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The Ends of Our Tethers: 13 Sorry Stories
Fans of the work of Donald Barthelme, Kurt Vonnegut, George Saunders, and T. Coraghessan Boyle will revel in Alasdair Gray's masterful, witty collection. Gray's stories defy genre, and his angular, playful style, prodigious wit, and razor-sharp intellect are matched by his remarkable skill with the short-story form. In "Job's Skin Game," the narrator humbly tells his life story like the evenings news. During a moment of awkward revelation, he shares the strangely exquisite pleasure he receives from scratching at the skin condition he's developed since losing his two sons in the Twin Towers tragedy and a small fortune in the dot-com meltdown. In "Big Pockets with Button Flaps," a wily old man teases and taunts a pair of punk teenage girls as their confrontation takes on social implication through lightning-fast transfers of power and wit. The Ends of Our Tethers is vintage Gray—accessible, experimental, mischievous, wide ranging, beautifully written, and wise.
192 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2003
About the author
Alasdair Gray
88 books805 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 37 reviews
April 30, 2012
Gray is constantly surprising me—whenever I consign him to the dustbin of mediocrity, he returns with a superb collection of short fiction. After a seven-year absence (where he worked as a writing professor in Glasgow), he returned refreshed with thirteen tales about senility, creativity and politics. ‘No Bluebeard’ is the longest: an account of the narrator’s three marriages based on Gray’s shaky relationship history and his marriage to a steely Scandinavian who shared her name with Olympic Danish swimmer Inge Sorensen. Boasts the most awkward use of the C word in a piece of fiction (outside Updike). Also notable is ‘Aiblins’ about a deranged poet who tries blackmailing his old tutor into getting his work published through braggart posing. ‘Job’s Skin Game’ is the best story about recurring eczema you’re likely to read (outside Updike) and brims with scabby mischief. The other pieces here are brief, memorable, bittersweet and perfect. Gray is a little grey deity.
January 28, 2019
Alasdair Gray is probably my favourite living writer. I highly rate his novels and his plays, but his short stories I especially adore, and in fact Unlikely Stories Mostly is one of the best short story collections I have ever read by anyone, and one story from that collection, 'Five Letters from an Eastern Empire', remains the best short story I have ever read. It must be clear, therefore, that I am happy to read all his story collections whenever I can get my hands on them.
The Ends of Our Tethers is good, for the simple reason that I don't truly believe there is a bad Alasdair Gray book out there, but it must be said that readers new to his work should perhaps not enter his oeuvre at this point. Yes, it is good, but it is not spectacular. Yet for me, there is a little discussed phenomenon at play here. When one loves a writer so much that one decides to become a completist regarding that writer, one is often propelled smoothly and enjoyably across his lesser works by the sheer momentum of one's admiration for the best works. My reading of the stories in The Ends of Our Tethers is influenced and perhaps even entirely informed by my reading of those other Gray stories that I regard as utterly superb. In other words, for this completist (who is necessarily a devotee) there can be no objective evaluation.
Another thing. The production values of Gray's books are always excellent. He designs them himself and he is a true artist. The old adage is "never judge a book by its cover" but when the covers are as wonderful as those created by Gray, when the interiors are perfectly proportioned, when the pages are elevated by his illustrations, when the typesetting is so pleasing and symmetrical with some elegant archaic touches (such as the narrowing to a point at the end of a story), when the print is nice and big and easy on the eyes of this ageing reader, then I am automatically going to be biased towards that book, irrespective of the quality of the prose inside. I am pleased to say that Gray's prose here is tremendous, but I repeat my earlier warning to readers new to him. Begin your journey into Gray's short stories with one of his earlier collections.
The Ends of Our Tethers is good, for the simple reason that I don't truly believe there is a bad Alasdair Gray book out there, but it must be said that readers new to his work should perhaps not enter his oeuvre at this point. Yes, it is good, but it is not spectacular. Yet for me, there is a little discussed phenomenon at play here. When one loves a writer so much that one decides to become a completist regarding that writer, one is often propelled smoothly and enjoyably across his lesser works by the sheer momentum of one's admiration for the best works. My reading of the stories in The Ends of Our Tethers is influenced and perhaps even entirely informed by my reading of those other Gray stories that I regard as utterly superb. In other words, for this completist (who is necessarily a devotee) there can be no objective evaluation.
