Isherwood, Christopher: A Single Man

Dieses Buch ist ein fantastischer Einblick in die Atmosphäre von Los Angeles im November 1962 und fesselt mich von Seite zu Seite. Ich war absolut begeistert von dieser Geschichte!

Interessant!

Jederzeit gerne wieder.

die Geschichte gefällt mir sehr

“A Single Man“ deals with grief and loss on such a profound level that I am asking myself whether someone can fully understand the book if they have not yet lost someone as important to them as Jim was to George.The books is about a day in the life of a middle-aged professor called George who has lost his long-term lover and partner of 28 years in a car accident. George wakes up and the only thing getting him out of bed in the morning is not his will to live but rather “the cortex, that grim disciplinarian” that “[takes] its place at the central controls” and makes the body – IT – “lever[…] itself out of bed.”George seems to have a split identity. There is the George that everyone knows, that the one who drives to university, that who smiles and talks and then there’s the George no one sees, the George behind the mask, who drowns in his own grief. And one day in his life is all the reader needs to know about George. There is no deeper layer to that man. There is nothing of interest that would entice me to learn more about this character.Isherwood’s language is prosaic and beautiful. Though However it doesn’t change the fact that due to George’s grief and the use of a stream of consciousness, the whole book feels very cynical. The cynicism, his grief and George’s distaste for his neighbours and their children seem to find their realization in the absurdness that is Charlotte: “Charley” - George’s lady-friend who has been deserted by both husband and son. She stands for “a George gone wrong”; a person who can’t hide their personal misfortunes; who drinks in the morning and all through the day; who is so lonely that she wants George to visit her, even though she knows that he doesn’t really feel like it.The portrayal of the only female character of relevance reminded me a lot of the portrayal of Maggie in Tennessee William’s “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof”. Both women are desperate and both characters haven’t been treated kindly by their respective authors. Isherwood’s portrayal of Charlotte is questionable at best.This is one of those rare instances where I would recommend everyone who has read the book to watch the film adaption by Tom Ford. Whereas if you have seen the film and are interested in the book that inspired it, you might end up disappointed, for the film is ultimately better than the book.