All That Man Is: Shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize 2016

Nine reflective stories show nine men at different stages of their lives and reveal their relationships to women. In different parts of Europe, from French jobless youngster to Russian billionaire, each in their unique predicament confronts past, present and future as we move from spring into winter. What links them? The oldest, in the final story, is grandfather to a student in the first. But, more intriguingly, each narrative pinpoints a moment of clarity about the value of being alive.

(Llangollen Reading Group)
This collection of short stories does not do justice to it's ambitious title. Each of the nine characters has a small chapter to himself. Expecting a novel I tried very hard to find linking themes in the different tales, and I found that as the protagonists age, so the seasons advance. Simon and Ferdinand as the youngest, start the tales in April, and the eldest subject, Tony, ends the tales in December. Simon and Ferdinand are also referred to in the last tale. However, these tenuous threads do nothing to unify the tales as a single novel, and do not assist the readers understanding of the whole. Some occasional playfulness in the font size and arrangement of lines on the page does not edify.
Szalay's men are isolated, self centred and often unfulfilled and delusional. They disregard or lack a strong family structure. However, Szalay does not give flesh to the characters, especially the two dimensional secondary characters, therefore, the reader does not care about their activities or their ultimate fates.
The writing is easy to follow, but does not engage the reader or raise issues. Finishing the tales one can use Aleksandr's last words. "It was over. That was it".

(Llangollen Reading Group)

This is a collection of short stories rather than a novel. There are 9 different men from a variety of countries with a variety of backgrounds, presented in the order of the age of the men in question. The book describes a brief period in the lives of these men. The stories focus on the protagonists' relationships (either past, present or hoped for; temporary or permanent) but I felt that there was not enough of a common theme to qualify the collection as a novel. Far from "All That Man Is", I felt it was "Some Aspects of What Man May Be", there were many aspects of what a man may be that were not included.

I appreciated the writing, and enjoyed some of the stories, but was disappointed with the whole.

A novel encapsulating nine short stories about man at different stages of life from youth to old age, linked by their alienation from family and the people around them. It is an examination of the transient and meaningless nature of life but doesn't offer any new insight and, perhaps, doesn't seek to. All the stories are unremittingly bleak and often sordid. A very grim view of mankind. Despite this, I was drawn into the narrative and these extracts from the men's lives seem believable to me.

"All That Man Is" is an unusual prospective winner fort the ManBooker2016 prize. It is a series of apparently unrelated stories about different men of all ages in different situations. But not like Shakesperes 7 stages of ages, all of the men are adults. What links Them is the title, -All That Man Is- but is this a positive title, exploring every aspect of manhood, or negative, ie, manhood is ultimately just driven by lust and desires. Personally I didn't really engage with most of the characters because they were outside my experiences and were not fully rounded. Except for Balazs the chauffeur who had a warmth about him. But maybe men will respond to this novel novel better. Perhaps it's just not my type of book.

The nine stories do not add up to a novel. The "unifying theme" of exploring different stages of men's lives is far too general, and is made more difficult by the choice of men from very different backgrounds and life choices. One story's protagonist does not illuminate the next. The chosen form does not allow for an exploration of one man's development over a period of a lifetime. Because of this it is hard to feel engaged with any of the stories. I m afraid that in most of the episodes, I read the first half then lost interest and skim read the rest before starting the next episode with relief and expectation before repeating the experience.

A really interesting insight into the ordinary lives of nine different men throughout life. I must admit I felt little sympathy for most of them, caught up in their petty dramas and baser instincts. There were moments of humility and I pitied some their inability to find happiness in what seemed like a relatively easy life compared to most. I'm not sure who I could recommend this book to, and I would hate to think someone would read this and think all men are so deeply flawed!