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a fantastic novel, of lust, terror, and love
Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1967
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About the author
Andrew Sinclair
185 books32 followersAndrew Sinclair was born in Oxford in 1935 and was educated at Eton and Trinity College, Cambridge. After earning a Ph.D. in American History from Cambridge, he pursued an academic career in the United States and England. His first two novels, written while he was still at Cambridge, were both published in 1959: The Breaking of Bumbo (based on his own experience in the Coldstream Guards, and later adapted for a 1970 film written and directed by Sinclair) and My Friend Judas. Other early novels included The Project (1960), The Hallelujah Bum (1963), and The Raker (1964). The latter, also available from Valancourt, is a clever mix of Gothic fantasy and macabre comedy and was inspired by Sinclair’s relationship with Derek Lindsay, the pseudonymous author of the acclaimed novel The Rack (1958). Sinclair’s best-known novel, Gog (1967), a highly imaginative, picaresque account of the adventures of a seven-foot-tall man who washes ashore on the Scottish coast, naked and suffering from amnesia, has been named one of the top 100 modern fantasy novels. As the first in the ‘Albion Triptych’, it was followed by Magog (1972) and King Ludd (1988).
Sinclair’s varied and prolific career has also included work in film and a large output of nonfiction. As a director, he is best known for Under Milk Wood (1972), adapted from a Dylan Thomas play and starring Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor. Sinclair’s nonfiction includes works on American history (including The Better Half: The Emancipation of the American Woman, which won the 1967 Somerset Maugham Award), books on Dylan Thomas, Jack London, Che Guevara, and Francis Bacon, and, more recently, works on the Knights Templar and the Freemasons.
Sinclair was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 1972. He lives in London.
Sinclair’s varied and prolific career has also included work in film and a large output of nonfiction. As a director, he is best known for Under Milk Wood (1972), adapted from a Dylan Thomas play and starring Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor. Sinclair’s nonfiction includes works on American history (including The Better Half: The Emancipation of the American Woman, which won the 1967 Somerset Maugham Award), books on Dylan Thomas, Jack London, Che Guevara, and Francis Bacon, and, more recently, works on the Knights Templar and the Freemasons.
Sinclair was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 1972. He lives in London.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
February 24, 2024
Well, that was weird. I'm not sure how to describe this book other than to say it combines reality with fantasy, the present with the past, and a great deal of madness. The principle story (or rather the skeleton upon which the meat of insanity hangs) is that of a seven foot tall man washing up on the shore in Edinburgh in 1945. He has no memory of who he is and has only the clue of the word Gog tattooed on one knuckle and Magog tattooed on the other. After wandering out of the hospital he instinctively feels that he must walk to London. And so the curious road journey begins..
This is the point at which a standard narrative ends. Instead we are dealing with a man who can neither trust his memories nor his immediate surroundings. He falls away into dreamscapes, bizarre fantasy worlds that incorporate broken memories and past acquaintances, all while his mind jumbles everything into a cohesive structure. He meets a woman and her chauffer who seemingly want to kill him. He meets the bagman (a chap who believes Jerusalem must be built in London to avoid Armageddon), he meets a man named Crook who encourages Gog to rape a maiden before later beign sexually assaulted by Crook himself. He meets a myriad of other curious characters who seem to flitter in and out of reality being both representative of his real life and creations of a feverish mind. All the while he must get to London to defeat Magog.
I adored the first third of this book. It was utterly mesmerising with some of the most beautiful prose and poetry I've read in a long time. Gog (and obviously Sinclair) are fascinated by ancient Britain, by the Celts, the Romans and the history of the island. As much as we are discovering Gog's identity, we are also discovering Britain's. It was all such a swirling madness of ancient lands and myth and legend, and the beauty of the people and the island. I was entirely fascinated by the insane structure and narrative. But as much as I enjoyed that first third, it just keeps going and, in my opinion, becomes a little too self-indulgent and frankly... too long.
By the halfway point, you want answers or at least something new. But instead we get more of the same, more of the insanity and confusion, all while Gog explores the country (the book has a map of Britain showing the journey Gog takes). And sadly my interest waned quite badly. And the fact is the book is one of those where if you skipped ten chapters, you wouldn't really be missing much in terms of plot. Truth be told, After the first few chapters (and the last couple), you could probably read this book in any order you wanted. That's part of its genius but also part of it's downfall.
I eventually found it hard-going and struggled to the end, but I would definitely recommend this book to everyone. It will either derange you or become one of the greatest things you've ever read.
This is the point at which a standard narrative ends. Instead we are dealing with a man who can neither trust his memories nor his immediate surroundings. He falls away into dreamscapes, bizarre fantasy worlds that incorporate broken memories and past acquaintances, all while his mind jumbles everything into a cohesive structure. He meets a woman and her chauffer who seemingly want to kill him. He meets the bagman (a chap who believes Jerusalem must be built in London to avoid Armageddon), he meets a man named Crook who encourages Gog to rape a maiden before later beign sexually assaulted by Crook himself. He meets a myriad of other curious characters who seem to flitter in and out of reality being both representative of his real life and creations of a feverish mind. All the while he must get to London to defeat Magog.
I adored the first third of this book. It was utterly mesmerising with some of the most beautiful prose and poetry I've read in a long time. Gog (and obviously Sinclair) are fascinated by ancient Britain, by the Celts, the Romans and the history of the island. As much as we are discovering Gog's identity, we are also discovering Britain's. It was all such a swirling madness of ancient lands and myth and legend, and the beauty of the people and the island. I was entirely fascinated by the insane structure and narrative. But as much as I enjoyed that first third, it just keeps going and, in my opinion, becomes a little too self-indulgent and frankly... too long.
By the halfway point, you want answers or at least something new. But instead we get more of the same, more of the insanity and confusion, all while Gog explores the country (the book has a map of Britain showing the journey Gog takes). And sadly my interest waned quite badly. And the fact is the book is one of those where if you skipped ten chapters, you wouldn't really be missing much in terms of plot. Truth be told, After the first few chapters (and the last couple), you could probably read this book in any order you wanted. That's part of its genius but also part of it's downfall.
I eventually found it hard-going and struggled to the end, but I would definitely recommend this book to everyone. It will either derange you or become one of the greatest things you've ever read.
September 10, 2014
I see the ratings are mixed on this book, but I have to say that I read it as a teenager when it first came out and enjoyed it tremendously. The concept of an amnesiac Englishman, with only a tattoo on his hand that says "Gog" (referencing the ancient myth of Gog and Magog) trying to discover his identity by walking through England and uncovering the essence of the country appealed to me and still does. Perhaps it is 'dated' - I'll gave to reread it and decide - but it is in my top 50 books list. Give it a chance, read it.
March 1, 2017
i read this book ages ago and its kind of like if some of those american post modern 70s guys had been from england instead. cool parts i remembered were, all the stuff about giants with like metal teeth and other things fighting in ancient england, parts where magog takes over the power grid, part where gog meets a really horny satyr guy, etc
February 28, 2022
A novel full of imagination, full of poetry. I found it both funny and moving. For anyone who enjoys Mervyn Peake, who has a liking for William Blake, this may be of interest.
December 19, 2022
Sheer brilliance!
August 30, 2016
Man washes ashore on a Scottish coast just after VE Day. He has no memory but feels compelled to travel across the length of England to London. His reality alternates between contemporary Britain and ancient Albion. On his journey he gains clues as to his identity as well as the identity of Britain itself. Been a while since I read this, thought it was ok, but rather long.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews