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bucket's review
5.0
After finding parts of volumes 2 and 3 to be a bit of a slog, I was very glad to find this final volume engaging and interesting again!
Book 10 hones in on Nick's post-war work with a publishing house and the beginning of Widmerpool's downfall (plus the fascinating story of X. Trapnel). Book 11 covers a short period of time Nick spends in Italy at a writer's conference, plus its aftermath. The Trapnel/Widmerpool conflict continues to feature (though Trapnel is dead, and his American biographer sort of takes up the reins).
Book 12 is a bit of a culmination. In between intense scenes of Widmerpool's ongoing downward spiral, Nick reflects on life and sees many of those he's known throughout the 12 books - closing loops for the reader. I was amazed at how clearly I could recall previous scenes with many of these characters, some occurring 2000-ish pages ago. One mark of a good writer.
A Dance to the Music of Time can fairly be called a masterpiece. It's a subtle one though. It's sort of an epic comedy of manners, with higher stakes. It doesn't overwhelm with philosophizing though, which I appreciated.
What it really does best is character development. Every character in the 12 volumes is their own person, through and through, with a story and personality. There are few who are flat. And there are probably 100 of them. It's an incredible undertaking, especially considering that they are all changing, divorcing, remarrying, aging, dying, etc, throughout the volumes.
What makes it possible is Nick's status as a shell we see the world through. He's the main character and we're in his perspective 100% of the time, but we know the very least about him. We never even learn the sex of his child(ren) and barely see his wife. He's like a set of binoculars we look through. He knows everyone, everyone likes him, he's in a lot of the right places at the right time, but if he's not there then he knows someone who was who will tell him the story. This made the whole thing work.
I was occasionally irritated (wanting more of Nick) but this is really a story about Widmerpool. And we couldn't see it so objectively from any other perspective.
Book 10 hones in on Nick's post-war work with a publishing house and the beginning of Widmerpool's downfall (plus the fascinating story of X. Trapnel). Book 11 covers a short period of time Nick spends in Italy at a writer's conference, plus its aftermath. The Trapnel/Widmerpool conflict continues to feature (though Trapnel is dead, and his American biographer sort of takes up the reins).
Book 12 is a bit of a culmination. In between intense scenes of Widmerpool's ongoing downward spiral, Nick reflects on life and sees many of those he's known throughout the 12 books - closing loops for the reader. I was amazed at how clearly I could recall previous scenes with many of these characters, some occurring 2000-ish pages ago. One mark of a good writer.
A Dance to the Music of Time can fairly be called a masterpiece. It's a subtle one though. It's sort of an epic comedy of manners, with higher stakes. It doesn't overwhelm with philosophizing though, which I appreciated.
What it really does best is character development. Every character in the 12 volumes is their own person, through and through, with a story and personality. There are few who are flat. And there are probably 100 of them. It's an incredible undertaking, especially considering that they are all changing, divorcing, remarrying, aging, dying, etc, throughout the volumes.
What makes it possible is Nick's status as a shell we see the world through. He's the main character and we're in his perspective 100% of the time, but we know the very least about him. We never even learn the sex of his child(ren) and barely see his wife. He's like a set of binoculars we look through. He knows everyone, everyone likes him, he's in a lot of the right places at the right time, but if he's not there then he knows someone who was who will tell him the story. This made the whole thing work.
I was occasionally irritated (wanting more of Nick) but this is really a story about Widmerpool. And we couldn't see it so objectively from any other perspective.
mylogicisfuzzy's review
5.0
And then we came to the end. What an immersive experience reading the whole thing was. And unique too. Throughly enjoyed it - loved it, even though at times, the 4th Movement was a bit heavy handed, lacking some of the subtlety in earlier volumes. Pamela, at times, Scorp too but it didn't really matter. As I've said before, Powell could have been writing about paint drying, I don't think I'd have cared much. Must return to The Wallace Collection to have a look at the Poussin painting soon.
invertible_hulk's review
4.0
The final set of three, from Powell's overall twelve.
Books Do Furnish a Room -- 5/5
I don't know if it was simply because the 'war books' are over and done, or because it really was a strong read -- but this has been one of my favorite of the series. Yet, it took me more than twice my normal time to get through with it. I don't know why. I guess I had to ease back into Powell's rhythm.
Temporary Kings -- 5/5
The Dance is drawing to a close, and only the stragglers are left behind....well, and the drunks.
Much like the last novel, I enjoyed this one immensely even if I did tend to slog through it. There's a part of me that doesn't want to finish the cycle; I don't want it to end. Even though there have been about 300 characters coming in and going out of the narrative, they're all fairly memorable and unique. It's been a long time since I've had such a reading experience. But I digress...
Unlike the other novels thus far, Powell brings in a bit of the fantastic (or "surreal" if you will) to this one. Characters begin to resemble ancient paintings, mysticism rears its whithered head, and the ghost of Trapnel looms ominously.
Yes, Trapnel is dead.
Moreland is dead.
