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A History Maker
A tale of border warfare, military and erotic, set in the twenty-third century, where the women rule the kingdom and the men play war games. This is the fictional memoir of Wat Dryhope - edited, annotated and commented upon. History has come to an end, war is regulated as if it's all a game. But Wat, the "History Maker" himself, does not play entirely by the rules, and when a woman, Delilah Puddock, joins the fray, this 'utopian' history is further enlivened. Alasdair Gray cleverly plays with the notion and writing of history, as well as perennial modern debates on war, sexism and society - entertaining and thought-provoking, this is a delightful satire illustrated throughout by the author.
240 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1994
7 people are currently reading
416 people want to read
About the author
Alasdair Gray
97 books896 followersAlasdair James Gray was a Scottish writer and artist. His first novel, Lanark (1981), is seen as a landmark of Scottish fiction. He published novels, short stories, plays, poetry and translations, and wrote on politics and the history of English and Scots literature. His works of fiction combine realism, fantasy, and science fiction with the use of his own typography and illustrations, and won several awards.
He studied at Glasgow School of Art from 1952 to 1957. As well as his book illustrations, he painted portraits and murals. His artwork has been widely exhibited and is in several important collections. Before Lanark, he had plays performed on radio and TV.
His writing style is postmodern and has been compared with those of Franz Kafka, George Orwell, Jorge Luis Borges and Italo Calvino. It often contains extensive footnotes explaining the works that influenced it. His books inspired many younger Scottish writers, including Irvine Welsh, Alan Warner, A.L. Kennedy, Janice Galloway, Chris Kelso and Iain Banks. He was writer-in-residence at the University of Glasgow from 1977 to 1979, and professor of Creative Writing at Glasgow and Strathclyde Universities from 2001 to 2003.
Gray was a civic nationalist and a republican, and wrote supporting socialism and Scottish independence. He popularised the epigram "Work as if you live in the early days of a better nation" (taken from a poem by Canadian poet Dennis Leigh) which was engraved in the Canongate Wall of the Scottish Parliament Building in Edinburgh when it opened in 2004. He lived almost all his life in Glasgow, married twice, and had one son. On his death The Guardian referred to him as "the father figure of the renaissance in Scottish literature and art".
He studied at Glasgow School of Art from 1952 to 1957. As well as his book illustrations, he painted portraits and murals. His artwork has been widely exhibited and is in several important collections. Before Lanark, he had plays performed on radio and TV.
His writing style is postmodern and has been compared with those of Franz Kafka, George Orwell, Jorge Luis Borges and Italo Calvino. It often contains extensive footnotes explaining the works that influenced it. His books inspired many younger Scottish writers, including Irvine Welsh, Alan Warner, A.L. Kennedy, Janice Galloway, Chris Kelso and Iain Banks. He was writer-in-residence at the University of Glasgow from 1977 to 1979, and professor of Creative Writing at Glasgow and Strathclyde Universities from 2001 to 2003.
Gray was a civic nationalist and a republican, and wrote supporting socialism and Scottish independence. He popularised the epigram "Work as if you live in the early days of a better nation" (taken from a poem by Canadian poet Dennis Leigh) which was engraved in the Canongate Wall of the Scottish Parliament Building in Edinburgh when it opened in 2004. He lived almost all his life in Glasgow, married twice, and had one son. On his death The Guardian referred to him as "the father figure of the renaissance in Scottish literature and art".
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 36 reviews
June 11, 2013
Let’s Pretend This Lengthy Sentence is Pronounced with a Scottish Accent and Whisky Breath
This modest tale by a legendary "fat old asthmatic Glaswegian" named Gray (neither of us, despite resemblances in nomenclature, age, appearance, style and subject matter, claims any relationship of consanguinity or affinity with the other) purports to record woad warrior Wat Dryhope’s apologia for his short botched life in a lively concoction or cornucopia of economica, politica, utopia, heroica and erotica that aspires to a state of fusion but inspires mainly confusion, though it may be excused primarily because it strives only for the comic rather than the tragic mode and secondarily because it is accompanied by stylish hand-drawn illustrations of women’s breasts that would appeal to wee young men or boys not intimately acquainted with this or any other private part of the female anatomy, .
This modest tale by a legendary "fat old asthmatic Glaswegian" named Gray (neither of us, despite resemblances in nomenclature, age, appearance, style and subject matter, claims any relationship of consanguinity or affinity with the other) purports to record woad warrior Wat Dryhope’s apologia for his short botched life in a lively concoction or cornucopia of economica, politica, utopia, heroica and erotica that aspires to a state of fusion but inspires mainly confusion, though it may be excused primarily because it strives only for the comic rather than the tragic mode and secondarily because it is accompanied by stylish hand-drawn illustrations of women’s breasts that would appeal to wee young men or boys not intimately acquainted with this or any other private part of the female anatomy, .
