A Dance to the Music of Time: First Movement

De: Anthony Powell

Narrado por: Simon Vance

Anthony Powell's universally acclaimed epic encompasses a four-volume panorama of twentieth century London. Hailed by Time as "brilliant literary comedy as well as a brilliant sketch of the times," A Dance to the Music of Time opens just after World War I. Amid the fever of the 1920s and the first chill of the 1930s, Nick Jenkins and his friends confront sex, society, business, and art.

In the second volume they move to London in a whirl of marriage and adulteries, fashions and frivolities, personal triumphs and failures. These books "provide an unsurpassed picture, at once gay and melancholy, of social and artistic life in Britain between the wars" (Arthur Schlesinger, Jr.).

The third volume follows Nick into army life and evokes London during the blitz. In the climactic final volume, England has won the war and must now count the losses. Four very different young men on the threshold of manhood dominate this opening volume of A Dance to the Music of Time. The narrator, Jenkinsa budding writer shares a room with Templer, already a passionate womanizer, and Stringham, aristocratic and reckless. Widermerpool, as hopelessly awkward as he is intensely ambitious, lurks on the periphery of their world. Amid the fever of the 1920s and the first chill of the 1930s, these four gain their initiations into sex, society, business, and art. Considered a masterpiece of modern fiction, Powell's epic creates a rich panorama of life in England between the wars. Includes these novels: A Question of Upbringing, A Buyer's Market, The Acceptance World.

As an added bonus, when you purchase our Audible Modern Vanguard production of Anthony Powell's book, you'll also receive an exclusive Jim Atlas interview. This interview – where James Atlas interviews Charles McGrath about the life and work of Anthony Powell – begins as soon as the audiobook ends.

This production is part of our Audible Modern Vanguard line, a collection of important works from groundbreaking authors.©1951 Anthony Powell (P)2010 Audible, inc.

Reseñas de la Crítica

"Anthony Powell is the best living English novelist by far. His admirers are addicts, let us face it, held in thrall by a magician." ( Chicago Tribune)

"A book which creates a world and explores it in depth, which ponders changing relationships and values, which creates brilliantly living and diverse characters and then watches them grow and change in their milieu. . . . Powell's world is as large and as complex as Proust's." ( New York Times)

"Vance's narration captivates listeners throughout this outstanding examination of a life in progress." ( AudioFile)

Kind of a yawn

I usually like novels that promise to go deep into the minds of the characters and don't mind if there isn't much action. I can't say why exactly but for the first time ever for an audiobook, I quit this one after a few hours. Maybe I quit too soon but I didn't care much about any of the characters and they certainly weren't doing anything remotely interesting. I had trouble keeping my mind on the story.

Panorama

I suspect real editors will blanche as I compare this to the Ladies #1 Detective Agency. However, as in the L#1DA, the plot is secondary to the character development. In fact there is no plot. You simply get a picture of life in England during a particular period. It is indeed slow listening and that is the point. Before listening, download the Exclusive Interview with James Atlas and Charles McGrath on Anthony Powell. It will set the stage. Anyone hooked on the period pieces of the BBC or PBS should enjoy this book.

Disappointed by novel and/or performance

The print version of this book received rave reviews on other sites. Based on the reviews, I did not expect the book to be plot focused. I usually love British classics. Unfortunately, Simon Vance's performance seemed uninspired by the novel. I could not tell whether Vance, or the author, did not develop the characters into memorable individuals. I have listened to a number of well-acted audiobooks by Simon Vance. In this performance, I did not lose myself in his performance of the novel, and instead, found his distinctive voice a distraction.

One of the best books I have ever listened to.

I first heard this book on book at bedtime in the U.K. and was delighted to find it here. I like the drawing of the characters and its very Englishness. It may be too English for some. Enjoy!

A Masterpiece on All Counts

A Dance to the Music of Time, inspired by the painting of the same name by Nicolas Poussin, was rated by Time magazine as one of the 100 Best English-language Novels from 1923 to 2005. Written by the English novelist Anthony Powell, who took almost 25 years to create the 12-volume set, provides a highly-literate and highly-amusing look into the English upper-middle class between the 1920s and the 1970s. The book covers politics, class-consciousness, society, culture, love, social graces, manners, education, power, money, snobbery, humour, and more.

Although daunting in terms of length, the absolutely brilliant narration by the talented Simon Vance rewards the reader over thousands of pages, hundreds of characters, and twelve installments of gorgeous prose. This is a not-to-be-missed collection of novels for any serious reader of English literature.

Masterpiece

Powell's Music of Time books are a masterpiece of English literature. Massive in scope but ironically very narrow in its analysis of people, place and time, Powell devoted his life to these novels. His prose are rich, lyrical and incredibly smart. Simon Vance is excellent as always.

Most enjoyable

I concur with all the glowing reviews of this audio book....the whole series.

Undoubtedly, Simon Vance's, always sterling several other audio books I have, is totally in the zone with this one.

The author's description of the mostly banal, prosaic events and interactions of the multitude of characters over the span of years, decades is quietly yet deeply fascinating.

Though weeks since finishing the final volume, I frequently listen again to various chapters. Powell puts highly descriptive words and phrases to elemental human events that I can so much identify but never the depth nor capacity of nuance to articulate.

I Should have paid attention to previous reviews !

If only I had read the reviews already listed I would have save myself credits/$. A previous reviewer said the cast of thousands was confusing and another review mentioned the dullness. I haven't finished listening to this audio as I agree with both of these reviewers. Dull... believe me.... dull... tedious... nothing much happening to too many people (who all seem so very similar anyway). I coudn't risk death by boredom, so I abandoned it... Sorry Mr Powell... not to my taste.

THIS SHOULD BE READ

Would you be willing to try another book from Anthony Powell? Why or why not?

YES, but this is difficult to listen to as there are so many characters over such a long period of time.

English people sitting in drawing rooms talking

A preponderance of novels in the Modern Library Top 100 Novels of the 20th Century seem to fall into the general classification of bored and uninteresting rich people clamoring to be in rooms filled with equally rich and equally boring rich people talking crap about the people who don't happen to be at that particularly drawing room function.

A Dance To The Music of Time generally fits into this category but also happens to be much more extremely ambitious. Originally written as 12 novels loosely autobiographical of Powell's life, the story begins in the years after World War I following the protagonist Nick Jenkins and the young men with whom he attended college through World War II, The Cold War and through the British Hippie movement. Published over 25 years, Powell had originally envisioned a 20-volume aeries but, luckily, was talked down from that foolish notion.

Later publishings grouped the 12 books into four volumes, or Movements, as cleverly coined. This fit in with the theme as the title is indicative of 1636 Poussin painting of the same name featuring four maids believed to represent the four seasons.

The First Movement includes the first three novels, A Question of Upbringing: 1921-1924, A Buyer's Market: 1928-1929, and The Acceptance World: 1931-1933. These are the formative years of the young men as they grasp for their economic and political futures during a particularly tumultuous time with the slumping of markets and the rising of totalitarianism on both the left and right.

As narrator, Nick Jenkins spends very few lines talking about his burgeoning career as a writer but, instead, focuses his descriptions of the lives with whom his own is own is interwoven.

Powell was a contemporary of Evelyn Waugh and George Orwell who were certainly more heralded but much less ambitious. Powell said he wanted to write about the English Middle and rising Upper Class because he knew another war was inevitable and it would upend the traditional British class structure in the offing. His prediction proved true.

Powell writes well on this topic which also happens to be my least favorite. I am debating continuing through the remaining Three Movements (nine novels) but am likely to break it up with something a little less nauseating then self congratulatory pampered Brits.