This is a cornucopia of several different books, fiction, modern politics and ancient history, all thrown together into a cohesive and visually pleasing package. I love it.
Old Men in Love purports to be a compilation of the writings of one John Tunnock, a Scottish academic and writer, as edited by Tunnock himself. There are long excerpts from various of his projects, set in ancient Greece, mediaeval Italy and modern(ish) Britain. There are also diary entries and biographical writings which show Tunnock to be a sympathetic and interesting figure, perceptive but resigned about the iniquities of the contemporary world (Blair’s Britain and its aftermath).
Like most of Gray’s books, this one is absolutely beautiful, printed in blue and black with appealing typography and some very detailed illustrations, all by the author. Ample marginal notes sometimes enhance and sometimes undermine the main text. All his books are like this – I would write more about them but I would rather just re-read them instead.
