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joakley's review
1.0
They say that if you’re not enjoying a book, you should stop reading it. But you know what. Sometimes. Maybe? Reading that book all the way through the very last word is the only way to truly know how much you hate that book. Only then can you realize the full extent of its garbage-ness. If you’re lucky, at the very end you can look back and say to yourself “Wow, it really was a garbage.”
Such was the case with Richard Powers’ Orfeo.
I don’t want to spend much time on a book that I didn’t enjoy, and most of what I wanted to say about this one can be found in the first paragraph, but there were some distinct aspects of this novel that made reading it such a chore that I want to see what it’s like to put together an argument about why a book is bad, rather than just praising books I like.
A large part of Orfeo’s downfall is that it is meant to be a book about modern times, but when it references things unique to modernity, it sounds so so cheesy. For example, Peter Els, the former musician-turned-microbiologist, goes to the track and observes a young girl running and listening to music. And before you ask – yes, this scene reads very creepily. The girl is skipping through her songs every few seconds and the narrator notes that “every few dozen steps she condemned the Now Playing to the dustbin of history.” This is borderline one of the cringiest sentences I have ever read, and while minor in the grand scheme of things, this type of writing continually pops up and totally undermines any serious thought a reader is meant to give to the story. There’s no greater allusion he could be making by capitalizing “Now Playing,” it just falls flat. It reads like someone trying very hard to sound intellectual, but failing.
There are three narratives that make up the structure of this story. The present, which tells the story of Els after he has taken up microbiology and is now on the run from government agencies for the experiments he conducted. The past, which essentially tells the life story of Els as he goes through his musical education, his failed relationships, and his struggle to find meaning. Then in between those two phases are these strange interjections, which seem like some kind of confession tape, or maybe Els’ dialogue in an interrogation. The writing about the present essentially seems like filler, because not much really happens in those parts. For example, it feels like Els approaches his house with cops surrounding it multiple times, and then we take a break and tell the next chapter of his past, and make no progress in the present. It’s like he is just trying to fill more pages. I would much rather just have had a regular story about this guy going through life. The “payoff” in the present’s plot development just isn’t there, even as he drives across the country running from the authorities.
In terms of theming, the story revolves around this comparison between music and science, where Els ends up trying to compose a musical piece in the DNA of a bacteria (thus the picture with the dumpsters, the book is about germs, totally what I meant by that picture). Powers beats you to death with this comparison, and at the end of the story it is supposed to be some big reveal that his goal was to write music in DNA. Like, yeah, we knew that already. It was kinda interesting at first, but now we are bored by it. Most of the talk about music reads like showing off, and there is a lot of technical language you have to gloss over. However, the one story about how the “Quartet for the End of Time” was written is captivating. Importantly, it is an aside and has nothing to do with Els’ story. It is just a retelling of what actually happened in history.
In fact if there is a history book out there about “Quartet for the End of Time,” go find that. Read that instead.
Finally. Those little interjectory pieces that I thought were from an interrogation. They’re actually Tweets. While he is on the run from the law, his final “performance” is to Tweet out his thoughts about why he was experimenting with DNA. Tweets. And they are unbearable Tweets, he is just showing off and writing in the same style as that passage about the “Now Playing.” Els is just trying way too hard to sound “significant” and it all falls flat. That revelation about the Tweets – that cheesy, ridiculous piece of information – that was the payoff at the end of the book. Seeing how all that crap I was reading and trying to piece together was just Tweets was the sweet golden nugget that made me fully realize this book isn’t any good. I was right all along.
Also, he uses the word “bohemian” more than zero times, which is a terrible sign
Such was the case with Richard Powers’ Orfeo.
I don’t want to spend much time on a book that I didn’t enjoy, and most of what I wanted to say about this one can be found in the first paragraph, but there were some distinct aspects of this novel that made reading it such a chore that I want to see what it’s like to put together an argument about why a book is bad, rather than just praising books I like.
