“Lanthimos’s film and Gray’s text are independent but related works. It is worth remembering that adaptations are under no obligation to be faithful to source materials. There is no governing body adjudicating and no code of laws to apply. Traces remain, however. Look out for the interrogation of authority, the imagination of an alternative future, and the indomitable spirit of Bella Baxter. Then read some Alasdair Gray.”
Scottish literature
Overdue homecoming for RLS
Robert Louis Stevenson has been all too easily dismissed as a story writer for boys. Slowly, he has regained his reputation as what Borges called a “literary joy”. We can better judge for ourselves when a collection of his books and letters opens this month.