Lanark 1982 an unofficial Alasdair Gray website Ten Tales Tall and True (1993)

Contents Getting Started - A Prologue Houses & Small Labour Parties Homeward Bound Loss Of The Golden Silence You Internal Memorandum Are You A Lesbian? The Marriage Feast Fictional Exits A New World The Trendelenburg Position Time Travel Near The Driver Mr Meikle - An Epilogue Notes, Thanks and Critic Fuel

Listen to Alasdair Gray read an extract from 'The Trendelenburg Position'. (30 secs)

Ten Tales Tall and True contains Gray's mid-career short stories and reflect a man at home in his craft. Gone, perhaps regretably, are the pyrotechnics of Unlikely Stories, Mostly. Here the stories are well-written, well-crafted and consistently satisfying. While there is nothing to compare with the likes of 'Five Letters from an Eastern Empire', equally there is nothing like 'Logopandocy', which looks fabulous but perhaps not one in 25 readers ploughed their way though.

The first edition had its navy blue boards embossed in silver, front and back, with the same design: a lattice background, a picture of a (scots?) pine tree-stump putting forth a healthy new shoot beside the motto 'TRY AGAIN', a spider dangles by a thread from the lattice. The same design was later used on the boards of A History Maker.

Printed in a spectrum of colours, from red to green, the front flap of the dust jacket says:

Within the book, there are many line illustrations, mainly of animals and their tails. Each story, apart from the last, opens with a large capital letter illuminated with another animal drawing. The right-hand page of each spread has a different phrase commenting upon the action on the page, acting as a running commentary upon plot and characters. A list of work by the author includes, under 'In Preparation', The Anthology of Prefaces and, with Angela Mullane, The State We Are In.

Some copies of the 1st hardback edition were issued with a small erratum slip (100mm x 40mm, in black ink). It includes the information that the story beginning on p111, Time Travel, should be dedicated to James Kelman.

BUY THIS BOOK Alasdair Gray's books are sometimes difficult to get hold of. Where they are available, I have included links below to the amazon sites in the UK and the USA. Where a record is on their database, they will usually include links to used-book sellers who can offer the title, even if it is not available direct from amazon themselves.
	Paperback also available.
Alternatively, you can try emailing Morag McAlpine, who can send you a list of available titles. She usually has a variety of out-of-print books, often signed, and also a selection of prints of Gray's artwork, also signed.