A large part of Orfeo’s downfall is that it is meant to be a book about modern times, but when it references things unique to modernity, it sounds so so cheesy. For example, Peter Els, the former musician-turned-microbiologist, goes to the track and observes a young girl running and listening to music. And before you ask – yes, this scene reads very creepily. The girl is skipping through her songs every few seconds and the narrator notes that “every few dozen steps she condemned the Now Playing to the dustbin of history.” This is borderline one of the cringiest sentences I have ever read, and while minor in the grand scheme of things, this type of writing continually pops up and totally undermines any serious thought a reader is meant to give to the story. There’s no greater allusion he could be making by capitalizing “Now Playing,” it just falls flat. It reads like someone trying very hard to sound intellectual, but failing.
There are three narratives that make up the structure of this story. The present, which tells the story of Els after he has taken up microbiology and is now on the run from government agencies for the experiments he conducted. The past, which essentially tells the life story of Els as he goes through his musical education, his failed relationships, and his struggle to find meaning. Then in between those two phases are these strange interjections, which seem like some kind of confession tape, or maybe Els’ dialogue in an interrogation. The writing about the present essentially seems like filler, because not much really happens in those parts. For example, it feels like Els approaches his house with cops surrounding it multiple times, and then we take a break and tell the next chapter of his past, and make no progress in the present. It’s like he is just trying to fill more pages. I would much rather just have had a regular story about this guy going through life. The “payoff” in the present’s plot development just isn’t there, even as he drives across the country running from the authorities.
In terms of theming, the story revolves around this comparison between music and science, where Els ends up trying to compose a musical piece in the DNA of a bacteria (thus the picture with the dumpsters, the book is about germs, totally what I meant by that picture). Powers beats you to death with this comparison, and at the end of the story it is supposed to be some big reveal that his goal was to write music in DNA. Like, yeah, we knew that already. It was kinda interesting at first, but now we are bored by it. Most of the talk about music reads like showing off, and there is a lot of technical language you have to gloss over. However, the one story about how the “Quartet for the End of Time” was written is captivating. Importantly, it is an aside and has nothing to do with Els’ story. It is just a retelling of what actually happened in history.
In fact if there is a history book out there about “Quartet for the End of Time,” go find that. Read that instead.
Finally. Those little interjectory pieces that I thought were from an interrogation. They’re actually Tweets. While he is on the run from the law, his final “performance” is to Tweet out his thoughts about why he was experimenting with DNA. Tweets. And they are unbearable Tweets, he is just showing off and writing in the same style as that passage about the “Now Playing.” Els is just trying way too hard to sound “significant” and it all falls flat. That revelation about the Tweets – that cheesy, ridiculous piece of information – that was the payoff at the end of the book. Seeing how all that crap I was reading and trying to piece together was just Tweets was the sweet golden nugget that made me fully realize this book isn’t any good. I was right all along.
Also, he uses the word “bohemian” more than zero times, which is a terrible sign
readingwithhippos's review
4.0
Richard Powers writes what I would call serious fiction. I've read two of his books now (the first being [b:The Echo Maker|19794|The Echo Maker|Richard Powers|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1407243938s/19794.jpg|1256282]), and both are big meaty novels masquerading as something small. Orfeo is laser-focused on the life of its single main character, Peter Els, but it also encompasses a history of music and a complete philosophy of musical composition. It's as if by zooming in uncomfortably close, Powers makes the minutiae somehow enormous. He's a master of the microcosm; he doesn't need a big cast of extras milling in the background to demonstrate the universality of his themes.
Perhaps it's this penchant for what I call seriousness that has made him a bit of an awards darling. The Echo Maker won the National Book Award in 2006, and Orfeo is on the just-released longlist for this year's prize. I don't necessarily think that all award-winning books are automatically fabulous, but it's a nice vote of confidence and occasionally factors into how I prioritize my to-read list. In this case I think the nod is well-deserved.
Peter Els is a composer, now retired and keeping busy with an in-home chemistry lab he set up as a hobby. He's always been interested in both chemistry and music, seeing them as similar ventures. However, a chance encounter with the police has disastrous results. Too late, Els realizes what he sees as harmless tinkering could be viewed by outsiders as malicious, possibly even terroristic. Suddenly Els finds himself on the run, beginning an odyssey that will force him to reflect on his past and try to make sense of how he ended up the “Bioterrorist Bach,” famous not for his music but for his crimes.