April 2, 2023
Rec. by: Previous work; Books and More in Yachats, OR
Rec. for: Makers of history
Sprawling and prickly and bloody and bawdy, A History Maker is very much an Alasdair Gray novel, and I've been an admirer of Gray's work for decades now, so when I saw a copy of this book in a tiny bookstore in Yachats, Oregon, I had to pick it up. The late Alasdair Gray (he died in 2019) was himself a history-maker of sorts—a Scottish writer whose literary experiments were unlike any other. Novels like Lanark and 1982, Janine, for example, are simply sui generis—and this slim novel is very likely the last of Gray's that will be new to me.
A History Maker is speculative fiction, set in 2234 A.D., and men have learned nothing—aye, less than nothing—in those centuries to come, for in this adamantly, artificially pastoral utopia countries do not exist, and wars do not exist, but men stupidly still fight. They do so with swords, as if 'twere hundreds if not thousands of years agone; their battles are mannered set-pieces overwatched by floating "public eyes" whose prurient gaze is fed to watchers all over the globe, and after their conflicts are over the warriors repair to their homes to be repaired. All of which makes this work more science-fictional than most of Gray's oeuvre. Rigorous scientific extrapolation was never Gray's forte, though. His 23rd Century seems less like a plausible extrapolation than a distorted, satirical reflection of our own present, reminding me (in a mirror-image way) of Will Self's thorny post-apocalyptic The Book of Dave.
Or, if you'd like another oblique and barely-relevant pop-culture reference, the song that kept running through my head as I read A History Maker was "Love Vigilantes," by Iron & Wine.
Wat Dryhope is our protagonist:
Wat may even be a history-maker: he does not fit in with his stable society, and in fact this one man (along with one woman) comes to pose a terrible threat to that long-standing social order. But... the title of his memoir is a self-directed insult. Wat doesn't see himself as a history-maker, nor would he be proud of such an achievement, even if it were one he recognized.
Wat isn't the best interpreter of his own actions' consequences, though, and it's not entirely clear whether Gray is as naïve as Wat—to believe that secret societies and governments would ever have ended. Gray distances us from Wat both explicitly and implicitly throughout the novel, in fact—by casting him in the third person (explaining that Wat wrote himself that way), and by being merciless toward Wat—toward, I suspect, himself.
And A History Maker only occasionally descends into pure fantasy:
Later on, Wat does wisely observe that
Gray was always willing to play with the structure of his works, too. Wat Dryhope's narrative ends abruptly, with more than 50 pages of A History Maker left to go. An extended section of Notes and Glossary, not at all skippable, conclude the story.
A History Maker may not have made history, and I'll admit that I was not as enamored of this one as I have been of Gray's others... but perhaps that's just my own jaded view of history talking, more than anything else.
Rec. for: Makers of history
Sprawling and prickly and bloody and bawdy, A History Maker is very much an Alasdair Gray novel, and I've been an admirer of Gray's work for decades now, so when I saw a copy of this book in a tiny bookstore in Yachats, Oregon, I had to pick it up. The late Alasdair Gray (he died in 2019) was himself a history-maker of sorts—a Scottish writer whose literary experiments were unlike any other. Novels like Lanark and 1982, Janine, for example, are simply sui generis—and this slim novel is very likely the last of Gray's that will be new to me.
A History Maker is speculative fiction, set in 2234 A.D., and men have learned nothing—aye, less than nothing—in those centuries to come, for in this adamantly, artificially pastoral utopia countries do not exist, and wars do not exist, but men stupidly still fight. They do so with swords, as if 'twere hundreds if not thousands of years agone; their battles are mannered set-pieces overwatched by floating "public eyes" whose prurient gaze is fed to watchers all over the globe, and after their conflicts are over the warriors repair to their homes to be repaired. All of which makes this work more science-fictional than most of Gray's oeuvre. Rigorous scientific extrapolation was never Gray's forte, though. His 23rd Century seems less like a plausible extrapolation than a distorted, satirical reflection of our own present, reminding me (in a mirror-image way) of Will Self's thorny post-apocalyptic The Book of Dave.
Or, if you'd like another oblique and barely-relevant pop-culture reference, the song that kept running through my head as I read A History Maker was "Love Vigilantes," by Iron & Wine.
Wat Dryhope is our protagonist:
"Rage not sorrow is my disease."
