One of Alasdair Gray's most brilliant creations, Poor Things is a postmodern revision of Frankenstein that replaces the traditional monster with Bella Baxter - a beautiful young erotomaniac brought back to life with the brain of an infant. Godwin Baxter's scientific ambition to create the perfect companion is realized when he finds the drowned body of Bella, but his dream is thwarted by Dr. Archibald McCandless's jealous love for Baxter's creation. The hilarious tale of love and scandal that ensues would be "the whole story" in the hands of a lesser author (which in fact it is, for this account is actually written by Dr. McCandless). For Gray, though, this is only half the story, after which Bella (a.k.a. Victoria McCandless) has her own say in the matter. Satirizing the classic Victorian novel, Poor Things is a hilarious political allegory and a thought-provoking duel between the desires of men and the independence of women, from one of Scotland's most accomplished authors.
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A highly weird and fantastical book rooted within the core landscape of humanity and being human. It's rich in innocence and learning and womanhood. Bella Baxter provides an interesting character arc, a grown woman's body inhabited with a child's mind. It's an incredibly unhinged novel, with questionable male characters woven into it, but fun entails when each tries to take advantage of Bella within their own ways, yet failing time and time again. Gray's work is a celebration of Glasgow, of femininity and bodily autonomy, and a critique on capitalism and the expectations and ideals put onto women as they grow up. Gray was ahead of his time and gender when writing this, and his work continues to hold it's own within the modern day.
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