Another thing. The production values of Gray's books are always excellent. He designs them himself and he is a true artist. The old adage is "never judge a book by its cover" but when the covers are as wonderful as those created by Gray, when the interiors are perfectly proportioned, when the pages are elevated by his illustrations, when the typesetting is so pleasing and symmetrical with some elegant archaic touches (such as the narrowing to a point at the end of a story), when the print is nice and big and easy on the eyes of this ageing reader, then I am automatically going to be biased towards that book, irrespective of the quality of the prose inside. I am pleased to say that Gray's prose here is tremendous, but I repeat my earlier warning to readers new to him. Begin your journey into Gray's short stories with one of his earlier collections.
May 25, 2012
You can read my entire discussion here.
Review snippet: Tilda is not a woman given to subterfuge. She does not manipulate and she does not really fight with him. But as he tries to force her into a role he thinks more appropriate – like making her shop for clothes she does not want or care about – he comes to understand that her passivity is not a ploy. He realizes the woman who fucks with ease is really as disengaged from sex as she is from shopping, though he doesn’t have to threaten to throw her out to make her acquiesce to sex. One gets the feeling that anything she does not have to leave the house to do she is fine enough just enduring in her disembodied sort of way.
He slowly begins to understand her because her constant nearness forces him to. She hates being apart from him, even when he takes a daily walk. Their days took on a near-boring sameness for him, but not for her. She sat at the floor and watched him work, ate the meals he cooked and did little else.
God, I loved Tilda completely after reading that sentence. The narrator tells us she stops using the word “cunt” so much as their time together went on, but he still had a hard time knowing what was going on in her properly furnished mind.
Review snippet: Tilda is not a woman given to subterfuge. She does not manipulate and she does not really fight with him. But as he tries to force her into a role he thinks more appropriate – like making her shop for clothes she does not want or care about – he comes to understand that her passivity is not a ploy. He realizes the woman who fucks with ease is really as disengaged from sex as she is from shopping, though he doesn’t have to threaten to throw her out to make her acquiesce to sex. One gets the feeling that anything she does not have to leave the house to do she is fine enough just enduring in her disembodied sort of way.
He slowly begins to understand her because her constant nearness forces him to. She hates being apart from him, even when he takes a daily walk. Their days took on a near-boring sameness for him, but not for her. She sat at the floor and watched him work, ate the meals he cooked and did little else.
I asked if she would like a television set? A Walkman radio? Magazines? She said, “A properly furnished mind cunt is its own feast cunt and does not need such expensive and foolish extravagances.”
God, I loved Tilda completely after reading that sentence. The narrator tells us she stops using the word “cunt” so much as their time together went on, but he still had a hard time knowing what was going on in her properly furnished mind.
May 11, 2015
This little book is one of my favorite finds ever in the used book section at Schulers. I was expecting to find no Alasdair Gray. I was just looking to feel superior or deprived, I suppose, but instead I found two books! Now I know I've mentioned that the short story is not my favorite format, but I needed a short story collection for the book bingo challenge at work, and Alasdair Gray should certainly make it more interesting.
For the most part (excepting the last story), this is Gray separated from all his big speculative fiction concepts. There are no portals to other worlds here, no women reanimated from spare parts. Aside from that, they remain true to the themes of Gray's work -- tortured (but usually well-meaning) relationships between men and women, class and politics, art's place in the world...
It's a wonderful little book. Some of the stories are quite strange, yes, full of outsiders and holders of unpopular opinions. Although each story features someone at the end of their tether in some way, for the most part these are people struggling to make the best of whatever the situation they are in. Most of them find a kind of peace, even if it is a sad peace.
Finally, I love the object of the book itself. Its strange little illustrations and the non-standard blocking of the stories. You will not confuse this book for any other book.
For the most part (excepting the last story), this is Gray separated from all his big speculative fiction concepts. There are no portals to other worlds here, no women reanimated from spare parts. Aside from that, they remain true to the themes of Gray's work -- tortured (but usually well-meaning) relationships between men and women, class and politics, art's place in the world...
It's a wonderful little book. Some of the stories are quite strange, yes, full of outsiders and holders of unpopular opinions. Although each story features someone at the end of their tether in some way, for the most part these are people struggling to make the best of whatever the situation they are in. Most of them find a kind of peace, even if it is a sad peace.
