264 A616 1984 |
1982, Janine is a novel by the Scottish author Alasdair Gray. His second, it was published in 1984, and remains his most controversial work. Its use of pornography as a narrative device attracted much criticism, although others, including Gray himself, consider it his best work.
Plot summary
The novel is narrated by Jock McLeish, a supervisor of the installation of alarm systems.
McLeish attempts to spend the night assembling an intricate
Literary significance & criticism
On the first hardback and paperback editions, Gray wrote that "This already dated novel is set inside the head of an ageing, divorced, alcoholic, insomniac supervisor of security installations who is tippling in the bedroom of a small Scottish hotel. Though full of depressing memories and propaganda for the Conservative Party it is mainly a sadomasochistic fetishistic fantasy. Even the arrival of God in the later chapters fails to elevate the tone. Every stylistic excess and moral defect which critics conspired to ignore in the author's first books, Lanark and Unlikely Stories, Mostly, is to be found here in concentrated form." In a 2000 interview, Gray said "When writing the pornographic parts of 1982, Janine I was deliberately shocking myself. Though I think it my best novel I cannot now reread it - I'm back to being as old fashioned as I was before imagining it."[1]
1982, Janine polarised critics like few other novels in modern literary history. The
In an introduction to the 2003 Canongate Classic edition, Will Self argues that the controversial pornographic fantasies illustrate McLeish's repression of his past real love affairs, reflect his reactionary political stance, and show the effects of his childhood experiences. McLeish's linking of sex with the idea of "homecoming" originates in his difficult relationship with his mother.
Self also notes the significance of the title, 1982 being "a point at which Scotland could be said to have reached just one of its many nadirs". This lowpoint included the destruction of the coal industry which had employed McLeish's father, under a Conservative government of which McLeish is a supporter.
Dave Langford reviewed 1982, Janine for White Dwarf #55, and stated that "God and several SF themes make guest appearances, and there's a chapter of the most boggling typography since early Alfred Bester. This one knocked me flat."[3]
References
- ^ "Interview with Professor Lidia Vian on Gray's official website". Archived from the original on 29 January 2010. Retrieved 27 March 2009.
- ^ "1982, Janine - Lanark 1982: an unofficial Alasdair Gray website". Archived from the original on 13 February 2008. Retrieved 16 January 2008.
- ^ Langford, Dave (July 1984). "Critical Mass". White Dwarf (55). Games Workshop: 20.
Further reading
- Alasdair Gray (1 July 2010). 1982 Janine. Canongate Books. ISBN 978-1-84767-444-9.