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martydia's review
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.25
nlgeorge73's review
5.0
Epic and witty-
It was helpful to use Invitation to the Dance by Hilary Spurling as a reference because of the multitude of supporting characters. Never had to look up Widmerpool - what a character, literally.
It was helpful to use Invitation to the Dance by Hilary Spurling as a reference because of the multitude of supporting characters. Never had to look up Widmerpool - what a character, literally.
lauriestein's review
5.0
Basically I thought this was wonderful. Reading it is like viewing a life, in all its multifariousness, through microscope, telescope, and kaleidoscope, sometimes alternately and sometimes all at once. The character development is amazing. You see a series of portraits, drawn beautifully or crudely or nostalgically or ironically or hesitantly or searchingly, etc., etc., and then episodically retouched. If I knew more about art history there'd be other layers to explore I'm sure.
dougtron's review
4.0
This is the first three novels of Anthony Powell's twelve novel cycle that follows Nicholas Jenkins as his various friends and acquaintances drift in and out of his life. While not plot heavy, these books are marvelous little set-pieces and Powell is a master of characterization. This first movement spans Jenkins' schooldays through his young adulthood and the stroke of his housemaster at an "Old Boys" dinner brings to a close his youth. I look forward to following Jenkins' journey in the rest of the books, and the character of Widmerpool is riveting whenever he appears on the scene.
ajreader's review
3.0
Read my full thoughts on this book and hundreds more over at Read.Write.Repeat.
I did not dislike this series, but I did not particularly like it, either. I really liked Powell's effort to create a contiguous story across decades. I liked that. It was good. I liked seeing the same characters, mostly, travels decades. Overall, though, this series felt bland to me.
I did not dislike this series, but I did not particularly like it, either. I really liked Powell's effort to create a contiguous story across decades. I liked that. It was good. I liked seeing the same characters, mostly, travels decades. Overall, though, this series felt bland to me.
carrieliza's review
4.0
Phew, that took a while. And 3 more volumes to go!
A co-worker gave all 4 volumes to me when she was cleaning her apartment, so I'm making my way through. Enjoying it so far, getting more invested as I get deeper into it. Evidenced by the fact that I liked the third book best.
My copy was mysteriously missing about 40 pages in the second book, but I don't think I missed much. I don't say that in a rude way, meant to indicate the prose is too wordy or unnecessary. I just think I missed a party description and was able to piece together what was there. Still, sad.
And now, some quotes I particularly enjoyed.
"There is a strong disposition in youth, from which some individuals never escape, to suppose that everyone else is having a more enjoyable time than we are ourselves; and for some reason, as I moved southwards across London, I was that evening particularly convinced that I had not yet succeeded in striking a satisfactory balance in my manner of conducting life."
(Jenkins would have been super depressed with facebook!)
"It was a moonlight night. That region has an atmosphere peculiar to itself, separated in spirit as far from the historic gloom of Westminster's more antique streets as from the louche seediness and Victorian decay of the wide squares of Pimlico beyond Vauxhall Bridge Road. For some reason, perhaps the height of the tower, or more probably the prodigal inappropriateness to London of the whole structure's architectural style, the area immediately adjacent to the cathedral imparts a sense of vertigo, a dizziness almost alarming in its intensity."
"Waiting for someone in a public place develops a sense of individual loneliness, so that amongst all this pale pink and sage furniture, under decorations of rich cream and dull gold, I felt myself cut off from the rest of the world. I began to brood on the complexity of writing a novel about English life, a subject difficult enough to handle with authenticity even of a crudely naturalistic sort, even more to convey the inner truth of the observed...Intricacies of social life make English habits unyielding to simplification, while understatement and irony--in which all classes of this island converse--upset the normal emphasis of reported speech."
"I was aware of a feeling of warmth towards him that I had never felt when at school; perhaps because he seemed to represent, like a landscape or building, memories of a vanished time. He had become, if not history, at least part of one's own autobiography."
A co-worker gave all 4 volumes to me when she was cleaning her apartment, so I'm making my way through. Enjoying it so far, getting more invested as I get deeper into it. Evidenced by the fact that I liked the third book best.
My copy was mysteriously missing about 40 pages in the second book, but I don't think I missed much. I don't say that in a rude way, meant to indicate the prose is too wordy or unnecessary. I just think I missed a party description and was able to piece together what was there. Still, sad.
And now, some quotes I particularly enjoyed.
"There is a strong disposition in youth, from which some individuals never escape, to suppose that everyone else is having a more enjoyable time than we are ourselves; and for some reason, as I moved southwards across London, I was that evening particularly convinced that I had not yet succeeded in striking a satisfactory balance in my manner of conducting life."
(Jenkins would have been super depressed with facebook!)
"It was a moonlight night. That region has an atmosphere peculiar to itself, separated in spirit as far from the historic gloom of Westminster's more antique streets as from the louche seediness and Victorian decay of the wide squares of Pimlico beyond Vauxhall Bridge Road. For some reason, perhaps the height of the tower, or more probably the prodigal inappropriateness to London of the whole structure's architectural style, the area immediately adjacent to the cathedral imparts a sense of vertigo, a dizziness almost alarming in its intensity."
"Waiting for someone in a public place develops a sense of individual loneliness, so that amongst all this pale pink and sage furniture, under decorations of rich cream and dull gold, I felt myself cut off from the rest of the world. I began to brood on the complexity of writing a novel about English life, a subject difficult enough to handle with authenticity even of a crudely naturalistic sort, even more to convey the inner truth of the observed...Intricacies of social life make English habits unyielding to simplification, while understatement and irony--in which all classes of this island converse--upset the normal emphasis of reported speech."
"I was aware of a feeling of warmth towards him that I had never felt when at school; perhaps because he seemed to represent, like a landscape or building, memories of a vanished time. He had become, if not history, at least part of one's own autobiography."
ddejong's review
4.0
Congratulations, Mr. Powell. You wrote a book that provided me with the most challenging reading experience I have encountered in recent memory. I think your vocabulary is at least three times as big as mine, and periodically while reading I stopped to ponder the fact that I had just read a full sentence the meaning of which was completely unclear to me. Impressive. Your use of aside phrases and multiple clauses made the duration of my reading experience feel like weight lifting for my brain. After the first book in this first movement, I nearly gave up. But Evelyn Waugh's enthusiastic stamp of approval and the fact that this 4-volume, 9 novel work has been described as "one of the most important works of fiction since the Second World War" shamed me into picking it back up to finish the last two books. And I'll be darned - despite my skepticism, you have reeled me in and I find that I must follow Jenkins, Stringham, Templer, and Widmerpool through to the end of their stories. I understand why you were described as possibly "the most substantial and subtle comic writer of [your] generation." In short, thank you Mr. Powell. Your literary company has been most appreciated. I look forward to meeting you again.
aliciaaaah's review
5.0
I read this because Jonathan and Jeeves were reading it as their two-man book club selection in "Wake Up Sir." I wasn't disappointed. It took me a long time to get through it, but it was thoroughly enjoyable throughout. And you know sometimes when you read a book from an earlier period and you think, "I'm sure that was hilarious in 1919, but I'm not getting it"? This book wasn't like that at all. The narrator's school friends could have been mine. Powell's dry humor and memorable characters really made it treat. I'd like to read the second and third movements now. Recommended.
natepeplinski's review
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
bwood95's review
challenging
funny
reflective
relaxing
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0