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joh17's review
funny
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
nick_jenkins's review against another edition
5.0
Powell improves in technique, writes more confidently than ever in this volume.
joe2d2's review against another edition
5.0
somehow, each book is better than the last. an astonishing series - captures the same feeling as watching all the films in the "7 up" series back to back.
charlottesometimes's review
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
neiljung78's review
3.0
More of the same lubelike prose, a bit more explicitly comic than some of the earlier books but I did find the gossipy tone and it being set around shabby literary soho pretty entertaining.
bookpossum's review against another edition
4.0
Great stuff once again. The Dance continues as peace returns following World War II. Many of the same players appear once again, and a few new ones are introduced to keep things lively. The formidable Pamela makes a number of appearances, and I treasured a wonderful phrase that summed her up, when Nick referred to "Pamela's gladiatorial sex life during the war."
Sadly, only two more books remain to be read, but they must wait for a couple of weeks.
Sadly, only two more books remain to be read, but they must wait for a couple of weeks.
astrangerhere's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
nocto's review
informative
reflective
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
So, having reached volume 10 of the 12 volume series we're plunged into 'Winter' according to the seasonal cycle of the books. Which I have issue with as by my calculations the main characters are not much into their forties, are still parents of young children etc and are hardly next in line for the nursing home. But perhaps I'm missing something and being a bit obtuse. The war is finally over having gone on for way too long in this series, in my opinion. And that's all fine because this is very much about the subjective nature of time. The second world war will likely have felt like it went on for ages and interrupted everyone's lives, and now things are dragging on rather than really getting back to normal and these characters no doubt feel like the older generation now.
This book features what I presume is the hard frozen winter of 1947, and Nick is back working as a writer and in the publishing trade. Whenever writers write about writing and publishing it seems a bit insular and it's no different here. I'm avoiding reading much about this series until I've finished but I'm presuming, perhaps wrongly, that there's a degree of slightly-disguised-autobiography at play here. I suspect there's a lot of parody in the publishing company parts of the book but that's mostly over the head of the reader eighty-ish years later. I presumed the parts of the book where the publisher worried about obscenity trials was in the manner of Lady Chatterley's Lover but I've just checked and that trial didn't happen until 1960. Oh, but further checking and this book wasn't published until 1971, so I think I was probably thinking along the right lines.
On the whole I much preferred this book to the few preceding it, it was far more relatable and entertaining and I am looking forward to the next two and reaching the end.
This book features what I presume is the hard frozen winter of 1947, and Nick is back working as a writer and in the publishing trade. Whenever writers write about writing and publishing it seems a bit insular and it's no different here. I'm avoiding reading much about this series until I've finished but I'm presuming, perhaps wrongly, that there's a degree of slightly-disguised-autobiography at play here. I suspect there's a lot of parody in the publishing company parts of the book but that's mostly over the head of the reader eighty-ish years later. I presumed the parts of the book where the publisher worried about obscenity trials was in the manner of Lady Chatterley's Lover but I've just checked and that trial didn't happen until 1960. Oh, but further checking and this book wasn't published until 1971, so I think I was probably thinking along the right lines.
On the whole I much preferred this book to the few preceding it, it was far more relatable and entertaining and I am looking forward to the next two and reaching the end.
omnibozo22's review
4.0
Nick and friends settle into life after the war, as old friends pop in and out of his current circle. Surprising pairings ensure plenty for him to contemplate. Another mention of a conjuror appears, think it's the second or third one. Troubles in the Balkans and in Greece were still going on when we lived there. Widmerpool contines to define boorishness. Two more to read, then an analysis book.
tasadion's review against another edition
2.0
Picked the book up from a church fete due to the title. It is the 10th of 12 so the feeling of coming into the middle of a well-established plot/line is inevitable, although little is done for the new reader. The plot was almost imperceptible, with the main focus being a tale of publishing in post-war
Britain. The style was a bit much for me at times, although apparently it is a perfect representation of upper-class Britain at that time. Somewhat Wodehousian, with occasional clever little vignettes, this book was easy enough to read, but did not entertain sufficiently.
Britain. The style was a bit much for me at times, although apparently it is a perfect representation of upper-class Britain at that time. Somewhat Wodehousian, with occasional clever little vignettes, this book was easy enough to read, but did not entertain sufficiently.