A Dance to the Music of Time: Amazon.ca: Anthony Powell: Books

Product Description

From Library Journal

Powell's epic of 20th-century England is actually composed of 12 novels divided into four "movements," although they can be read individually as separate works. The novels were originally published from the 1950s through the 1970s.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Description

This set encompasses a four-volume panorama of 20th-century London. Opening just after World War I, the volumes go on to evoke London during the blitz and, in the final volume, England after the war.

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Customer Reviews

27 Reviews

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4.5 out of 5 stars (27 customer reviews)

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Quite good, Dec 20 2000

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"aowen" - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Dance to the Music of Time: First Movement (Paperback)

I must confess that I write this review without the perspective of some of the other reviewers who have finished all twelve novels. But the first three novels each stand alone quite nicely. The first novel in this movement, A Question of Upbringing, is perhaps the most enjoyable of the lot, certainly the most humorous, and contains that sense of fun and nostalgia so prevalent in tales of schooldays. A Buyer's Market has its moments, particularly in the triumphant sequence involving Mrs. Andriadis' party, but somewhat pales in comparison to the novels that immediately precede and follow it. The third novel, The Acceptance World, is arguably the best of the three, certainly the richest in characterization and more interesting because of the first sense in the novels of the outside political world.

I think it is fair to point out that Powell's narrator seems, to some degree, modeled upon the narrator of Fitzgerald's Great Gatsby, even sharing the same first name, Nick. One irritating but perhaps essential element of the novels is the large number of coincidences that take place (something perhaps borrowed from Dickens; see Great Expectations et al). But these minor faults are not outweighed by the richness of these three novels.

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5.0 out of 5 stars addictive, unforgettable, July 6 2004

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Dulcinea del Toboso "emarey" (San Antonio) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Dance to the Music of Time: First Movement (Paperback)

I found this series to be a slow start but midway through the first of the three novels in the book, I was hooked. I couldn't put the book down and when I finished it, couldn't wait to get the next volume.

As the title probably suggests, a theme in the book is--I guess you could say-- the continual (random?) grouping and regrouping of people and events in life. At first, this can be a bit off-putting. You get interested in a certain set of characters, then suddenly, they're gone. Keep reading--they'll be back again in even more interesting/unlikely circumstances.

Powell's characters are memorable, vivid, and eerily real--through the course of the books, they undergo various transformations which are fascinating to observe. The narrator always remains a bit mysterious which I found added to the book's interest.

Powell creates a world of instability where relationships, morals, culture, even governments, are continually in flux. It's often sad, but very often hilarious, too.

These books offer hours and hours of enjoyment you won't soon forget.

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4.0 out of 5 stars Worthwhile... Characters will grow on you, Jan 22 2004

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Jim Huang "huajima" (Boston, MA, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)

This review is from: A Dance to the Music of Time: First Movement (Paperback)

The writing is undeniably good, although I found book II a bit dry (at one point I thought I was reading a Henry James novel. Not good!) The pace picks up again in book III. There are plenty of amusing comments about human nature, especially relationship between the sexes, in addition to "fine art" and the "literary world", etc, etc. Character development is an especially strong point. Reading volume I made me want to read volume II.

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Most recent customer reviews

1.0 out of 5 stars A Trivial review of the 20th Century
I read the whole series of 12 beacause it was one of the New York Times list of 100 greatest novels of the 20th Century. Read more

Published on Jan 25 2004 by cmerrell

5.0 out of 5 stars The FIRST THREE VOLUMES are unsurpassed literature
VOLUME ONE IS OUTSTANDING! I chose to read the Dance series over the summer of 2003 for a graduate level course. Read more

Published on Aug 5 2003 by Volney Hill