—p.31
Wat may even be a history-maker: he does not fit in with his stable society, and in fact this one man (along with one woman) comes to pose a terrible threat to that long-standing social order. But... the title of his memoir is a self-directed insult. Wat doesn't see himself as a history-maker, nor would he be proud of such an achievement, even if it were one he recognized.
Wat isn't the best interpreter of his own actions' consequences, though, and it's not entirely clear whether Gray is as naïve as Wat—to believe that secret societies and governments would ever have ended. Gray distances us from Wat both explicitly and implicitly throughout the novel, in fact—by casting him in the third person (explaining that Wat wrote himself that way), and by being merciless toward Wat—toward, I suspect, himself.
And A History Maker only occasionally descends into pure fantasy:
Millionaires faced the fact that their private havens would only be perfectly safe in a world where most people were safe.As if the rich wouldn't just plan to hire more guards...
—p.172
Later on, Wat does wisely observe that
If Napoleon's poetic ambitions or Hitler's artistic ones had been attended to and encouraged they would have done less damage.This put me in mind of my own short effort, "Defusing the Dictator".
—p.213
Gray was always willing to play with the structure of his works, too. Wat Dryhope's narrative ends abruptly, with more than 50 pages of A History Maker left to go. An extended section of Notes and Glossary, not at all skippable, conclude the story.
A History Maker may not have made history, and I'll admit that I was not as enamored of this one as I have been of Gray's others... but perhaps that's just my own jaded view of history talking, more than anything else.
January 2, 2016
Totally wonderful!
Alasdair Gray is absolutely one of my favourite fiction writers.
I have been reading Rodge Glass's biography of Gray recently and he has nothing good to say about this particular novel, but to be honest his criticisms baffle me. Glass declares that A History Maker is hastily written, ends too abruptly (and that the loose ends are tied up by a cheat), that the characters are thinly drawn, that the novel is mostly a political rant with no momentum of its own, and that it's clear Gray's heart wasn't really in it. He even contends that he has never met a Gray fan who rates this novel highly.
Well, I am a massive Gray devotee and I rate this novel very highly indeed...
It's science fiction but also historical, philosophical and political fiction. It's a novel of ideas but there's action too. It's sombre, tragic but also amusing. The characters live in my mind strongly, however briefly they are introduced on the page.
I consider this to be yet another magnificent book from a writer who is unquestionably the best living author in Britain today. Just my view.
Alasdair Gray is absolutely one of my favourite fiction writers.
I have been reading Rodge Glass's biography of Gray recently and he has nothing good to say about this particular novel, but to be honest his criticisms baffle me. Glass declares that A History Maker is hastily written, ends too abruptly (and that the loose ends are tied up by a cheat), that the characters are thinly drawn, that the novel is mostly a political rant with no momentum of its own, and that it's clear Gray's heart wasn't really in it. He even contends that he has never met a Gray fan who rates this novel highly.
Well, I am a massive Gray devotee and I rate this novel very highly indeed...
It's science fiction but also historical, philosophical and political fiction. It's a novel of ideas but there's action too. It's sombre, tragic but also amusing. The characters live in my mind strongly, however briefly they are introduced on the page.
I consider this to be yet another magnificent book from a writer who is unquestionably the best living author in Britain today. Just my view.
August 9, 2024
“Calendars were invented to help us keep appointments with each other. Using them to cut us off from a host of the dead is like using fire to burn a library instead of keeping it warm.”
I’d be lying if I said that I wasn’t disappointed by “A History Maker.” Being a huge fan of Alasdair Gray, I wonder at the ability of some great writers to put out total flops. The last time I remember this happening was Don DeLillo’s COVID cash-grab “The Silence.” This isn’t to say that “A History Maker” is a book without merit. It’s use of endnotes as a way to continue the plot, the playing with literary form, is typical Gray, and to be honest I live for tricks like that. But this strange attempt at a medieval Scottish dystopian comic—this socialist commentary on historiography, erotics, gender, and war—collapses under the weight of its own ambition.
Gray tries to articulate too many interesting ideas at once without sharpening or distilling them as they deserve to be. It’s as if the reader has before them a beautiful and complex puzzle, incomplete, lucid in clustered combined corners, while some pieces have fallen off the table and been eaten by the dog. His dispossessed gangrels, wandering nomads expelled from the Eden of the competitive, rich minority, are fascinating in their lack of presence (considering they are forgotten by the elite and therefore by written history). Powerplants too, domestic produces that synthesize commodities to please the wealthy, and The Public Eyes—floating bubbles of eyes that follow and record events in history, are fascinating concepts that could have been taken straight out of an Orwell or Huxley novel. And yet little is dedicated to these themes. Instead, the reader is stuck in a limbo of long battle sequences, discussions on intergalactic politics and war moratoriums.
