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    All That Man Is
    All That Man Is
    All That Man Is
    Audiobook13 hours

    All That Man Is

    Written by David Szalay

    Narrated by Huw Parmenter, Mark Meadows and Sean Barrett

    4/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    Nine men. Each of them at a different stage in life, each of them away from home, and each of them striving-in the suburbs of Prague, in an overdeveloped Alpine village, beside a Belgian motorway, in a dingy Cyprus hotel-to understand what it means to be alive, here and now. Tracing a dramatic arc from the spring of youth to the winter of old age, the ostensibly separate narratives of All That Man Is aggregate into a picture of a single shared existence, a picture that interrogates the state of modern manhood while bringing to life, unforgettably, the physical and emotional terrain of an increasingly globalized Europe. And so these nine lives form an ingenious and new kind of novel, in which David Szalay expertly plots a dark predicament for the twenty-first-century man.

    Dark and disturbing, but also often wickedly and uproariously comic, All That Man Is is notable for the acute psychological penetration Szalay brings to bear on his characters, from the working-class ex-grunt to the pompous college student, the middle-aged loser to the Russian oligarch. Szalay is a writer of supreme gifts-a master of a new kind of realism that vibrates with detail, intelligence, relevance, and devastating pathos.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHighbridge Company
    Release dateOct 28, 2016
    ISBN9781681685038
    All That Man Is
    Author

    David Szalay

    David Szalay is the author of Turbulence, Spring, The Innocent, London and the South-East, and All That Man Is. He’s been awarded the Gordon Burn Prize and The Paris Review Plimpton Prize for Fiction and has been shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize. Born in Canada, he grew up in London, and now lives in Budapest.

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    Reviews for All That Man Is

    4/5

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    • 3/5
      I liked most of the stories. Most were really grim. Especially the last story of the 73 year old man, Tony. I wondered, "Is this what I am in for in a few short years"?? It did have a very revealing observation that most men have as they begin to understand their mortality. Tony wonders,

      "It still seems incredible to him that he is actually going to die. That this is just going to stop. This. Him. It still seems like something that happens to other people –and of course friends and acquaintances are already falling. People he had known for decades. A fair few are dead already. He had attended their funerals. The numbers are starting to thin out. And still he finds it hard to understand —- to properly understand – that he will die as well. That this experience is finite. That one day it will end. The 10 years from now, quite probably, he just won't be here.

      There is something very strange about trying to imagine the world without him."       Page 319

      This is not an American story. The culture and perspectives in this book are far from the American model. As I read each story, I saw themes similar to my own life. For example, I shared 17 year old Simon's awkwardness with women and could relate to his being an introvert.

