- Hardcover: 290 pages
- Publisher: Hill & Co Pub (September 1987)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0940595079
- ISBN-13: 978-0940595071
- Product Dimensions: 23.6 x 15.2 x 3.6 cm
- Shipping Weight: 499 g
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
In this, the first of a four-book opus, Mcdonald, author of the popular Fletch and Flynn series, forsakes the mystery genre to fashion a microcosm of our times in which his views of life, art and a great many other things are set forth. The novel convenes an abundance of characters at a gentrified Tennessee farm, the home of David MacFarlane, a renowned jazz pianist and composer and his wife, a one-time "courtesan." David has offered his home as the site for the wedding of a famous model to a presidential speech writer, each of whom is the child of old friends of Davidfriends whom he hasn't seen for 25 years. As unlikely as it may seem, these and many other acquaintances accept his invitationthey arrive and arrive and arrive (even during the last chapter) bringing with them dozens of solemn pronouncements more appropriate to a symposium than to a nuptial fete. Over the course of a few days, we hear from the bride's mother, a top designer; her father, an important black activist; the groom's father, an ordained minister who once gained notoriety by posing for a series of nude photographs; and many others, all of whom speak as if for publication. They suffer from every current disorderincluding AIDS, herpes, anorexia and drug addictionand from a common perception that the world hasn't lived up to their expectations. Nor can this book, more an extended preface than a story in itself, live up to ours.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
In a departure from his humorous "Fletch" mystery series, McDonald has embarked on "the heart and center of his life's work" in this first volume of a projected quartet entitled "Time." David MacFarlane, a retired jazz pianist, has offered his bucolic Tennessee farm, Bass Clef, for the wedding of the son and daughter of friends. The tranquil surroundings enable the participants to reflect about their lives and the state of the world. All are old friends, some ex-lovers, and all discuss art, music, creativity, philosophy, in this essentially plotless story. But it's the rich drawing of the many characters that makes the book work. Nothing is really resolved, leaving lots of room for the remaining three works in the series. Highly recommended. Rosellen Brewer, Monterey Cty. Lib., Seaside, Cal.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
5.0 out of 5 stars (1 customer review)
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
My favorite book of all time..., Sep 5 2003
By E. Malcolmson - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: A World Too Wide (Hardcover)
The philosophy within this book may be getting a bit dated, but I still find it full of beautiful truths. It's a wonderfully crafted story -- whenever I finish (I've read it about fifty times at least), I turn to the beginning and start again until life ("You're reading that book AGAIN?!") requires that I put the book down. There is a beautiful "interconnectedness of all things" that drives you through the story to the end -- how did the bride and groom meet and who are all these people to each other and can old wounds and loose ends be tied up by this strange gathering of people from the four corners of the earth to a farm in Tennessee... And where will they go from here -- youth grabbing hold of the good things of this older generation and giving some hope that those ideals will carry on into the future. You witness the characters being slowly painted in to create an intricate tapestry with lots of interwoven threads.There is no stress to this story. There are interesting questions, but the "happy ending" is assured from the beginning, which makes it a wonderful story with which to relax and unwind. The end scenes are so beautiful, to me, that every time I wish I had been there to hear this great jazz pianist on his "limousine" piano finally discovering that even without his long-time saxophone playing partner he has a lot to say with just the piano, and have to remind myself, it's fiction, it didn't really happen.
So, maybe the various "waxing philosophical" sections won't speak to you, but the people themselves, especially 16-year-old Josh, definitely will.
My greatest sadness is that I cannot find the subsequent parts of this four-part series. I think this is a seriously overlooked book -- that perhaps the author was painted into a box labeled "Fletch" and this departure was not appreciated.
I found my copy through a used bookstore -- a library discard.
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