A Dance to the Music of Time 4: Fourth Movement (Little, Brown)

by Anthony Powell

Hardcover, 1976

Status

Available

Call number

823.912

Publication

Little Brown & Co (T) (1976), Edition: 1st, Hardcover, 241/280/272 pages

Description

Anthony Powell's brilliant twelve novel sequence chronicles the lives of over three hundred characters, and is a unique evocation of life in twentieth-century England. It is unrivalled for its scope, its humour and the enormous pleasure it has given to generations. Volume 4 contains the last three novels in the sequence: Books do Furnish a Room; Temporary Kings; Hearing Secret Harmonies.

User reviews

LibraryThing member DinadansFriend

I rather lost sight of Nick Jenkins and his friends in the sixties, and was delighted to find this omnibus volume to end the series. Some of our old companions get their come-uppances, others work out happiness. It contains "Hearing Secret harmonies, Books Do furnish a room, and Temporary kings. A

suitable ending to this roman a fleuve.

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LibraryThing member GarySeverance

During the two years that I have been reading A Dance to the Music of Time, Anthony Powell (1905-2000) has become one of my three favorite authors. In his novel, divided into four “movements” with three volumes each, Powell followed his narrator in Great Britain in the 1900s from boyhood to

semi-retirement. Along the way I became acquainted with a variety of interesting characters living upper middle class lives in London and the countryside. Jenkins is a writer of fiction and non-fiction who is a keen observer of behaviors of his family, friends, and fellow writers and artists. Nick’s observational skills are not hampered by over- reaction, and the narrator may appear uninterested in other people’s feelings. The depth of his character is revealed in the compassionate interaction, observation, description of others.

The twelve volumes of Powell’s work make it one of the longest novels in English. It is similar to Proust’s In Search of Lost Time in length. The two novels also share topics if not style, and are on a similar intellectual level. A way to help the reader decide to read A Dance to the Music of Time is to say that it is a “thinking person’s” Forsyte Saga by John Galsworthy. In fact, as I mentioned in reviews of the first three movements, Galsworthy is represented by a successful but egocentric and foolish literary character, St John Clarke.

The fourth movement that I am reviewing here is composed of the volumes: Books Do Furnish a Room (1971), Temporary Kings (1973), and Hearing Secret Harmonies (1975). In this movement, the theme that has been recurring throughout the saga, people one meets early in life tend to come around again in middle life and around again in later life. Each time these social seasons come around, the view of the people changes with an increase in observer wisdom. Certainly Nick Jenkins gains wisdom during his many decades as a student, soldier, lover, husband, and writer. At the end of the story, Nick and the reader of the many volumes are able to hear the secret harmonies of the span of life described so beautifully and with good humor by Powell. The twelve volumes were written from 1951-1975.

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LibraryThing member amerynth

I've been reading Anthony Powell's epic, 12-book "A Dance to the Music of Time" throughout 2014. I'm reading one novel a month and will be reading the final three books through December. I'm posting reviews as I go.

"Books Do Furnish A Room" is the 10th book in the series but Powell hasn't lost any

steam here. In fact, this was one of my favorite books in the series so far. Our faithful narrator Nick Jenkins is now relating the deaths of several of the characters. (I was somewhat surprised when Jenkins mentions he is 40.... for some reason I had assumed he in his 40's in the war years.) His friends seem to be dying at a fast clip as we're losing characters left and right. Much of the book also focuses on Widmerpool and his unhappy marriage, which I assume is the start of the MP's downfall. 5 stars.

"Temporary Kings," the 11th book in the series is also pretty terrific. The title aptly reflects the loss of vitality experienced as the characters are aging and often coming to the end of their lives or careers. Widmerpool manages to stay afloat after a series of challenging circumstances, but his unhappy marriage implodes. Very much looking forward to the final book in the series. 5 stars.

The final book "Hearing Secret Harmonies" kind off in a weird direction for me.... there wasn't quite enough build up for me for taking Widmerpool in his sad final decisions. However, the final installment was certainly interesting and tied up the story. 4 stars.

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LibraryThing member farrhon

How nice that life goes on after 40

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