      I can see why some rate this book a 5 and some simply rate it a three. Maybe not great reading for everybody...
    • 4/5
      Having finished reading this year (2017)'s Man Booker shortlist, I decided to go back to the one that eluded me last year. I recall that at the time much of the debate was about whether such a disconnected set of stories should be regarded as a novel, and having read it now I am not entirely convinced. It does have some thematic unity - each of the nine parts focuses on a different man, in a different part of Europe, struggling with a crisis of confidence, and they do get progressively older as the book goes on, but apart from that the stories have nothing in common.For me the later stories were more interesting. Szalay is clearly a versatile writer and creates some memorable situations, and the stories are funny at times, but he doesn't spare his characters much sympathy. I hope the title was intended to be ironic, otherwise Szalay has a very bleak view of his fellow man.An interesting read, possibly worthy of its shortlist place but I didn't see it deserving more than that.
    • 4/5
      Not a novel, really, but short stories spanning the ages of Man. As with most collections, the quality varies wildly - the journalist's tale stood out as particularly makeweight - but the first two stories are so good that I was still well disposed to the book by the end.
    • 4/5
      Beautifully written, but ultimately unsatisfying, this collection of short pieces could have been titled " The General Uselessness of Men". All that man is, suggests David Szalay, is ultimately not very much at all. Having just read "The Girls" by Emma Cline - where there is nary a male character in sight - it feels somehow appropriate to follow it by reading a book about men, in which almost every female merely exists to demonstrate to the male protagonists their own inferiority by being accessible to almost all males other than them. See the Serbian landlady in Story 1, Iveta from Latvia in Story 2, Emma the Hungarian pornstar / escort in Story 3, Ksena the trophy wife in Story 8 (hmm and they are mainly Eastern European too - what's going on there?)etc In brief the 9 pieces, short stories if you like, follow everyman characters (although it must be said that most are comfortably white and middle class) through a lifetime of male crisis points. The early sexual hesitancy, chasing the unachievable, settling for what you can get, throwing yourself at what you've got, chasing and getting something you don't actually want, feeling there must be must be more to life that this, realising that what you do want is no longer available to you, losing everything and waiting for time to run out. Depressing no? But the characterisation is so good, that somehow its not depressing and you want to settle in with all of these characters for more than the 50 or so pages you getAnd that's why this is unsatisfying ultimately. Szalay is so good at instantly setting a scene, at creating immediate empathy with these bumbling characters, has so many good jokes and nice points of observation that you want to stay with them for longer - well, other than Kristian the po-faced Danish journalist in Story 4, that is. In my view Szalay would have been better to choose one or two of these characters and create something richer. Nothing stopping him doing that in future of course, and I hope he does. This is very readable and entertaining but could have been more
    • 4/5
      Throughout most of the book, David Szalay’s novel really seems to be nine separate short stories. Each section focuses on a different man facing a mental quandary, brought about largely by their own actions and behaviours. The men are all very different, varying in age, nationality and social or financial status, yet all find themselves suddenly questioning their values, goals and lifestyles.Szalay’s mastery is most powerfully evident in his management of the different strands of story. Each of the segments is individually haunting, and the reader (well, certainly this reader) is left baffled about how the separate threads might be resolved. While each story is recounted in the third person, they all demonstrate a unique authorial voice: sometimes funny, occasionally grim, but always masterful. The characters are often far from masterful – the book revolves around the consideration of unfulfilled ambition or unsatisfied desire.This is a sustained and successful essay in imaginative composition. It could so easily have failed (so many writers bite off more than they can chew when it comes to exploration of form), but there is a satisfying and rewarding cohesion to the novel.While I have unsatisfied ambition and unfulfilled dreams of my own, I look forward to reading more by Mr Szalay.
    • 4/5
      I viewed these as short stories about men of increasing age. They were all unhappy and many existed on the fringes of society. The writing was excellent and Szalay was able to offer much of importance with very few words.
    • 4/5
      This book was short listed for the Booker Prize. It was a very interesting concept. 9 stories about European men(all white) at various ages from 17 to 73 with the stories arranged by the age. Each story stands on its own so you could view this as short stories. The prose is in the here and now and can be a bit flat but it does reflect the concept of focusing on the present. All of the characters are in travel and they really don't show men at their best. Because each story is pretty much in the head of the main character, we get a very one sided view of what is going on. I found the last 2 stories of men in the later stages of their life very sad but worth reading. This book is a worthwhile read for those that like literature that takes some thinking and some work. Not sure if I will read his earlier works but will keep an eye out for his future publications.
    • 1/5
      Really? Short-listed for the Booker 2016? I don't get it. Read this with trepidation due to advance great reviews. Several issues - any fact-checking/editing still happening out there? Some examples: Bernard in French is not spelled with an accent on the e - wonder where that came from? One cannot see the Stella Artois brewery from the E40 in Belgium - yet the author mentions it as the character is driving on the E40 to Liège - bizarre. How about consistency of language? In the first story, the author writes...Warsaw, Kraków, etc. Why not write Warszawa, or Cracow?