Alongside “Lanark,” “Poor Things”, and “Janine, 1982” this book, though it claims to be the opposite, is more tragic than comic. It reads easy—almost too easy. The dialogue felt rushed and, even with the medieval Scottish rural dialect, felt at times strangely vacuous. I certainly enjoyed the last 50 pages the most, during which the obscurities of the book become clearer, but in the end I did not find them clear enough to warrant having read them at all. An example of a top-tier writer with a high-concept fumbling it into a sloppy, haphazard execution.
I’d be lying if I said that I wasn’t disappointed by “A History Maker.” Being a huge fan of Alasdair Gray, I wonder at the ability of some great writers to put out total flops. The last time I remember this happening was Don DeLillo’s COVID cash-grab “The Silence.” This isn’t to say that “A History Maker” is a book without merit. It’s use of endnotes as a way to continue the plot, the playing with literary form, is typical Gray, and to be honest I live for tricks like that. But this strange attempt at a medieval Scottish dystopian comic—this socialist commentary on historiography, erotics, gender, and war—collapses under the weight of its own ambition.
Gray tries to articulate too many interesting ideas at once without sharpening or distilling them as they deserve to be. It’s as if the reader has before them a beautiful and complex puzzle, incomplete, lucid in clustered combined corners, while some pieces have fallen off the table and been eaten by the dog. His dispossessed gangrels, wandering nomads expelled from the Eden of the competitive, rich minority, are fascinating in their lack of presence (considering they are forgotten by the elite and therefore by written history). Powerplants too, domestic produces that synthesize commodities to please the wealthy, and The Public Eyes—floating bubbles of eyes that follow and record events in history, are fascinating concepts that could have been taken straight out of an Orwell or Huxley novel. And yet little is dedicated to these themes. Instead, the reader is stuck in a limbo of long battle sequences, discussions on intergalactic politics and war moratoriums.
Alongside “Lanark,” “Poor Things”, and “Janine, 1982” this book, though it claims to be the opposite, is more tragic than comic. It reads easy—almost too easy. The dialogue felt rushed and, even with the medieval Scottish rural dialect, felt at times strangely vacuous. I certainly enjoyed the last 50 pages the most, during which the obscurities of the book become clearer, but in the end I did not find them clear enough to warrant having read them at all. An example of a top-tier writer with a high-concept fumbling it into a sloppy, haphazard execution.
June 17, 2010
An unusual serving of speculative fiction with socialist undertones, topped off with mild wit, cleverness, and a ludicrous amount of explanatory notes.
It isn't remarkably well-written by Gray's standards, but followers should be mildly entertained.
The artwork is impeccable as always: almost more impressive than the book itself.
It isn't remarkably well-written by Gray's standards, but followers should be mildly entertained.
The artwork is impeccable as always: almost more impressive than the book itself.
May 9, 2010
A medieval science fiction novel set in the far future. Gray conjures up a future world to examine warfare and communal living within a warm Scottish vernacular. For such a slim volume there is a lot of philosophical musings of an experienced mind, which gets the grey matter swirling.
April 19, 2023
Ein erstaunliches und bizarres Buch, von dem ich nicht genau sagen kann, ob ich es gelesen habe. Eine schottische Utopie? Matriarchalische Clans, deren Männer sich in Kriegsspielen üben, angelehnt an die Praktiken der Spartaner - als Zeitvertreib. Es gibt ein Internet und es gibt Habitate im Weltraum, aber ansonsten scheinen alle Weltprobleme gelöst sein. Doch da tritt Wat Dryhope auf, der diese pastorale Utopie durcheinander bringt.
Ein Vexier-Spiel, der Erzähler macht persönlich gefärbte Anmerkungen als wäre er der Chronist eines historischen Vorganges. Die Anmerkungen machen fast ein Drittel dieses dünnen Romans aus.
Cover und stammt auch vom Autor.
Durch "Phantastisch # 78" habe ich erfahren, das Gray hochbetagt Ende letzten Jahres verstorben ist. Ich werde noch mehr von ihm lesen, denn er ist ein interessanter Grenzgänger zwischen Mainstream und Science Fiction mit einer außergewöhnlichen Fantasie.
Ein Vexier-Spiel, der Erzähler macht persönlich gefärbte Anmerkungen als wäre er der Chronist eines historischen Vorganges. Die Anmerkungen machen fast ein Drittel dieses dünnen Romans aus.
Cover und stammt auch vom Autor.
Durch "Phantastisch # 78" habe ich erfahren, das Gray hochbetagt Ende letzten Jahres verstorben ist. Ich werde noch mehr von ihm lesen, denn er ist ein interessanter Grenzgänger zwischen Mainstream und Science Fiction mit einer außergewöhnlichen Fantasie.
