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A review by ridgewaygirl
Orfeo by Richard Powers
3.0
Loosely based on the myth of Orpheus, whose musical ability saved the Argonauts and almost allowed him to rescue his lover from Hades, Orfeo tells the story of Peter Els, a talented but obscure composer who has taken up amateur genetic manipulation in retirement. Things go terribly wrong when someone spots the home lab and a government agency arrives to confiscate his equipment and question him.
This portion of the story is very much just a background to the larger story of Els' life. He's talented, but not able to take responsibility or make decisions for himself. His life path is determined by a girlfriend, his divorce by his inability to forge his own path or to take his life seriously. I was frustrated by the character, who came across as less of a valiant hero and more as a guy who just goes wherever the wind takes him. Had he been younger, he would have been the classic slacker dude, just wanting to make his music and letting a series of disillusioned girlfriends make the big decisions.
Els has one good friend in his life, although at the time the book opens they have not spoken for eighteen years, a hot-headed choreographer who pushes Els to greater accomplishments, even as his blowhard style causes them to constantly fall out.
There is a great deal of music described in this book. Music, like visual art, is difficult, if not impossible, to describe with words if the reader hasn't experienced those works for themselves. I wish there had been a way for Richard Powers to communicate the deep love and understanding Els has for music without the detailed descriptions, which made up a large portion of the book. Maybe he should have gone further and incorporated the music into the text somehow (shouldn't this be possible with an ebook or an audiobook?). There was a theme of our shrinking attention spans, which is echoes in Powers' use of brief snippets of Els' thoughts to break up the book into segments instead of chapter breaks.
I can see why Richard Powers has the reputation he does and why the Booker Prize committee has put Orfeo on their long list. But my appreciation of his skill remains more theoretical than actual. I'm glad I've read something by this author, but I don't have any plans to renew the acquaintanceship.
This portion of the story is very much just a background to the larger story of Els' life. He's talented, but not able to take responsibility or make decisions for himself. His life path is determined by a girlfriend, his divorce by his inability to forge his own path or to take his life seriously. I was frustrated by the character, who came across as less of a valiant hero and more as a guy who just goes wherever the wind takes him. Had he been younger, he would have been the classic slacker dude, just wanting to make his music and letting a series of disillusioned girlfriends make the big decisions.
Els has one good friend in his life, although at the time the book opens they have not spoken for eighteen years, a hot-headed choreographer who pushes Els to greater accomplishments, even as his blowhard style causes them to constantly fall out.
There is a great deal of music described in this book. Music, like visual art, is difficult, if not impossible, to describe with words if the reader hasn't experienced those works for themselves. I wish there had been a way for Richard Powers to communicate the deep love and understanding Els has for music without the detailed descriptions, which made up a large portion of the book. Maybe he should have gone further and incorporated the music into the text somehow (shouldn't this be possible with an ebook or an audiobook?). There was a theme of our shrinking attention spans, which is echoes in Powers' use of brief snippets of Els' thoughts to break up the book into segments instead of chapter breaks.
I can see why Richard Powers has the reputation he does and why the Booker Prize committee has put Orfeo on their long list. But my appreciation of his skill remains more theoretical than actual. I'm glad I've read something by this author, but I don't have any plans to renew the acquaintanceship.