Regarding the list that Nige links to, surprising that Homer and Hesiod didn't make it. Neither did Horace or Virgil. A lot of crap did, though. The Corrections? Please. Definitely a posthumous read.
Frank, Please don't let Bryan (or your long-ago reading of Hearing Secret Harmonies) put you off Anthony Powell. He's definitely not a writer for everyone's taste, but I can read him again and again. He offers a wonderfully dry comic wit, a sharp eye for social distinctions and mores, a bone-deep love of art and its place in a social structure, and an appreciation of oddity and difference that allows him to bring interest to even the most minor character. Add to that his keen understanding of the ebb, flow, and often flat-out re-channeling of friendships over decades, and you've got a work of magic. Even his non-Dance books have merits, offering at times comedy to rival Waugh.
{Fortunately, he's also a writer you can get a handle on very quickly: the first volume of Dance, A Question of Upbringing, gives a very good taste of his prose style and his interests. If you don't like it, you probably won't like the whole.}
Hi Levi, My memory of that crash read is not at all unpleasant - except for knowing that I was not giving the books the attention they deserved. I know I gave Hearing Secret Harmonies a good review. I also remember liking Powell's rather arch style. Actually, what you say sounds right from what I recall, though my recall is of a sense, a feeling, rather than anything specific. That post on Thought Experiments was Nige's, by the way, Bryan's co-conspirator. Usually, Nige and I are in agreement, but I don't that's the case in his instance. I also applaud you for standing up to defend a writer you admire - and to do it civilly.
Frank,
ReplyDeletePlease don't let Bryan (or your long-ago reading of Hearing Secret Harmonies) put you off Anthony Powell. He's definitely not a writer for everyone's taste, but I can read him again and again. He offers a wonderfully dry comic wit, a sharp eye for social distinctions and mores, a bone-deep love of art and its place in a social structure, and an appreciation of oddity and difference that allows him to bring interest to even the most minor character. Add to that his keen understanding of the ebb, flow, and often flat-out re-channeling of friendships over decades, and you've got a work of magic. Even his non-Dance books have merits, offering at times comedy to rival Waugh.
{Fortunately, he's also a writer you can get a handle on very quickly: the first volume of Dance, A Question of Upbringing, gives a very good taste of his prose style and his interests. If you don't like it, you probably won't like the whole.}
Hi Levi,
ReplyDeleteMy memory of that crash read is not at all unpleasant - except for knowing that I was not giving the books the attention they deserved. I know I gave Hearing Secret Harmonies a good review. I also remember liking Powell's rather arch style. Actually, what you say sounds right from what I recall, though my recall is of a sense, a feeling, rather than anything specific. That post on Thought Experiments was Nige's, by the way, Bryan's co-conspirator. Usually, Nige and I are in agreement, but I don't that's the case in his instance. I also applaud you for standing up to defend a writer you admire - and to do it civilly.