Well worth the listen

I have read the twelve novels twice so this was my third encounter, an encounter which proved to be one of great pleasure.

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A terrific Movement but not the Best

Another excellent Movement but not as good as the Third which is the best of the lot. However the Four Movements taken as a whole are totally captivating and deserve Five Stars.

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Wonderful

I have really enjoyed this series of books, the author is witty and brings his caricature’s to life.

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A classic of its time but flawed ( and long!)

Charting the lives, loves and style of his generation and social class from after the First World War to the 1970s it is lusciously written prose ( occasionally annoyingly so). The characters come and go so the absence of a written dramatis personae with the audio book makes it difficult at times to recall events and personalities but persistence is rewarded. There is a cycle to everything much as in the Poussin painting from which the title comes ( although it is a different artwork that concludes the story).
The later books are less well composed and a bit of a slog. The narrator does his best to master and differentiate the different characters but I think a bit of variety with others reading certain parts would have helped to break the inevitable monotony of tone over a 12 volume work.

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Wonderful company

It’s a bit like being at a glittering cocktail party with the added bonus you can actually hear the conversation. Have taken all these characters along on many a lockdown walk

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Excellent but less satisfying that the first three

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes. It rounds off a magnificent work of 'documentary' fiction.

What about Simon Vance’s performance did you like?

Vance's performance has been wonderful and steady through the whole of Powell's huge work. The narrative voice of Nick Jenkins has been dry, almost aloof, and terribly funny.

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1 person found this helpful

Inspiring, with wonderful characters

Probably not everyone's cup of tea, but I could have listened to more. Excellent narration.

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Finished!

I finally finished today the Fourth Movement having listened to the first 3 over the last few weeks during lockdown. I cannot stress how brilliant the narrator Simon Vance is. It must have been a mammoth task taking on all the different characters and providing them each with a unique voice. I first read the books in the 70s as I was enchanted by the wonderful titles. The books cover 60 years from Nick as a schoolboy to an old man. The books are about his observations of those round him rather than biographical. Characters come and go but Powell quickly put the returning character into context so there is no problem of losing track of whose who. Just wonderful. Goodness knows what I can listen to next as Dance to the Music of Time is matchless.

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A privilege to have read it

Would you consider the audio edition of A Dance to the Music of Time: Fourth Movement to be better than the print version?

I have not read the print version.

Who was your favorite character and why?

I felt huge sympathy for a character called Charles Stringham, who turned up fairly frequently in the books but who was by no means a major character. Nevertheless I kept wishing that reports of his death had turned out somehow to have been a mistake because I felt so sorry for the waste of his life. Powell would not get involvement like that from his readers without some very skilful and crafty writing. I still don't know why Stringham was so important to me.

What about Simon Vance’s performance did you like?

His range of voices was astonishingly good. I recognised the voices of people who had appeared in previous books even before they had been named.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

That would not have been possible in this case.

Any additional comments?

If I were Powell, perhaps I would be able to write well enough to describe how fantastically good this cycle of books is—but I am not. What I can say is that it is an astonishing work of literature. The writing is simple and clear, it is by turns humorous and tragic, just like life. I enjoyed every sentence; when I had to stop I was irritated by the interruptions; I was sorry when it ended and I feel that reading it was my time best spent.Simon Vance, who narrated the entire twelve books, gave voice to a whole world of men and women, all with their own vocal affectations, habits and accents, all distinct and recognisable. He is obviously a truly talented artist but that sort of reading needed far more than just talent, it required the sort of application that most people would have trouble holding for a few hours, let alone the weeks or even months that recording this massive work would have involved.The irony is that both writer and actor put so much work into the Music of Time books and they are so skilled at their jobs that the whole thing appears completely effortless.

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9 people found this helpful

Worth the effort

When I finally got to the end of Anthony Powell's Dance to the Music of Time I found myself going back to the beginning to revisit the entire series armed with foreknowledge of the characters. First time through I decided that there no likeable characters and I just revelled in the sheer craft of Powell's writing. Second time through and I found I had gained sympathy with even the most unpleasant characters having discovered how they were a product of their surroundings shaped by the world they inhabited rather than being inherently malign. The 'dance' became an interaction of characters rather than a performance and gained enormous depth. The series requires effort but it really is worth getting involved turns out a brilliant exposition by a master of writing.

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1 person found this helpful