      In any case, sloppy writing and a book like this gets nominated for a major literary prize. The stories themselves I find not terribly insightful, sometimes I think that every generation needs to read/learn major life themes all over again. As well, I question the judging panel of the Booker - was there nothing written better than this in the English language?
    • 4/5
      Can just imagine Szalay's publisher telling him that short story collections don't sell - why not drop the story titles and replace them with parts and chapters. Having said that, I'm really happy to see a short story collection on the Booker shortlist and the book deserves to be there more than some of the other titles (I'm thinking about Hot Milk and Eileen). The book holds together very well - 9 stories of men, arranged in the sequence of their ages 17-73 - each facing an existential crisis of some kind, whether they recognise it or not . A billionaire contemplates suicide after losing everything he has after a disastrous court case; a personal-trainer hired as a bodyguard defends the honour of the call-girl he's protecting; an old man faces the imminent bereavement of death; a schoolboy on holiday is almost seduced by a sleazy landlady. There are some interesting overlapping between the stories which it's best for the reader to find for themselves. The stories take place in the same year over subsequent months - April to December - and all are set in the borderless Europe of the EU (so seem even more poignant after Brexit!). The writing is very good and Szalay makes even the mundane compelling. Plan to reread.
    • 5/5
      Is this it? Is this how I have spent my life?Lying there with a broken heart on bedroom floorsAnd finally, finally I realize, I realize that I'm only a manI'm only a man, I'm only a man, I'm only a man“Story About a Man With a Bad Heart” - EmeryOne of my all-time favorite music albums is I'm Only a Man by the post-hardcore band Emery. Emery's third album, released in 2007, is largely based on a theme, revolving around the excuse of “I'm only a man.” While many fans of the band declare this album their worst (I acknowledge it has one or two duds), I've always felt it was their best; it was an album where emotions were ripped apart and vulnerability was put on display.I thought about Emery's album often while reading David Szalay's All That Man Is. The men in this collection of stories are unapologetic, insufferable brutes. Initially, this angered me. Was every man in this collection going to be framed by a stereotype of what it “means” to be a man? But I thought of I'm Only a Man, recalled how many of the songs on the album are from the man's perspective, and how little optimism there is in that album. Szalay is not necessarily saying this is “all that man is,” but merely tackling a theme that is certainly relevant. Still, it was brutal, and this brutality is probably what made this book so affecting.As a Man Booker nominee, I didn't expect All That Man Is to be a collection of stories. Generally, the Prize avoids collections and there was no mention on the book itself that it was anything but a novel. In fact, it seems some regard it as a “novel with an overarching theme,” whatever that means. (Don't many collections have a theme? That doesn't make them novels.) So anyway, it's a short story collection. Like with many collections, there are going to be stories that stand out, and stories that pale in comparison. All That Man Is starts strong, with one story after another meeting the expectations set by its predecessor. These were such dark, wonderfully written stories. It's difficult not to ache for the characters, particularly those affected by the male leads. Each story is ruthlessly brilliant.Not surprisingly, midway the bar was lowered, but that's not to say that the bar was significantly lowered. Every story in this collection is good, but some, particularly those that open the collection, are amazing. They're incredibly gritty, yet beautifully heartbreaking. All That Man Is is men at their worst, facing some crisis often brought about by their own insecurity or greed. And Szalay expertly picks these men apart and displays them in a manner few writers could. Certainly, Szalay has proven his worthiness to be on the same playing field as the likes of Munro and other greats of the short form.Though this is one of my favorites to come out of this year's Man Booker shortlist, I think the form and unevenness of All That Man Is lessen its chances of claiming the prize. Certainly, the writing and insight are on par with the requirements of the prize, but I don't think this will be enough to lift it to the top of the pile. Szalay's collection has better chances, in my opinion, than Eileen or The Sellout, but doesn't match the epic beauty of Do Not Say We Have Nothing or the cohesiveness of Hot Milk.
    • 3/5
