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defluo's review against another edition
4.0
I share the sentiment that this is an underrated book. It's the entire twentieth century wrapped in a massive volume. It's a long read, and it can be a bit tedious at times. I resisted the impulse to skip lines a few times, and overall, I'm glad I did. While I'm not familiar with most of Burgess's work, I can easily see this being the highlight in his writings. Great book, worth a read, just don't try to read it on a bus. It is not light reading.
rainbirdx's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
The best book I read in 2021.
hatseflats's review against another edition
2.0
Did not finish. Although I've read other works by Anthony Burgess, and really enjoyed them, this gruelingly long novel, with its assumption that the reader is both a polyglot and a scholar of western civilization, was painfully boring. I got through 300 pages before I finally realized I wasn't feeling any enjoyment from what I was reading and chucked it.
adam_channing's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
adam_channing's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
informative
inspiring
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
quiraang's review against another edition
5.0
This is one of my favourite books. Every few years I reread it and usually find something that I previously missed.
forever_amber's review against another edition
3.0
Burgess has a really neat way of connecting words and he certainly has got a style in writing. Yet this book expanded almost as the Universe during the Big Bang, which at times bored me (toward the end I skipped pages, I admit it). Maybe if I was in the Catholic faith, it would have affected me more, who knows. Yet one can see the vast imagination and life experience of the author. I really liked the main themes in the novel and Kenneth Toomey as well. This is also my first try with male homosexuality as a point of interest and I liked the interplay with Catholicism and state ostracism. Most of all I liked the inevitability of human loneliness, regardless of sex, age and class.
chamberk's review against another edition
5.0
This is a hell of a book.
It took me about two and a half months to read, even though it's not one of the longest books I've read. That's cause this sucker is DENSE - no book for someone looking for an easy read.
The narrator, Kenneth Toomey, is a British novelist, now in his eighties, looking back over his life. Despite the fact that he is openly homosexual, officials from the Catholic Church want him to write for them - an account about the recently deceased pope, Gregory XVII, or Carlo Campanati. The two men have lived fairly entwined lives - Ken's sister marries Carlo's brother, and they become a sort of family.
Both Toomey and Campanati are brilliantly realized characters. The arch, snooty voice of Toomey sells the whole book, as he relates the stories of his fame and notoriety. But Carlo is a mystery of sorts, a solid man who believes that evil is an outside force, that man is basically good. But does Toomey share that view? Not quite...
I was hoping this wasn't one of those "here's how my characters live through the various incidents of a historical period" novels, and it wasn't. Though Toomey and Campanati encounter Italian fascists, Nazi propogandists, and groovy Californian cult leaders, the characters never take a back seat to events - the events inform us more about the characters. I really appreciated that.
All I've known of Burgess is his (admittedly impressive) Clockwork Orange, but after Earthly Powers my interest is piqued. Definitely one of the most unique and memorable books I've read this year.
It took me about two and a half months to read, even though it's not one of the longest books I've read. That's cause this sucker is DENSE - no book for someone looking for an easy read.
The narrator, Kenneth Toomey, is a British novelist, now in his eighties, looking back over his life. Despite the fact that he is openly homosexual, officials from the Catholic Church want him to write for them - an account about the recently deceased pope, Gregory XVII, or Carlo Campanati. The two men have lived fairly entwined lives - Ken's sister marries Carlo's brother, and they become a sort of family.
Both Toomey and Campanati are brilliantly realized characters. The arch, snooty voice of Toomey sells the whole book, as he relates the stories of his fame and notoriety. But Carlo is a mystery of sorts, a solid man who believes that evil is an outside force, that man is basically good. But does Toomey share that view? Not quite...
I was hoping this wasn't one of those "here's how my characters live through the various incidents of a historical period" novels, and it wasn't. Though Toomey and Campanati encounter Italian fascists, Nazi propogandists, and groovy Californian cult leaders, the characters never take a back seat to events - the events inform us more about the characters. I really appreciated that.
All I've known of Burgess is his (admittedly impressive) Clockwork Orange, but after Earthly Powers my interest is piqued. Definitely one of the most unique and memorable books I've read this year.