i want to start by saying that i think alasdair gray is unbelievably good. his books remind me why i care about books, write as if youre in the early days of a better canon, etc. 

however. i hated reading this. there was something so upsetting about the way horrible realities poked up through horrible fantasies. of course, of course, that’s testament to how effective the book was, but i’m rating my experience and whether i want to return to it, and i don’t.

i thought the fringe section was really interested, and unexpectedly topical.