Skip to main content

"The Time of Our Singing", by Richard Powers

I received Richard Powers’s book, The Time of Our Singing, as a farewell gift. It was a transitional period in my life and I was lucky to be surrounded by people who knew the importance of books.

I found the back cover more appealing than the front cover. (How often does that happen?) Maybe it was the proximity with the character, maybe it was the harmonious layout of image and text. It was simply more inviting. I was also very pleased to find the Shakespeare and Company stamp on the inside of the book. My colleagues had taken the time to go to a beloved bookshop and choose a title they thought I would enjoy. 

But the book almost felt like a dare. “We hear you like literature. We hear you like music. How about this monumental book of a thousand references?” Leafing through the book, I noticed that chapter titles were rife with references as they alternate between dates and opera parts. It was daunting. So much so that I had to jump in time in the author’s bibliography to find my stride. The first hundred pages of Orfeo served as a sort of training ground.

But I eventually found my way back to The Time of Our Singing. I read most of it on public transports. I don’t recommend readers do this: the aesthetic and scientific concepts of the book demand a quieter reading environment. Not to mention the non-linear storytelling! This book is best enjoyed at home.

Powers, Richard, The Time of Our Singing, Vintage, 2003

 


J’ai reçu le livre de Richard Powers, The Time of our Singing, (Le temps où nous chantions) en guise de cadeau de départ. C’était une période de transition dans ma vie et j’avais la chance d’être entouré de gens qui comprennent l’importance des livres.

J’ai préféré la quatrième de couverture à la couverture. (Cela vous arrive-t-il souvent ?) Peut-être était-ce lié à la sensation de proximité avec le personnage, peut-être était-ce dû à la mise en page harmonieuse entre texte et photo. C’était plus attirant. J’étais aussi très heureux de trouver le tampon Shakespeare and Company à l’intérieur. Mes collègues avaient pris le temps de se rendre dans une librairie de référence et de choisir un titre qui me ferait plaisir. 

Mais le livre avait l’apparence d’un défi. “Tu aimes la littérature. Tu aimes la musique. Que dirais-tu de ce pavé aux mille références ?” En feuilletant le livre, je remarquai que l’on trouvait des références jusque dans les titres de chapitre, qui alternent entre rôles d’opéra et dates. C’était intimidant. À tel point qu’il m’a fallu faire un bond dans la bibliographie de l’auteur pour trouver mon rythme de lecture. Les cent premières pages d’Orfeo m’ont ainsi servi de terrain d’entrainement.

Puis j’ai repris The Time of our Singing. Je l’ai lu en grande partie dans les transports en commun. Je déconseille aux lecteurs de faire ça : il faut un environnement calme pour lire et comprendre les concepts esthétiques et scientifiques du livre. Sans parler de la narration non-linéaire ! Ce livre s’apprécie davantage à la maison.

Powers, Richard, The Time of Our Singing, Vintage, 2003

Labels

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

"The Milk Train"

Edgar Lawrence Doctorow wrote a historical fiction with a title reflecting the musical craze of the times: Ragtime . Set in the early 1900’s, we follow the intermingled fates of a white family, of a mysterious black woman with a newborn child and of a ragtime musician named Coalhouse. As one would expect, the text mentions composer Scott Joplin. The music of romantic composers such as Franz Liszt and Frederic Chopin is also present. The reader will encounter other names: composers John Philip Sousa (p. 21), Victor Herbert, Rudolf Friml and Carrie Jacobs Bond; tenor John McCormack; bandleader Jim Europe. Some titles appear in the novel: “Wall Street Rag,” “Maple Leaf Rag,” “Hungarian Rhapsody,” “The Minute Waltz,” “I Hear You Calling Me.” “L’Internationale” is heard during a labor demonstration. The author also includes more obscure genres such as “Bowdoin College Songs” or “Coon Songs.” A much rarer feat is the inclusion of a composer’s words. As an epigraph, we find the indica...
Post a Comment
Read more

"Half The Dance"

Sherman Alexie wrote a short story with a very long title: “Because My Father Always Said He Was the Only Indian Who Saw Jimi Hendrix Play the Star-Spangled Banner at Woodstock.” The story mentions four musicians (Jimi Hendrix, Elvis Presley, Hank Williams and Robert Johnson), a specific performance of the American anthem and a country song. Reading the title, we understand that Jimi Hendrix is the central musical figure in the story. Do the characters compare him to other musical icons? Yes, an anecdote involving Hank Williams leads a perplexed narrator to tell to his father:    “Hank Williams and Jimi Hendrix don’t have much in common[.]” For the narrator’s father, what the two musicians have in common is their intimate knowledge of heartaches. The father deplores his son’s ignorance and then shifts to the subject of music. This leads the father to share his personal take on instrumentation. The drums are the culprits, largely responsible for the younger genera...
Post a Comment
Read more

Collé au sillon

Toni Morrison a écrit un roman dont le titre ne tient qu’en un mot : “Jazz.” En suivant un triangle amoureux à New York en 1926, le roman nous embarque dans un voyage à travers le temps et l’espace tandis que l’auteur s’intéresse aux origines rurales des personnages. La fiction nous permet de nous interroger sur la grande migration vers le Nord. Bien que la musique ait une place importante dans le livre, les références tendent à être plus générales que spécifiques. Le texte mentionne des labels de disques tels que Bluebird (p. 120) et Okeh (p. 6, 197). Très peu de noms apparaissent dans le texte. La chorale gospel “Wings Over Jordan” (p. 94) et le groupe préféré de Dorcas, “Slim Bates and His Ebony Keys”, (p. 5) apparaissent au fil des pensées de Violet.   La musique sert généralement à faciliter notre compréhension des personnages et de leurs comportements. Au cœur du comportement d’Alice se trouve un paradoxe. Religieuse, elle condamne le comportement licenci...
Post a Comment
Read more