By George, she's got it!

    I wrote last month about my reactions to Anthony Powell's A Question of Upbringing, the first volume in his twelve book series, "A Dance to the Music of Time". I acknowledged that my inability to appreciate the book (despite making two attempts, albeit twenty two years apart) was more my failing than Powell's, and persuaded by those who know better, I went on and read the second book.

    My friend Lindsay has been Professor Higgins to my Eliza Dolittle and his encouragement has paid off as I have finally 'got it'! I have truly enjoyed A Buyer's Market, finding in it much more humour, much less emotional detachment, a lighter tone and richer writing than in Volume I. It is a very clever, very well-observed, perceptive study of the human condition, which I am glad I have - despite myself and thanks to others - discovered.

    While "A Question of Upbringing" had a chilly feel, somehow in this book the clouds have parted and the sun has come out; there is a charm about it which was previously absent. The characters have grown up a bit, entered the world of work or of marriage, are finding their respective paths in a society in which some are still ill at ease, and throughout I could hear Powell's 'voice' as I could not in the predecessor.

     There are many exquisite lines: [at a ball] "... I saw Widmerpool ploughing his way round the room, as if rowing a dinghy in rough water", "There is, or, at least, should be, a fitness in the follies each individual pursues, and uniformity of pattern is, on the whole, rightly preserved in human behaviour" and "The Walpole-Wilsons defied prevailing mode by still employing a table-cloth, a preference of Sir Gavin's, who prided himself on combining in his own home tastes of 'the old school' with a progressive point of view in worldly matters. The scented geranium leaf usually to be found floating in the finger-bowls could be attributed to his wife's leaning towards a more exotic way of life."

     On to Volume III !

   

Comments

[Catherine Mary]

How satisfying to find a book series to read. Discovering an author and reading everything he or she has written is a lovely process; comparing one book to another and choosing a favorite. It's been awhile for me to find such a writer. I'm always in search of that special someone when I walk about a bookstore or scan Amazon web pages.

[Lindsay]

Kipling writes about the secret society of the "Janeites" - and by analogy I now invite you to enter the First Degree of "Powellites". Welcome!

[Elizabeth]

I began reading the series after seeing it on television, and being captivated by all the characters; wonderful actors and of course they got the period exactly right. So I really enjoyed the books, found so much more in them, and loved recognising the characters.

[adele geras]

Okay....just 'cos you say so. I'll give it another go, this series, but not quite yet as my TBR pile is taking up two full shelves now...but soon!