Powers tells Els's story in alternating sections, weaving between his past lives as child, student, husband, father, bohemian musician, and retiree and his present exodus from small-town Pennsylvania. Painstakingly, he exposes Els's every quirk and flaw and flight of fancy, and as only the best authors do, brings meaning to the inexplicable. How could Els have manipulated genes in his kitchen, risked creating a superbug that could cause an epidemic? By the last page, I felt like I understood.
Orfeo will be most enjoyable for readers with at least a passing interest in classical music. There are many long passages describing musical works in vivid and exhaustive detail. I spent hours in my formative years playing in chamber orchestras and singing experimental pieces in chorales, and I still occasionally glazed over during these sections.
Still, if you're in the mood for a challenge, if you've had a little too much reality TV in your life lately, if the onset of fall makes you want to settle down with some serious literature, Orfeo is the book for you.
More book recommendations by me at www.readingwithhippos.com
Perhaps it's this penchant for what I call seriousness that has made him a bit of an awards darling. The Echo Maker won the National Book Award in 2006, and Orfeo is on the just-released longlist for this year's prize. I don't necessarily think that all award-winning books are automatically fabulous, but it's a nice vote of confidence and occasionally factors into how I prioritize my to-read list. In this case I think the nod is well-deserved.
Peter Els is a composer, now retired and keeping busy with an in-home chemistry lab he set up as a hobby. He's always been interested in both chemistry and music, seeing them as similar ventures. However, a chance encounter with the police has disastrous results. Too late, Els realizes what he sees as harmless tinkering could be viewed by outsiders as malicious, possibly even terroristic. Suddenly Els finds himself on the run, beginning an odyssey that will force him to reflect on his past and try to make sense of how he ended up the “Bioterrorist Bach,” famous not for his music but for his crimes.
Powers tells Els's story in alternating sections, weaving between his past lives as child, student, husband, father, bohemian musician, and retiree and his present exodus from small-town Pennsylvania. Painstakingly, he exposes Els's every quirk and flaw and flight of fancy, and as only the best authors do, brings meaning to the inexplicable. How could Els have manipulated genes in his kitchen, risked creating a superbug that could cause an epidemic? By the last page, I felt like I understood.
Orfeo will be most enjoyable for readers with at least a passing interest in classical music. There are many long passages describing musical works in vivid and exhaustive detail. I spent hours in my formative years playing in chamber orchestras and singing experimental pieces in chorales, and I still occasionally glazed over during these sections.
Still, if you're in the mood for a challenge, if you've had a little too much reality TV in your life lately, if the onset of fall makes you want to settle down with some serious literature, Orfeo is the book for you.
More book recommendations by me at www.readingwithhippos.com
mkinne's review against another edition
5.0
Intricate, intelligent, beautiful, and moving. I highly recommend anything by Powers - this book is as spectacular as his other works.
docpacey's review
4.0
Q: Powers is always impressive in his ability to drive a story with beautiful prose. 4
E: Classical music is something that I appreciate, but don't love deeply, like Powers. I still enjoyed this story, because it was a companion to the Goldbug Variations, which played heavily on the themes of there being musical complexity hidden in the complexity of base pairs in genetics. I find Bach more accessible than Mahler or avante-garde composers of the 20th century, but the gist of the connection was clear to me.
I never really felt that Peter descended into hell, even one of his own making. he struggled, sure, but his art was always his guiding principle. 4
I: Not as strong as GBV, and very readable, but not really re-readable: 3
qxe + I = 19
E: Classical music is something that I appreciate, but don't love deeply, like Powers. I still enjoyed this story, because it was a companion to the Goldbug Variations, which played heavily on the themes of there being musical complexity hidden in the complexity of base pairs in genetics. I find Bach more accessible than Mahler or avante-garde composers of the 20th century, but the gist of the connection was clear to me.
I never really felt that Peter descended into hell, even one of his own making. he struggled, sure, but his art was always his guiding principle. 4
I: Not as strong as GBV, and very readable, but not really re-readable: 3
qxe + I = 19
unboxedjack's review
funny
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
ashd1ane's review
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
maravictorine's review
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
miraleighv's review
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
tinyhands15's review against another edition
3.0
It was good. It just wasn't what I expected. Hence, the low rating.
Hey, it's my rating.
Hey, it's my rating.