      Initially I would have probably written this off with a quick one-liner of: unsympathetic and uninteresting characters in 9 seemingly unrelated stories.But I then had the benefit of reading my friend Antonomasia’s review when I was about half-way through and thanks to that I had some clues as to what to watch out for.There are probably more connections and interpretations that you can make. These are just some that I observed. That does not make the characters any more sympathetic or interesting, but it does make the book somewhat interesting. The quotes are either from the Szalay story itself or from the blurb for the book that is referenced inside the Szalay story. Unless you count the product placements, I only found direct connections between Stories 1 and 9 (1’s Simon is 9. Tony’s grandson) and Stories 7 and 8 (7’s Murray sees 8. Alexsandr’s yacht off the coast of Croatia). It is quite possible that there are more which can be picked up by close reading. Best of luck to you if you spot more and please let me know in the comments.1. 17 year old student Simon (who is the grandson of Tony Parson in Story 9) and his friend Ferdinand are touring Europe.Time: AprilBook: The Ambassadors (Henry James)Music: Mozart Mass in C minorTarot Card: Ace of Staves/Wands (in Otto’s drawer) = Be ready to act on imminent opportunityQuote: “…a man’s late awakening to the importance of morality that is founded not on the dictates of convention but on its value per se.” (Ambassadors blurb)2. early 20s Bérnard from Lille, France takes a solo vacation to Protaras, Cyprus.Time: mid-May Movie: Iron Man 3Hotel Poseidon: Poseidon is the Greek god of the sea, but the hotel pool is closed and the shower in Bernard room doesn’t work.Hotel Vangelis: Derived from Evangelos (Good Angel). The name of the hotel where Poseidon guests can use the pool.3. late 20s gym trainer Balázs from Budapest is hired by his friend Gabor to help bodyguard for a prostitute Emma.Time: early June, Book: Harry Potter és a Titkok Kamrája (Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets) (J.K. Rowling),Quote: "Harry receives a warning … disaster will strike.” (Chamber of Secrets blurb)4. 30ish Belgian Karel, a philologist is travelling to Poland with his girlfriend Waleria.Time: Summer, Book(s): [brief references only] Canterbury Tales (Geoffrey Chaucer), Sir Gawain and the Green Knight: A New Verse Translation (Anon), Music: Vivaldi Gloria (on car stereo), Tarot Cards: Ace of Wands, The Tower, The EmperorQuote: "His quest for the Green Knight involves a winter journey, a seduction scene in a dreamlike castle, a dire challenge answered - and a drama of enigmatic reward disguised as psychic undoing.” (Green Knight blurb)5. 40ish Danish journallist Kristian is scheming to expose a romance scandal.Time: SummerQuote (epigraph): “Lascia Amor e siegui Marte!” (Leave Love and follow Mars!) aria from “Orlando" by Georg Handel.Quote (from the story): “What is sadder than the furious exhaustion of the bull? Than the bull’s failure to understand, even at the very end, that his death is inevitable, and always has been? Is just part of a show."6. 44 year old James is showing ski vacation apartments in Samoens in the French Alps.Time: early AutumnQuote (from the story): “Why are trees so high?” “I suppose they’re trying to get as near to the sun as possible.” “Why?” “Well, the sunlight makes them grow. They need it to grow."7. mid 50s Murray Dundee, a semi-retired Scot, is living in Croatia.Time: last day of September thru to last day of October, Movie: Iron Man 3Tarot Cards: Four of Coins, The Tower, The HermitMurray sees Alexsandr's superyacht Europa (see Story 8) on the final page.8. mid 60s Alexsandr, a Russian oligarch is losing his fortune.Time: A dark November day, Movie: Nostalghia by Andrei Tarkovsky, Music (brief reference): Don Giovanni by Mozart.Quote (from the story) “In the morning, the yacht is at anchor, a kilometre or two from the Croatian shore.” (perhaps seen by Murray in Story 7)Quote (from the story) “It was like the end of Don Giovanni, when he won’t say he’s sorry, even with hell opening in front of him."9. 73 year old Tony Parson (who is the grandfather of Simon in Story 1) is recovering from surgery in his vacation home in Italy.Time: First week of December, Movie: Groundhog Day (watched 20 times) Book: The Sleepwalkers: How Europe Went to War in 1914 by Christopher Clark,Quote (epigraph): Time will say nothing but I told you so, Time only knows the price we have to pay; If I could tell you I would let you know. (from “If I could tell you” by W.H. Auden)Quote (Simon’s poem): “Just a moment’s immersion in the texture of existence."Stray Baltic Character Cameo Observations• (about Iveta) “She is Latvian, she says, she and her friends.” pg. 69• "Laima’s salary - the Lithuanian nanny." pg. 278• “Madis … lives there with his wife Liz. He is Estonian, originally." pg. 381
    • 5/5
      From the nine stories in this collection, all that man is might seem to be a bit sad, a bit disappointed, and yet precious all the same. Of course David Szalay isn’t trying to capture all that man is. Rather, I suspect each story here captures its principal male lead at a moment in time that sums up his character. In that case, probably only Simon, from the first story, and Tony, Simon’s grandfather, from the final story (these are the only two stories that have a direct connection), are entirely positive portrayals. Each of the other men at the other stages of life between 18 and 73 are variously stunted, shallow, self-absorbed, despairing, or vile. So, not a pretty picture. Nevertheless, each of them is a compelling portrait running across types, European nations, and political persuasions. I was riveted.The writing here is precise and nuanced. Szalay brings each story to life with just enough detail to allow us to situate his protagonist. And enough interiority for us to appreciate his plight. Sometimes these are men you don’t really want to spend too much time with, which lends support to the choice of form that Szalay has made. But with others, I would gladly have followed them over the course of ae novel. So the brevity cuts both ways.The overall impression is simply of a writer in complete command of his palette. If this is the first book by Szalay that you have read, as it was for me, you’ll immediately want to search out anything else he might have written and hope, given his relative youth, that there is a great deal more to come. Highly recommended.