February 19, 2024
Second time around, and though I thought I'd already written a review or at least given it a rating, it seems like I hadn't.
If my memory serves me correct I quite enjoyed it that first time around, so I was a bit surprised by the lack of enjoyment this second reading provided, by not providing much of it. In fact, the best part was the almost 60 page long "Notes explaining obscurities". (Which, by the way, aren't just notes explaining obscurities but also a continuation (and conclusion) of the story. So don't skip that part if you're going to read the book!) It not only explains some parts, but also provides the core of the story and world in which it takes place.
It's not that it lacks the ingredients that make an Alasdair Gray novel an Alasdair Gray novel. It's more as if it's not a new story - even though it most certainly is. There's a sense of boredom premeating from the pages, that is equal parts Wat Dryhope and Alasdair Gray. Not an uninteresting read per se, but not very interesting either, if it weren't for Grays excellent and keen eye for seeing through contemporary society and culture. And that brings us back to the "Notes..." chapter. Here I find the Gray I've been looking for throughout hte previous chapters: Witty, humorous, cynical and intelligent.
Too bad the actual novel got so little of that.
If my memory serves me correct I quite enjoyed it that first time around, so I was a bit surprised by the lack of enjoyment this second reading provided, by not providing much of it. In fact, the best part was the almost 60 page long "Notes explaining obscurities". (Which, by the way, aren't just notes explaining obscurities but also a continuation (and conclusion) of the story. So don't skip that part if you're going to read the book!) It not only explains some parts, but also provides the core of the story and world in which it takes place.
It's not that it lacks the ingredients that make an Alasdair Gray novel an Alasdair Gray novel. It's more as if it's not a new story - even though it most certainly is. There's a sense of boredom premeating from the pages, that is equal parts Wat Dryhope and Alasdair Gray. Not an uninteresting read per se, but not very interesting either, if it weren't for Grays excellent and keen eye for seeing through contemporary society and culture. And that brings us back to the "Notes..." chapter. Here I find the Gray I've been looking for throughout hte previous chapters: Witty, humorous, cynical and intelligent.
Too bad the actual novel got so little of that.
September 18, 2025
Apparently fans consider this to be the worst of his works, they say it's rushed and has less to say than the others. I can see the first point but not the second.
He's commenting on a lot - meaning over materialism, the limits of rationalism, man's inherent desire for love and violence, the "end of history" view in the 90s - so much! But it never quite come together. You're waiting for all these questions to be answered be the final pages, with one coherent worldview, but this doesn't come. Even with the endnotes.
But nonetheless, lots of strong observations and scintillating prose as per.
He's commenting on a lot - meaning over materialism, the limits of rationalism, man's inherent desire for love and violence, the "end of history" view in the 90s - so much! But it never quite come together. You're waiting for all these questions to be answered be the final pages, with one coherent worldview, but this doesn't come. Even with the endnotes.
But nonetheless, lots of strong observations and scintillating prose as per.
Read
November 17, 20203.5/5 like nothing i've read
April 18, 2021
What a huge let down. It was like I just read the first book of a ‘Lanark’ tome (but harder to like), then it was the end. Like the end of a shitty formulaic TV show’s first season. Super open ended and unsatisfying. It wasn’t even that good as it was going. I liked the last third from he point he was in the tent in the woods, lovingly sadistic.
The 60-odd pages of Glossaries are so exorbitant and uncalled for. I don’t care about this world enough to read anything about the lore. What you have presented in the narrative is enough without the background info. Slang and dialect translation is useful though.
Read if you want to do all of Gray’s bibliography. Not worth reading without that intention. Skip the glossary, go to the last few pages which are worth it.
The 60-odd pages of Glossaries are so exorbitant and uncalled for. I don’t care about this world enough to read anything about the lore. What you have presented in the narrative is enough without the background info. Slang and dialect translation is useful though.
Read if you want to do all of Gray’s bibliography. Not worth reading without that intention. Skip the glossary, go to the last few pages which are worth it.
February 15, 2022
As a scan of ratings will testify that this is something of a marmite offering from Alasdair Gray. Personally I liked it. There is the playful and humorous conceit of a it being a work of history, complete with footnotes and glossary, whilst at the same time being a work of science fiction. Mixed in with the humour and word play are serious points about humanity’s capacity for boredom, war, mythologising leaders and the differences between men and women. All that in a book of only 223 pages. No mean feat and accompanied by Gray’s own illustrations. Unlikely to win many converts to the Gray camp, but to those who delight in the mercurial meanderings of this singular Scottish author, much to enjoy.
