Book #11 in 12-novel Dance to the Music of Time
After book #10 of this series, which I reviewed last month, I was rather discouraged, because for the first time I was bored. I'm glad I persisted. This novel was maybe the best one yet, more humorous and with much more interesting action.
It begins in 1958. Narrator Jenkins is attending a literary conference in Venice, where he meets some new acquaintances (including an American professor who plays an important part later)and some old acquaintances (including the humbug Widmerpool, who has been present from the first book in the series, and his femme fatale wife Pamela, who has previously seduced a great number of Jenkins's acquaintances). Mainly following these characters, Powell gives us hints of espionage from both the political and the literary folks, sexual perversion (maybe including necrophilia), and other interactions between the literary, political, and social worlds in England at the time. SPOILER ALERT. Despite expectations, Widmerpool emerges from all the revelations and events intact. One can only hope that the final volume of this epic will include the comeuppance of this hypocrite.
Needless to say, I am looking forward to the final installment.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment