Thursday 9 July 2020

All that Man Is by David Szalay- The Book Review

All that Man Is is a collection of short stories written by David Szalay. The book deals with the nine tales. These tales are dealt with the concept of love, sex, money and loneliness. This was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize in the year 2016.



Every story deals with the mechanical life of Europeans. The protagonists are at the different stages in their life. The narrative art adds an additional beauty for this book. Here is the gist of nine tales within a few lines.

The first story deals with the two teenagers Simon and Ferdinand and their relationship towards with a chinese women. The second story deals with the workman Bernard, a lonely man and his relationship with a woman whom he have met in his tour. The third story deals with the life of a prostitute and her relatinship with two bodyguards. The first three stories deal with sex, loneliness and lust.

The fourth story deals with an illegal affair of a couple and it becomes trivial when she announces that she is pregnant. The fifth one deals with the ethics of journalism, blackmailing and loneliness. Then, the next one deals with the concept of real-estate, a kind of people who has more money but not get enough love. These stories dealt with loneliness and money.



The seventh deals with Murray, a middle aged man and his failed relationship with his family. Then, it deals with the life of Enzo, a lonely man and the final story deals with an old man who is at the end of his life. Again, the author deals with loneliness.

The sequence of stories are beautiful and it is not bored. The entire novel looks depressed and the author maintained the same tone till the end of the pages. We can relate several things through this book. I hope this book will be enjoyable. Have a happy reading. If you read the book, kindly share your opinion.

Goodreads 3.7/5
Sharkz Scale 3.5/5

No comments:

Post a Comment