June 4, 2021
Gray propagated his knowledge of our society & world history into a sci-fi Scotland of the future. Sewing together intelligent ramble from his protagonist as he ponders wars, the new family dynamics, new technologies, the option to be immortal and the sparkly evolution of our media into an ever present 'public eye'.
make sure you read the 'notes and glossary explaining obscurities'.
tw: murder, rape described but never acknowledged by characters as rape.
make sure you read the 'notes and glossary explaining obscurities'.
tw: murder, rape described but never acknowledged by characters as rape.
October 28, 2020
An enjoyable yarn, with some amusing snippets and “inside jokes” for Scots, but it really suffers from a weird plot line and disconnected events that don’t really have enough significance or are not revisited in a meaningful way. It also felt a bit like an imaginary world for the sexually dissatisfied man...
October 31, 2007
Slim, light utopian SF, but written in the glorious Alisdair Grey style.
November 16, 2014
Abandon. Trop SF, pas du tout pour moi.
November 28, 2015
In the beginning it's hard to follow, but worth it to keep going. One of the most interesting utopias I've read about.
September 26, 2023
Loved it, much more than I expected as before I read it, I watched a reviewer who had mixed feelings and read some other reviews.
This book told a fascinating, amusing tale set in an unusual version of the future, where scarcity eliminated and even mortality is optional. Yet men are choosing to increase their mortality in droves. I see this world described as a utopia, but to the men it's partially a matriarchal dystopia.
The "History Maker" of 'A History Maker' could arguably be Wat, or his vainglorious father, his scheming sister-wife or, most credibly, his granny and her friends. Of course, Alasdair, especially through the notes, is the real history maker with his fascinating descriptions of the ages of humanity.
This book was an insight into Alasdair's perception of modern history and current post-Thatcher times. I was shocked to read about the British politician who participated in the abuse of what would be described as 'gangrels'. The entire concept and history of gangrels is fascinating to me, as someone who is Hakka Chinese (guest people), basically a gangrel. The horrendous treatment of gangrels is something still continuing today. Sadly, much of the commentary on the awful politics of the 90s seems to still be relevant.
Like Poor Things (the other Gray book I have read as of yet), there is an epistolary narrative where the story only becomes clear after reading the next perspective. It was very well executed, more 'cleanly' than Poor Things, with the storyline wrapping up well. I wouldn't say it is better but I enjoyed it as much.
The science fiction elements were great and made sense for the plot (I loved the powerplants, the satellites, the [creepy] surveilling floating eyes [even more relevant in the smartphone age]). The Borders setting and melee combat brought a historic element to it.
One of my favourite parts was Wat's existential crisis.
I love the exaggerated conversations in this book (and Poor Things). I think this novel was a play previously, but this playfulness and theatricality is probably in all of his works? Certainly it's in any of his readings I've watched.
9/10
This book told a fascinating, amusing tale set in an unusual version of the future, where scarcity eliminated and even mortality is optional. Yet men are choosing to increase their mortality in droves. I see this world described as a utopia, but to the men it's partially a matriarchal dystopia.
The "History Maker" of 'A History Maker' could arguably be Wat, or his vainglorious father, his scheming sister-wife or, most credibly, his granny and her friends. Of course, Alasdair, especially through the notes, is the real history maker with his fascinating descriptions of the ages of humanity.
This book was an insight into Alasdair's perception of modern history and current post-Thatcher times. I was shocked to read about the British politician who participated in the abuse of what would be described as 'gangrels'. The entire concept and history of gangrels is fascinating to me, as someone who is Hakka Chinese (guest people), basically a gangrel. The horrendous treatment of gangrels is something still continuing today. Sadly, much of the commentary on the awful politics of the 90s seems to still be relevant.
Like Poor Things (the other Gray book I have read as of yet), there is an epistolary narrative where the story only becomes clear after reading the next perspective. It was very well executed, more 'cleanly' than Poor Things, with the storyline wrapping up well. I wouldn't say it is better but I enjoyed it as much.
The science fiction elements were great and made sense for the plot (I loved the powerplants, the satellites, the [creepy] surveilling floating eyes [even more relevant in the smartphone age]). The Borders setting and melee combat brought a historic element to it.
One of my favourite parts was Wat's existential crisis.
I love the exaggerated conversations in this book (and Poor Things). I think this novel was a play previously, but this playfulness and theatricality is probably in all of his works? Certainly it's in any of his readings I've watched.
9/10
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 28, 2018
A relatively quick read, but - despite its breezy disdain for lingering on any subject for too long - a story with depth and heft to it. Essentially, Gray's narrative tells of how a dubious utopia is exchanged for the possibility of a violent dystopia. But then, as a comedy must (avert your eyes if you are spoiler-averse), the ending turns happily to a marriage (of a kind) and a more true utopia emerges. In this, if in little else, Gray exposes his dialectical leanings.
There are also the characters (bizarre, drawn in cartoonish stylizations), the plot (seemingly lethargic, it nevertheless bounds through each chapter), the footnotes (hardly notes, but unavoidably narrative), and the beautifully-drawn images that pepper the text. So what I'm trying to say is that there is lots to take your eyes off the societal critiques given body and get lost in the messy details, if that's your fancy.
This was my first Gray but it won't be my last. His kind of spidery, laughing yet dour voice is rare and precious.
There are also the characters (bizarre, drawn in cartoonish stylizations), the plot (seemingly lethargic, it nevertheless bounds through each chapter), the footnotes (hardly notes, but unavoidably narrative), and the beautifully-drawn images that pepper the text. So what I'm trying to say is that there is lots to take your eyes off the societal critiques given body and get lost in the messy details, if that's your fancy.
This was my first Gray but it won't be my last. His kind of spidery, laughing yet dour voice is rare and precious.
October 6, 2019
This esoteric science fiction novel is not just written but also designed (including the cover) by the talented Alasdair Gray. It takes place in the Yarrow valley in the vicinity of St Mary's Loch, a beautiful and still unspoiled area with which I am familiar from explorations by bicycle. It presents an intensely sceptical view of our current political/institutional structures, most of which I heartily agree with. He imagines a future in which money no longer serves any purpose, war has become a regulated entertainment, eternal life is a choice (albeit with consequences) not so popular as one might imagine, and the gossip of grandmothers is the form of government.
However, the protagonist Wat Dryhope pulls a sneaky move in battle and sets off a sequence of events that seems to be resurrecting dangerous values from a previous era.
I found this book interesting, and here and there hilarious, but not overly compelling. It stopped practically in mid-paragraph, leaving me feeling I'd been led through a shaggy-dog story.
However, the protagonist Wat Dryhope pulls a sneaky move in battle and sets off a sequence of events that seems to be resurrecting dangerous values from a previous era.
I found this book interesting, and here and there hilarious, but not overly compelling. It stopped practically in mid-paragraph, leaving me feeling I'd been led through a shaggy-dog story.
January 10, 2023
Comencé su lectura pensando era fantasía, pero resultó ser toda ciencia ficción, extraña y especulativa, pero ciencia ficción al fin. Describe una Escocia del 2220, con plantas de energía que satisfacen deseos, inmortalidad al alcance de la mano, y medios de comunicación invasivos y omnipotentes. Tiene una estructura bien particular, con notas de más de 50 páginas, dedicatorias, particulares prólogos, junto a multitud de dibujos. La ambientación y la sociedad reflejada me gustaron, así como las reminiscencias a nuestra propia historia, siempre tan erudito Gray.
No obstante la trama particular del héroe no me terminó de cerrar. Faltaron más aclaraciones para los hechos más relevantes, los giros inesperados y tanto divagar no me fueron de ayuda a la hora de seguir las aventuras del protagonista.
En fin, un libro interesante, pero lejos de las "Historias sobre todo inverosímiles", del mismo autor.
No obstante la trama particular del héroe no me terminó de cerrar. Faltaron más aclaraciones para los hechos más relevantes, los giros inesperados y tanto divagar no me fueron de ayuda a la hora de seguir las aventuras del protagonista.
En fin, un libro interesante, pero lejos de las "Historias sobre todo inverosímiles", del mismo autor.
August 13, 2023
So this is one of the least liked Gray books. It seems like a rough outline. I can kind of see what he's getting at, but it's all a bit foggy and maybe more understandable if you're Scottish. Gray uses a lot of Scottish words which are defined in the notes, but I read it online where it's not so easy to refer back. Gray spent decades working on Lanark, and that book is pretty great. This one seems hastily written in comparison. Half baked.
September 30, 2019
The idea of militaristic nationalism arising from a position of boredom would be merely relevant were it not delivered in Gray's distinctly Scottish, frequently digressive style.
On this occasion those peculiarities don't quite amount to a masterpiece, but are they worth a few hours reading? Absolutely.
On this occasion those peculiarities don't quite amount to a masterpiece, but are they worth a few hours reading? Absolutely.
November 3, 2024
Modern wars arenae great affairs
Aye, I didnae expect to be this into a low-fi-sci-fi about warfare in the 25th century. The variety of fonts, texts, and images on the pages, greatly enhanced the overall experience. The structure was quite clever too -my first time experiencing this type of configuration. A lovely sense of humour keeps ye smiling!
Aye, I didnae expect to be this into a low-fi-sci-fi about warfare in the 25th century. The variety of fonts, texts, and images on the pages, greatly enhanced the overall experience. The structure was quite clever too -my first time experiencing this type of configuration. A lovely sense of humour keeps ye smiling!
October 4, 2025
This was an entertaining, if not great read. It's certainly worth reading if you're a Gray fan, but bear in mind that it's not as exhilarating as Poor Things, original as Lanark or quirky as Something Leather, however.
It's a fun read, especially if you like seeing Scottish patois in print, but just don't expect anything as good as the other Gray novels mentioned above.
It's a fun read, especially if you like seeing Scottish patois in print, but just don't expect anything as good as the other Gray novels mentioned above.
November 17, 2025
I liked what "A History Maker" had to say about how young men are seduced by fascism, and how stupid and self-harming the whole circus is, but I just didn't care for the story or worldbuilding. Or the exceedingly long appendix.
December 29, 2018
Not quite up to Gray's best, but a good read none the less.
October 5, 2019
A decent enough wee story, but not up to Gray’s incredible earlier works.
September 27, 2024
Classic Gray. Funny, self-disparaging, Scottish science fiction. Right on the nose in places in terms of social commentary from a brilliant man.
May 27, 2016
Two things give this science fiction a Scottish accent: (1) set in one of those places one normally doesn't think of as forward-looking, progressive or otherwise futuristic, in this case Ettrick Forest and (2) it is actually written with more than a smattering of Scots English and dialect. I can get past 'cannae,' 'bairns,' and 'wheen,' but there were some other words that had me flipping to the back of the book for explanation.
In the not-too-distant future, the world has achieved an anarchistic, matriarchal utopia, largely because the problem of scarcity has been eliminated. People who find utopia boring can travel to outer-space colonies, or join the gangrels who are like the Travelers, Roma or Tinkers. Meanwhile, a large portion of the men kill each other in well-organized war games. That bit bugged me. It is kind of like traditional horticultural societies, like say the Zulus before Shaka. The women do all the work, and the men have goofy little wars. So is Gray saying, if don't give the men enough to do, they'll make dumb wars, and if you actually let them run the show, they'll make big dumb wars? Then there is the plot, which seems to ask some hurtful questions about territorial imperatives and other nonsense that imperialists attribute to human nature.
The questions about the limits of Utopias are big and maybe unanswerable but the book itself is small and easy to read. I expected the opposite, because I've been intimidated by what I've read about Lanark. Also, Gray's illustrations and quirky, idiosyncratic politics and philosophy remind me of William Blake.
Another fun thing about the book is that it isn't laid out like a 'normal' novel. There is a preface by one character, then the bit that seems like the 'real' novel, written by the main character but in the third person, and then the end notes and an epilogue. Since there aren't cues of when to turn to the notes, it is easy to just read the novely bit of the novel and then read the notes as a kind of parallel, alternative version of the same story. The notes also contain a lot of ranting about history, in other words, our pre-utopian world, and are probably best approached with a glass of single malt in the hand.
So now I've broken my Alasdair Gray cherry, I can maybe get the nerve up to tackle the heavier stuff.
In the not-too-distant future, the world has achieved an anarchistic, matriarchal utopia, largely because the problem of scarcity has been eliminated. People who find utopia boring can travel to outer-space colonies, or join the gangrels who are like the Travelers, Roma or Tinkers. Meanwhile, a large portion of the men kill each other in well-organized war games. That bit bugged me. It is kind of like traditional horticultural societies, like say the Zulus before Shaka. The women do all the work, and the men have goofy little wars. So is Gray saying, if don't give the men enough to do, they'll make dumb wars, and if you actually let them run the show, they'll make big dumb wars? Then there is the plot, which seems to ask some hurtful questions about territorial imperatives and other nonsense that imperialists attribute to human nature.
The questions about the limits of Utopias are big and maybe unanswerable but the book itself is small and easy to read. I expected the opposite, because I've been intimidated by what I've read about Lanark. Also, Gray's illustrations and quirky, idiosyncratic politics and philosophy remind me of William Blake.
Another fun thing about the book is that it isn't laid out like a 'normal' novel. There is a preface by one character, then the bit that seems like the 'real' novel, written by the main character but in the third person, and then the end notes and an epilogue. Since there aren't cues of when to turn to the notes, it is easy to just read the novely bit of the novel and then read the notes as a kind of parallel, alternative version of the same story. The notes also contain a lot of ranting about history, in other words, our pre-utopian world, and are probably best approached with a glass of single malt in the hand.
So now I've broken my Alasdair Gray cherry, I can maybe get the nerve up to tackle the heavier stuff.
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