Finally, I love the object of the book itself. Its strange little illustrations and the non-standard blocking of the stories. You will not confuse this book for any other book.
October 6, 2017
A smidgen above average and not nearly good enough to qualify as great. Three or four of the stories were quirky and entertaining and the rest seemed odd or unfinished. Also included a dated piece of journalistic reportage. Ho hum.
September 21, 2007
Anybody who thinks that Irvine Welsh is a true literary original has never read anything by Alasdair Gray. That said, he's one of those authors that, in general, I respect more than I actually enjoy reading. When he gets bits of text interweaving in little boxes all backwards and upside-down, it's a wee bit too conceptually rigorous for me.
He writes great short stories, though, and you'll find plenty of them in here. The one on his contemporary retelling of the story of Job is particularly good. There's also plenty of not so subtle but intelligently delivered commentary about Blair-era Britain and Gray's raging contempt for it.
The other thing I love about all of Gray's books is the blurbs in the back. Most authors only include positive raves for their work. A few might toss in a negative review just to be funny. Gray includes them all, from the most ass-kissingly hyperbolic praise of his champions in the British press to those reviewers who see him as a talentless hack deserving of an extremely painful and drawn-out death. Sometimes the reviews of his books make for more entertaining reading than the books themselves...
But this one is great. And he also draws some pretty funny pictures...
He writes great short stories, though, and you'll find plenty of them in here. The one on his contemporary retelling of the story of Job is particularly good. There's also plenty of not so subtle but intelligently delivered commentary about Blair-era Britain and Gray's raging contempt for it.
The other thing I love about all of Gray's books is the blurbs in the back. Most authors only include positive raves for their work. A few might toss in a negative review just to be funny. Gray includes them all, from the most ass-kissingly hyperbolic praise of his champions in the British press to those reviewers who see him as a talentless hack deserving of an extremely painful and drawn-out death. Sometimes the reviews of his books make for more entertaining reading than the books themselves...
But this one is great. And he also draws some pretty funny pictures...
May 12, 2021
I’m not sure if it was vividly brought to my own mind but the stories in ‘Ends of Our Tethers’ entertained and just felt lovely. After the first ten or fifteen pages of ‘No Bluebeard’ I was certain that this was going to be a perfect collection of short stories up until yesterday. It just lost its magic. If I had of stopped for four hours or so and just read the thing into the A.M.s then it would’ve retained that magic and secured me rating it 5 on this sorry platform Goodreads. Oh well at least I got some of the magic and had it through ‘Aiblins.’ Those poems of his are very good much much much stronger than most people who think they can write poems. I saved and read ‘No Bluebeard’ to finish (in mild amusement,) followed by the critic fuel. Gray is a great writer, I’ve only read one of his novels but it was a long one, a masterpiece, and lead me to some short story books and of the kind which I haven’t read since Paul Jennings and R.L. Stine days. Bravi.
December 14, 2010
13 stories about the disasters men and women visit on each other. soooo sad, funny, snarky, irreverent. should have a WARNING label on front: do not crack this if you a. have no sense of humor b. already lost your heart in this self-same sewer and what's the point?! c. both or neither.
ps best read while listening to arab strap
ps best read while listening to arab strap
September 24, 2012
Weird little stories but they did grow on me in the end. The story about the man who was obsessed with his eczema is cringeworthy, to say the least.
December 1, 2023
I loved these. I read them in their section of "Every Short Story 1951-2012". I chose these to read first simply because I liked the title, which has been ringing in my head since I saw it. The Ends of Our Tethers... who isn't there these days. I read these at home but also whilst being sunburnt and dehydrated doing field work.
In here is Gray's wit, his socialist views and eccentric, dramatic characters. The standouts of this are No Bluebeard, Aiblins, Job's Skin Game and Wellbeing.
No Bluebeard reminds me of Poor Things and is a nice love story. I hope the main character (I can't remember if he had a name) does truly change. You would have thought he would have learnt earlier though. I like Tilda who is funny: "cunt give me a glass of milk.”
Aiblins seems semi-autobiographical, about the protagonists experience of a genius poet 'Luke Aiblins'. "Mr Aiblins I am not the godfather of a Scottish literary mafia."
Job's Skin Game is a slightly disturbing tale of a modern-day Job.