And it's hinted that Pamela Widmerpool swallows a handful of pills and ODs.
The end is near.
Hopefully the obvious showdown between Jenkins and Widmerpool will be worth the price of admission.
Hearing Secret Harmonies -- 4/5
Banquet dinners, Literary Awards, proto-punk political dissent, necrophilia, mysticism, Manson Family-like cults...the times, they have a-changed.
With the dance over, the elders return home while the youth take out to the night.
I was bit disappointed that Jenkins and Widmerpool didn't have the hoped-for final showdown; regardless, this final volume was one of the most fun to read. Like all them, it had it's incredibly slow, seemingly pointless moments, but they can easily be overlooked when regarding the novel as a whole.
Final thoughts:
Is 'A Dance to the Music of Time' perfect? No.
Is '[b:A Dance to the Music of Time|16113|A Dance to the Music of Time First Movement|Anthony Powell|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1166706811s/16113.jpg|17890]' a masterpiece of English Literature? Without a doubt.
1.) Much like one's own life, this cycle is a trifle uneven -- but no one's life (especially when considering a fifty-year span of it) is entirely exciting or entirely dull; rather, one's life is a continual ebb and flow of experiences, emotions, and lackthereof.
2.) If more people were blessed with Powell's gift for characterization, I think people would be far more eager to read and to stay reading. There are well over 300 different characters encountered across the twelve novels, and somehow Powell makes the reader remember most (if not all) of them. Even if I never read these books again, I think I will always remember some of these characters as fondly as actual people I have known.
3.) I could spend the rest of my life rereading these novels, and still never understand everything that Powell has expertly pulled off within them. Historical references, mythological references, religious references, literary references, dramatic, artistic, scientific, military -- his novels are saturated with them.
4.) While it can be a bit dry at times, Powell's writing is never dull. Twelve novels (over 3000pgs total) seems like a daunting task for a reader, and they certainly would have been had they not been written in so readable a matter.
The New York Times might refer to this quality as "unputdownable" -- I know I would.
Books Do Furnish a Room -- 5/5
I don't know if it was simply because the 'war books' are over and done, or because it really was a strong read -- but this has been one of my favorite of the series. Yet, it took me more than twice my normal time to get through with it. I don't know why. I guess I had to ease back into Powell's rhythm.
Temporary Kings -- 5/5
The Dance is drawing to a close, and only the stragglers are left behind....well, and the drunks.
Much like the last novel, I enjoyed this one immensely even if I did tend to slog through it. There's a part of me that doesn't want to finish the cycle; I don't want it to end. Even though there have been about 300 characters coming in and going out of the narrative, they're all fairly memorable and unique. It's been a long time since I've had such a reading experience. But I digress...
Unlike the other novels thus far, Powell brings in a bit of the fantastic (or "surreal" if you will) to this one. Characters begin to resemble ancient paintings, mysticism rears its whithered head, and the ghost of Trapnel looms ominously.
Yes, Trapnel is dead.
Moreland is dead.
And it's hinted that Pamela Widmerpool swallows a handful of pills and ODs.
The end is near.
Hopefully the obvious showdown between Jenkins and Widmerpool will be worth the price of admission.
Hearing Secret Harmonies -- 4/5
Banquet dinners, Literary Awards, proto-punk political dissent, necrophilia, mysticism, Manson Family-like cults...the times, they have a-changed.
With the dance over, the elders return home while the youth take out to the night.
I was bit disappointed that Jenkins and Widmerpool didn't have the hoped-for final showdown; regardless, this final volume was one of the most fun to read. Like all them, it had it's incredibly slow, seemingly pointless moments, but they can easily be overlooked when regarding the novel as a whole.
Final thoughts:
Is 'A Dance to the Music of Time' perfect? No.
Is '[b:A Dance to the Music of Time|16113|A Dance to the Music of Time First Movement|Anthony Powell|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1166706811s/16113.jpg|17890]' a masterpiece of English Literature? Without a doubt.
1.) Much like one's own life, this cycle is a trifle uneven -- but no one's life (especially when considering a fifty-year span of it) is entirely exciting or entirely dull; rather, one's life is a continual ebb and flow of experiences, emotions, and lackthereof.
2.) If more people were blessed with Powell's gift for characterization, I think people would be far more eager to read and to stay reading. There are well over 300 different characters encountered across the twelve novels, and somehow Powell makes the reader remember most (if not all) of them. Even if I never read these books again, I think I will always remember some of these characters as fondly as actual people I have known.
3.) I could spend the rest of my life rereading these novels, and still never understand everything that Powell has expertly pulled off within them. Historical references, mythological references, religious references, literary references, dramatic, artistic, scientific, military -- his novels are saturated with them.
4.) While it can be a bit dry at times, Powell's writing is never dull. Twelve novels (over 3000pgs total) seems like a daunting task for a reader, and they certainly would have been had they not been written in so readable a matter.
The New York Times might refer to this quality as "unputdownable" -- I know I would.
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