#43 A Dance to the Music of Time, Anthony Powell
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- Опубліковано 28 тра 2024
- #43 on the list is a big one! One of the longest series of novels you might ever read, but please don't be intimidated! It is wonderful, and really holds the reader right to the end.
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0:00 - Intro
1:51 - All the titles in the series
3:40 - Main characters (to start)
7:22 - Plot, Characters?
9:55 - Spring, Summer, Autumn
12:52 - FAQs
14:02 - the first page
18:42 - some thoughts
20:06 - Get the books!
21:16 - Personal story
23:40 - Book/Mag raffle!
Thanks for the review. I really enjoy the footnotes you provide.
I'm so happy you like it Deb!
You remind me how much I loved this series. I'll have to revisit that Modern Library list ..
It is a great list, a lot of unexpected surprises. It really helped me to branch out and find some novels I might never have discovered!
I'm ashamed to say that I have not heard of these books until now. I'm glad to learn about them from your channel, though, and I'll keep an eye out for them now :-)
Don't be ashamed, I don't think it is at all a popular series of books. I think when most people discover this title, the 12 volumes puts them off. Try to pick up the first three in the series and see if you feel like reading more. I'm an 'all-or-nothing' kind of person, so I wanted to read them all, one after the other. I found it really rewarding!
I just picked up Dos Pasos _USA_ - not slotted yet for the reading - but Anthony Powell may have to wait. You’ve put them on my radar now.
USA might be my all time favourite. I feel it is just a perfect creation, and so artfully done. It always puts a smile on my face when someone tells me they are going to read the USA trilogy.
Save Powell for another year. Two massive series of novels in one year might be too much. And it can wait. It is good, very good, but it does leave something to be desired. Whereas, I find USA to be the very end of literature. Ulysses gets all the credit for being so artsy-fartsy, but USA is the perfect American statement in regards to literature.
Whoo who so happy for a review from the list! Grantlovesbooks is top notch!! Fantasy is mostly series, The Wheel of Time is 15 books, Malazan is 10.😀
Hello Heidi, I am glad I could make you happy!
The first movement is on my TBR this year. Glad to see this. Loved the miniseries.
I'm happy to hear that. Let me know what you think. I'd really like to know if you feel like continuing or rather just give it up. Many people have been asking if it's worth it. My opinion is absolutely yes, but I would also like to get other opinions.
Very entertaining video. I am utterly unfamiliar with this author. I cannot say I will commit to 12 novels, nor am I inclined to read any more of this time period, and I found John Dos Passos quite tedious, my least favorite American writer of his period, so taste might be a consideration. I'm never sure about British novelists, although I love Lawrence Durrell, Graham Greene, Iris Murdoch, Maugham and I'm limiting it to 20th century Brits I'm well-read in. As literature, and as entertaining writing, how does he stack up against other British writers? Cheers!
It is a little difficult to say. There is a very weird feeling with these books at times. Almost like the narrator was recording his perspective, without taking into account his own life. I recall thinking, 'Oh, he's married now. And he has kids too!' So it is very much like following along inside the characters head, as he takes notice of the people around him, but not himself.
I wouldn't rate him as highly as any of those authors you mention, ones I love as well. But there is something in the nature of the series in being so long, and the story. Seeing what happens to this man who we have followed through his whole life, and all of the people around him.
I would say give the first book a try, just 250 pages, and if it's good, read the first three, the Spring section, that's just 750 pages. You either get hooked or you don't.
I do think it is worth it.
Powell is on par with the great writers in English in the 20th century. He was a Tory, like Evelyn Waugh, so that means he has different perspective to many other writers in the 20th century. How could you not be intrigued by a writer who would title one of his novels in the Dance to the Music of time series “Casanova’s Chinese Restaurant”?
I would suggest that anyone who wants to get a taste the subtle sophistication and ironic humour of Powell should start with his last pre-War novel, “What’s Become of Waring?”
@@MrToryhere Thanks for the insightful comment!