The Time of Our Singing: A Novel
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Amazon.co.uk Review
Richard Powers' novel The Time of Our Singing has had the kind of pre-publishing hype that few literary novels enjoy. "One of the greatest American novels ever written" is the sort of praise that has been laid at the feet of this one, but this enthusiasm for the work of Richard Powers is nothing new. In books such as Plowing the Dark, Powers has shown himself capable of a remarkable balancing act: his books have had a strong scientific underpinning, carefully balanced with allusions to classical art and couched in narratives that have the sweep of the great nineteenth-century novelists. Here, the complex plot manages to take in the demands of artistic talent, familial conflict and a nation divided by racism.
The central character is Jonah Strom, a highly talented tenor of mixed-race born to Jewish physicist David Strom (who has fled Germany) and Delia Dailey, a middle-class black opera singer. The relationship of Jonah's parents began at the famous recital given by the great black soprano Marion Anderson when she was rejected by the classical music establishment. David and Delia are very different people, but their love of music becomes central to the lives of their sons; the singer Jonah and his younger brother Joseph, who becomes a pianist and accompanies his brother. While Jonah struggles for the acceptance of the white establishment, his rebellious younger sister Ruth takes a different path and confronts the issues of race in her life by marrying a Black Panther and taking on her enemies. It is left to Joseph to find an accommodation somewhere between these two extremes.
While all the younger characters here are drawn with the kind of lucid detail that is Powers’ particular speciality, the real skill of the narrative lies in the parents David and Delia. The former is, in fact, the most richly drawn character, with his humanity and intellect triumphantly brought to life. The discursive narrative needs careful attention from the reader, and this is not a book for those seeking undemanding reading. But the rewards here are many: this is a biting and exuberant novel that isn't afraid to tackle many uncomfortable issues. --Barry Forshaw --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Review
This is a book to take your breath away, so powerful that its ideas and imagination fire the reader's mind. Powers has taken a mixed-race couple, a black woman and a German Jewish immigrant, to tell the story of race in America. The man is a physicist obsessed with the definition of time and the woman is a singer. Music and time, the twin themes of the novel, allow him to return again and again to a subject or a scene, to take a jump into the past or the future. The end meets the beginning with a small black boy lost in the crowd near the statue of Abraham Lincoln during Marian Anderson's concert in 1939 and, in the closing pages, the same small boy disappears into the millions attending a meeting led by Farrakhan. In between there is the obscene illegality of mixed marriages, the savage cruelty and inequality leading to the civil rights movement, the rise of black power and the subsequent imprisonment of the Panthers and, described with shattering immediacy, there are the bloody race riots. David and Delia believe that 'the bird and the fish can marry' but this act of faith leaves their children labelled 'mulatto' or 'mule', the butt of discrimination and gibes from black and white. One son embraces classical music and defends his right to plunder what is beautiful in the European heritage while another tries to understand each and every kind of music so that all people might sing. 'Time', argues Powers, 'doesn't flow but is. In such a world, all the things that we ever will be or were, we are. In such a world who we are must be all things.' No concessions are made to the reader who must wrestle with long explanations of quantum physics and subtle descriptions of harmony and dissonance. The triumph of this writing is that the novel's traditional form is woven so tightly with the philosophical ideas that every page is a welcome discovery and a joy. (Kirkus UK)
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An exceptionally wonderful book,
By
This review is from: Time Of Our Singing (Paperback)
I rate this as one of the best books I have ever read, and I'm not young, nor an infrequent reader. It affected me deeply and took me to places in myself that are rarely touched.
The surface appearance is of a novel about racism and the difficulties it creates for those of mixed race. Even here, where one might expect little that is new, I feel that fresh insights and perspectives were offered. But underneath that surface is an examination of the very roots and resonances of identity, the relationship of an individual or group with artistic experience and cultural heritage, and a deep examination of what America is (as distinct from what it pretends or sometimes aspires to be) and of the threads of racial, cultural and religious arrogance which continue to inhabit American thinking. It is a demanding read and one which probably benefits from a few years of life experience. There is much allusion to classical music, which while it does not require knowledge does demand patience with one's lack of it and the same might be said of the occasional scientific references. It is long book, but in my view not remotely "saggy" as one reviewer describes it. Its richness derives in part from taking the time to examine many facets and present the story (although narrated by one voice) from several character's perspectives. I am not black, but would think this is a "must-read" for anyone who is, and perhaps for anyone who is of any form of non-white or mixed heritage (whether racially or culturally). Though maybe I shouldn't have said that, because this is fundamentally about being human and finding or recognising one's identity, and about what identity might mean to others. So just a must-read for human beings then. I should not close without mentioning that the writing itself is quite beautiful, filled with poetic crystallised expressions and that the understandings of music and science are woven in with illumination and meaning. I am astonished that Richard Powers is not more widely acclaimed and that I discovered this book only by accident. I will be reading more of him.
12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Harmony and Disharmony,
By giotto (The Hague) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Time Of Our Singing (Paperback)
A fabulous, almost overwhelmingly inventive piece of writing, rich in metaphors and ideas. One of the best, and most interesting books I have read in a long time. This is much more accessible and lyrical than DeLilo, and more inventive in its use of language, without being obscure. Powers tells the story well of the two brothers trying to defend themselves against the disharmony of the world, and of the relationships within their family, with the harmony of their music. Also, an interesting document of the American Civil Rights movement.Reservations - sometimes the writing is almost too dense. I found myself wishing from time to time for a simple description rather than clever metaphors and allusions. And can anyone please tell me why it is that all (and I think it is nearly ALL! - DeLilo' Underworld, Atwood's Oryx and Crake, Roth's Sabbath's Theatre, for example, among my recent reading) modern American authors seem unable to write a story that starts at one point in time and follows a more or less straight line towards its conclusion, rather than constantly looping back upon itself? I guess it makes for a more interesting story line. All in all though, a must read book. Brilliant.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent read & shocking reminder of America's recent past,
By A Customer
This review is from: Time Of Our Singing (Paperback)
A thoroughly enjoyable and gripping read with a brilliant a superb structure that interweaves the story of different generations easily. However, the tales of late 60's racism in America is shocking for someone spun the tales of American multi-culturism and freedom.
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