Lanark (Cyclopedia of Literary Characters)
At a glance:
- Author: Alasdair Gray
- First Published: 1981
- Type of Work: Novel
- Type of Plot: Metafiction
- Time of Work: The mid-twentieth century to an indeterminate time in the future
- Setting: Glasgow and imaginary worlds
- Genres: Long fiction, Philosophical realism, Fantasy, Metafiction, Dystopian fiction
- Subjects: 1950’s, Twentieth century, Authors or writers, Social issues, Other worlds, 1940’s, Fantasy, Imagination, Painting or painters, Health, Adventure, Scotland or Scottish people, Diseases, Hospitals, Horror, Utopias, Interior design, Underworld or Hades
- Locales: Glasgow, Scotland, Spiritual realms
Characters Discussed
Lanark, the protagonist. Nondescript in his physical appearance, he is remarkable for his emotional reserve. His manner suggests at once mystery and transparent personality. At the novel’s opening, he finds himself in a railroad car, without memory of his past. Drifting through the almost continually dark and damp streets of a half-wasted city called Unthank, he learns how to acquire funds through a public welfare agency that, despite its procedural formality, seems to dispense monies arbitrarily. Determined to witness each day’s brief moment of...
[The entire page is 1201 words long]
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