Another I quite liked was Swan Burial, with the presumably dementia suffering Doctor Gowry. I like stories with people with dementia (Reminds me of my great-grandmother. Dementia is usually thought of as sad but with her we were laughing more than anything. Of course, it is sad, but there is a lot of humour, and why not enjoy life).
Wellbeing is set in a dystopic future where elderly people are treated as disposable 'to save the British economy'. He ends with the lines: "Sanity in this country would drive the weak to suicide and make the rich distinctly uncomfortable. We are better without it."
Which I feel captures the 'The Ends of Our Tethers' perfectly.
In here is Gray's wit, his socialist views and eccentric, dramatic characters. The standouts of this are No Bluebeard, Aiblins, Job's Skin Game and Wellbeing.
No Bluebeard reminds me of Poor Things and is a nice love story. I hope the main character (I can't remember if he had a name) does truly change. You would have thought he would have learnt earlier though. I like Tilda who is funny: "cunt give me a glass of milk.”
Aiblins seems semi-autobiographical, about the protagonists experience of a genius poet 'Luke Aiblins'. "Mr Aiblins I am not the godfather of a Scottish literary mafia."
Job's Skin Game is a slightly disturbing tale of a modern-day Job.
Another I quite liked was Swan Burial, with the presumably dementia suffering Doctor Gowry. I like stories with people with dementia (Reminds me of my great-grandmother. Dementia is usually thought of as sad but with her we were laughing more than anything. Of course, it is sad, but there is a lot of humour, and why not enjoy life).
Wellbeing is set in a dystopic future where elderly people are treated as disposable 'to save the British economy'. He ends with the lines: "Sanity in this country would drive the weak to suicide and make the rich distinctly uncomfortable. We are better without it."
Which I feel captures the 'The Ends of Our Tethers' perfectly.
April 25, 2024
Non è una raccolta di racconti tanto bella da essere trascendentale, però alcune storie sono davvero carine e l'esercizio di scrittura finale propone uno spunto creativo molto bello. L'autore scrive benissimo, mi piace anche il tema portante che accomuna un po' tutti i protagonisti.
Se vi aspettate qualcosa in stile Povere Creature!, rimarrete delusi. Non sono racconti fantasy, non hanno richiami alla fantascienza o altro.
Comunque, il mio parere così "freddo" potrebbe essere influito dal fatto che non sono una grande amante delle raccolte di racconti. Ne ho lette poche.
Se vi aspettate qualcosa in stile Povere Creature!, rimarrete delusi. Non sono racconti fantasy, non hanno richiami alla fantascienza o altro.
Comunque, il mio parere così "freddo" potrebbe essere influito dal fatto che non sono una grande amante delle raccolte di racconti. Ne ho lette poche.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 10, 2022
Most of the stories in this collection were far too short (2-3 pages) to leave a lasting impression. I did enjoy some of the longer stories — primarily, “No Bluebeard,” “Miss Kincaid’s Autumn,” and “Aiblins.” I’d call these three mildly entertaining, but “what’s the point?” was my primary thought after finishing each.
I keep finding myself coming back to Alasdair Gray, but nothing yet has come close to Poor Things for me.
I keep finding myself coming back to Alasdair Gray, but nothing yet has come close to Poor Things for me.
September 12, 2024
An essential carry-along book. The stories range from miniature to short, each with Gray's perspective shining through—nearly all with a perfect tag or proverb at the end that makes the world a little different than it was when you began. I can't wait until I forget these stories so I can read them again (though a couple of these are unlikely to ever leave my mind).
October 1, 2023
This was a solid collection, though I liked some stories more than others, mostly the shorter ones which I found quite punchy. My favourites, in the middle, were 'Pillow Talk' and 'Moral Philosophy Exam'.
February 8, 2024
Алистър Грей е симпатяга, а „Ланарк“ е сред най-чудноватите книги, които не съм дочитал, но този сборник с разкази е тотален произвол. Хареса ми обаче, че е посветен на пренебрегваната шотландска писателка Агнес Оуенс, която въпреки добре приетото си творчество работела като чистачка в общежитие.
April 23, 2023
Good one-sit read.
No Bluebeard, Job’s Skin Game & - Aiblins were my favourite short stories.
No Bluebeard, Job’s Skin Game & - Aiblins were my favourite short stories.
December 30, 2023
Vivid, liminal and engaging stories. Having seen and loved the film based on Gray's book "Poor Things", I now want to read everything he's written.
March 27, 2024
3,5⭐️
May 1, 2024
strange little scot
July 13, 2024
I did enjoy this, some stories more than others, but it was a diverting collection of short stories around men who find themselves firmly in the later half of their lives.
March 4, 2017
This book has a collection of 13 short stories, all of which vary from alright to good. However, the short story No Bluebeard, which is also the longest of the 13, is absoluteley wonderful, and on its own in my opinion make this book worth purchasing.
June 14, 2024
Some better than others but good nonetheless.
August 16, 2012
"[...]I closed my eyes and enjoyed walking on a grassy hilltop beside a tall, slender, beautiful young woman I had loved when I was fifty. Even in this dream I knew our love was in the past, that my virility was dead and that no beautiful woman would ever love me again. I told her this. She grew angry and called me selfish because I was only dreaming of her to cheer myself up. This was obviously true so I forgot her by staring at a hill on the far side of a valley[...]"
—"Wellbeing," p.167
Let the part stand in for the whole—the above excerpt, though more fanciful than most of the stories in The Ends of Our Tethers, perfectly captures Gray's defiantly glum tone.
Some of the sorry stories in this book are astonishingly mundane; "My Ex Husband," for example, could have been transcribed from a social worker's interview tape. Others, the scathing "Fifteenth February 2003" in particular, with its well-timed (though of course utterly ineffectual) indictment of the upcoming invasion of Iraq, show Gray's outspoken side and keen political awareness. One or two—such as "Job's Skin Game" with its typology of scabs—are actively unpleasant. A sense of quiet misery pervades all of them; the book's subtitle is accurate. And yet...
In the hands of a lesser author, these would be nothing but miserable. In Gray's... though I did not enjoy this collection quite so much as I did Unlikely Stories Mostly, it is a measure of Gray's greatness that he takes such unpromising material and turns it into tales which are so intensely interesting.
September 6, 2009
This was the first book I've read by Gray. I can't remember where I stumbled on it, but someone mentioned he was a force in typography. I love it when authors use the medium and play with fonts or layout. The Ends of Our Tethers was mild in graphics, yet tastefully laid out. The stories are rather short, entirely set in Scotland, and converge on a point of realization or illumination, which is often of no more than futility. It is a book about the rather familiar and unpopular emotions of frustration and acceptance. There are times when the author is painfully frank. Job's Skin Game revels in a gruesome obsession, and the creativity of language and description is agonizing. Though not quite my cup of tea, I'll definitely read more of Gray; the craft here was apparent.
May 1, 2011
I read this shortly after reading and adoring Gray's short-story collection Unlikely Stories Mostly. The Ends of Our Tethers was published much more recently, and I really hope all of his writing hasn't gone down the tubes as much as this collection indicates, because this book is hardly worth mentioning. There were a couple of decent stories and a lot of really uninteresting ones. Definitely NOT the place to start if you want to read some Alasdair Gray.
November 23, 2008
This is a quirky collection of stories, at times it reminded me of the deadpan tall tale style of some of the Mark Twain stories I've read, but with more gritty urban working class ennui. The best stories, imo, were "Job's Skin Game", a lovingly glum story about a thrice married man with a skin ailment, and "Wellbeing", a wonderful quasi-fantasy story about a famous homeless man with a rich imagination.
September 29, 2014
It has been a couple months since I've read this and I can't remember what I liked or disliked.
I do recall that the stories were not my cup of tea and speed reading through almost all of them.
Not the most helpful review, I know, but I think this was just a case of picking the wrong book for my tastes.
I do recall that the stories were not my cup of tea and speed reading through almost all of them.
Not the most helpful review, I know, but I think this was just a case of picking the wrong book for my tastes.
April 19, 2010
Read this little book. It is so funny and brilliant and real. 13 short stories about how life can go wrong and yet it is still funny and unique. "Job's Skin Game" was my favorite, a story about a man who enjoys his eczema a little too much.
June 23, 2010
I always really enjoy his writing - it's like nothing else I've read. I can't really say anything more intelligent than that. Also, I like the fact that he oversees the design of his books, down to the typesetting, and I believe he does the illustrations (!) as well.
Read
July 29, 2011The short stories vary from too short to just a little long. Some feel cast off, while others are truly poignant. One caution: that guy on the cover has no trousers. While this is a perfect waiting room book, I should have left the cover in the truck.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews