How could we have spent so much time together over the past year and still you shared so little of your thoughts.
And, as the final pages are read, it is just you and I sharing a moment of contemplation. Everyone else has moved on.
Books Do Furnish a Room (1971)
The tenth volume, finds Nick Jenkins and his circle of friends re-establishing their lives and careers in the wake of WWII. Nick dives into work on a study of Robert Burton; Widmerpool grapples with the increasingly difficult and cruel Pamela Flitton—now his wife; and we are introduced to the series’ next great character, the dissolute Bohemian novelist X. Trapnel, a man who exudes in equal measure mystery, talent, and an air of self-destruction.
Temporary Kings (1973)
In the eleventh, or penultimate volume (as my friend John Martin would call it), Nick and his contemporaries are at the height of their various careers in the arts, business, and politics. X. Trapnel is dead, but his mystery continues to draw ghoulish interest from readers and academics alike—as well as from his lover, Pamela Widmerpool. Kenneth Widmerpool, meanwhile, is an MP with mysterious connections beyond the newly dropped Iron Curtain, but he continues to be tormented by Pamela; a spectacular explosion, Nick can’t help but realize, is imminent.
Hearing Secret Harmonies (1975)
In the twelfth and final volume, Nick and his surviving friends have begun to settle into the quieter stages of later life—even as the rise of the counterculture signals that a new generation is pushing its way to the front. The darkly fascinating young Scorpio Murtlock unexpectedly draws Widmerpool into his orbit, calling to mind occult and cultish doings from earlier decades; close friends leave the stage, never to be replaced in this life; and, drawing all the long, tangled strands together, Anthony Powell sounds an unforgettable requiem for an age.
Comments:
Of the last 6 books, these three were the most enjoyable. All of the characters' lives either ended or their story lines resolved.
Of all twelve books, perhaps the last is my favorite. It has an air of detached interest that I often find myself falling into when I encounter old friends or reminisce about times past. While I am truly interested in what they have to say or what they are doing, I find that I am less likely to jump in with a proposed solution or make an attempt to intervene. I now see that we are all on the paths we chose through our past decisions and actions and we are living the lives we made for ourselves.
Update on the Lists: The next few books on the list are not yet available as eBooks. So the hunt is on to find paper versions. I apologize in advance to the trees who sacrificed themselves for my reading pleasure.
I would indeed call it the penultimate volume, particularly because it is. :-)
ReplyDeleteI love that most of them died. Sounds like the only thing that could have made it better would have been for the rest of them to have died.
ReplyDeleteI love it when people "die in the end." A murder-suicide is the ultimate. (Not to be confused with the penultimate.) :-)
Some died in the war. Some drank themselves to death. One actually committed suicide so that her necrophiliac lover could have the ultimate sexual experience. They were indeed an interesting group; however, I am ready to move onto a new cast of characters.
ReplyDeleteThanks for reading!