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Born in 1934, Alasdair Gray graduated in design and mural painting from Glasgow School of Art. Since 1981, when Lanark was published by Canongate, he has written, designed and illustrated seven novels, several books of short stories, a collection of his stage, radio and TV plays and a book of his visual art, A Life in Pictures. In his own words, 'Alasdair Gray is a fat, spectacled, balding, old Glaswegian pedestrian who has mainly lived by writing and designing books, most of them fiction.'
The best Scottish novelist since Sir Walter Scott -- ANTHONY BURGESS PRAISE FOR ALASDAIR GRAY: A necessary genius -- ALI SMITH Slick, easy to read . . . Gray is rather good at catching the colloquial nature of the poem . . . An excellent primer to Dante . . . In terms of verve, vim and vigour Gray has succeeded here. It is, if such a thing can be, an easy Dante, and one that does capture the comedy as well as the pathos and anguish of the poem * * Scotsman * * No other translator has made the narratives so clear or strong, and the distinctive power of the work lies in the clarity of the storytelling . . . This Hell is a magnificent feat of reimagining of one of the greatest of all human creations * * Herald * * Powerfully conveys the appalling nature of a vision which has terrified and enthralled Western men and women down the centuries * * Times Literary Supplement * * PRAISE FOR HELL: Alasdair Gray has cast a spell over Dante's Hell, creating (and decorating) a verse translation that is modern, lyrical, yet faithful to the original * * New Statesman, Best Books of 2018 * * This slim but handsome volume sees Glasgow author Gray complete part two of his translation of Dante's Divine Comedy . . . If you've ever wanted to try the classic, but have been daunted, now is your chance * * Sunday Post * * Rich in vivid imagery . . . Dante's voice, even when rendered into English-language prose, resonates across the centuries, occasionally addressing the reader directly in a thrilling breaking of the fourth wall. Some cantos even end in a cliffhanger, making Purgatory surprisingly readable and engaging; this is no stuffy old classic * * Herald * * An ancient masterpiece glistens again as his lyricism takes flight, while keeping one foot balanced on solid ground . . . Gray turns Dante's language into clear English, sometimes with a playful comic turn . . . Remarkable * * i * * Lucid, lyrical, imaginative . . . Purgatory is a finely produced book, decorated with an exuberant cover by the author * * Times Literary Supplement * *
