When British listeners tuned in to the BBC's Nine O'Clock News in the middle of 1940, they had no idea what human dramas-and follies-were unfolding...
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Jun 10, 2011
John
rated it: 
I remember in the weeks after 9/11 listening to WNYC, the local NYC public radio station. Their FM antenna was on the World Trade Center and it went to static immediately when the planes hit, and their studios were in lower Manhattan, so they had to broadcast out of another office uptown, sending their signal out from a tower somewhere in New Jersey. The voices sounded fuzzy and full of a sad confusion, and the regular music that filled the spaces between segments was no longer the usual bourgie
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Sep 22, 2011
Anastasia
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Penelope Fitzgerald is one of the finest writers of the 20th century. In the British firmament, she's right up there with Virginia Woolf, and Woolf would have given her rave reviews if only she'd lived long enough to read her books. In Human Voices, as in all Fitzgerald's novels, most of the drama and interaction of characters is under the surface, revealed in the most artful strokes of the pen. The economy of this book is remarkable. At the end--and I've now read it several times--I always sit
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Feb 13, 2011
Susan
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A short novel about a shifting cast of eccentric characters working at the BBC during World War II, at times comic and at times very matter of fact. "Without prompting, the BBC had decided that truth was more important than consolation, and, in the long run, would be more effective. And yet there was no guarantee of this."
The foreground of the story is the characters who work at the BBC. The two directors who are known mainly by their job title initials: RPD and PPD. RPD More...
The foreground of the story is the characters who work at the BBC. The two directors who are known mainly by their job title initials: RPD and PPD. RPD More...
Mar 30, 2010
Sam
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Beautiful and slender, but funny a la mode de Cold Comfort Farm - about the BBC in wartime, its office politics and men and women - a bit of Terry Gilliam's Brazil in feeling, but much more vivid. And then suddenly a change in tone - and one of the most beautiful descriptions of falling in love, ever - and one of the best lessons in what it must feel like to be a woman, ever.
And then every paragraph can be like this:
The truth was that she was almost too well trained in endurance, More...
And then every paragraph can be like this:
The truth was that she was almost too well trained in endurance, More...
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Jun 09, 2009
I fear that Penelope Fitzgerald and I are not meant for one another. Human Voices was highly recommended by friends whose opinions I trust and whose tastes I often share. It's set in WWII London, where I've chosen to spend a good deal of my reading time lately. And it's about the BBC, an institution for which I have a great fondness. It ought to have been perfect for me, but, alas, it was not.
There was something about the style that Fitzgerald employed in the novel that scattered my More...
There was something about the style that Fitzgerald employed in the novel that scattered my More...
Jul 14, 2011
Kris
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Drawn from her own work experience, the novel takes place in the halls of Broadcasting House (the BBC’s London headquarters) during the Second World War. This is a novel of details with the most scant arc of a plot. Stuff happens – sometimes quite dramatic things, sometimes quite ordinary things – but overall this is a narratives more about atmosphere and place, rather than any particular climax.
Its strength is in creating an incredibly redolent portrait of a time and place that bears More...
Its strength is in creating an incredibly redolent portrait of a time and place that bears More...
Dec 22, 2010
SarahC
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This is 3.75 stars I would have to say. I enjoyed this book, my first Penelope Fitzgerald. It completely captured me with this microcosmic world of the British Broadcasting system as the world war came to it's height in 1940. It is semi-fictional I suppose as it was heavily influenced by Fitzgerald's own experiences in the same time and place. She captured a strong story in a short book and it made me think of what a hugely significant operation the BBC would have been in WWII. The setting alo
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Dec 10, 2010
Kirsty
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I was actually looking for Offshore, Fitzgerald's Booker Prize winning book, but came across this one in the second hand bookshop instead. I'm glad I did, I'll definitely be looking out for more of her books.
This story is based at BBC Broadcasting House in the Second World War (a situation I think the author had first hand knowledge of). It's quite odd in some ways, full of acronyms that aren't always explained, and populated with characters who may or may not stay for the course of the book.
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Nov 21, 2009
George
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Human Voices takes us inside the BBC's Department of Recorded Programmes during World War II. It's a fascinating premise for a story, and it's made me want to go find a longer, more in-depth, nonfiction account. Against this backdrop, Fitzgerald focuses on the individuals within the department and how each responds to the unusual challenges that wartime brought to London. The story rarely ventures beyond the walls of the BBC, and this frustrated me a little, as I wanted to know more about most o
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Jan 25, 2011
Kate
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I enjoyed this much more than the other Penelope Fitzgerald book I've read, The Bookshop. Much less bleak and frustrating. Loved the glimpse into the haphazard workings of the wartime BBC. It reminded me of The Postmistress by Sarah Blake, but much better and more focused. Of course, it's only 140-something pages long, so more of a novella. I've read a lot of novels set in London in the 40s, but these characters seemed new and real to me, and very keenly observed.
Dec 25, 2009
Rose
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I'm not a passionate Fitzgeraldian, but I do enjoy her books. She's like no other writer I know-- although she does have qualities that, to me, seem very British (and non-American): a seemingly "natural", intuitive, conversational way of writing. She doesn't write a plot so much as create an atmosphere illuminated by bright little scenes that flare like struck matches.
(I'm influenced by Ceridwen today!)
(I'm influenced by Ceridwen today!)
Dec 19, 2008
Highly recommended. Mostly a farce about the BBC during the second World War, you know, Britain's finest hour, people saying witty things as bombs rain down on London, but you must read the book carefully, or else you will miss many things; and there were several passages, especially toward the end, when I found myself doing that most horrendous of activities, tearing up in public, as I finished the final paragraphs on the subway.
Dec 22, 2011
Marian
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Masterful. One of those seemingly effortless novels that make you blind with envy. She does it all with a very small number of rounded characters. And these are rendered with such elegant economy, it's hard to see how she does it. Bravo. She may be moving into my "favorite writer" column. I intend to read the rest of her novels early next year. (Have read and loved The Bookshop already.)
Dec 31, 2010
Sarah
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My first read by Penelope Fitzgerald. I found her story of wartime BBC behind the scenes surprisingly poignant and very well-written. Annie's character was utterly fascinating in an understated way that intrigued me with every scene she was in. The ending just about broke my heart. I'm looking forward to reading more of Fitzgerald's works now.
Jan 12, 2009
bookczuk
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Not my favorite Penelope Fitzgerald, but it still had its moments. What fascinated me was how very different the broadcasting world is today from what it was as depicted here. Fitzgerald tells her tale in her typical understated way.
Oct 21, 2011
Paul
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A quirky and very English novella about the very human beings behind the voices of the BBC during World War II. Penelope Fitzgerald has a wonderful intelligence about people that shines through in this surprising little book.
Sep 05, 2011
Tim
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Fitzgerald's Human Voices is not a realistic read, but an entirely endearing one. Set at the BBC in the early days of WWII, it is a light comedy, that somehow also manages deep human insight.
Sep 17, 2009
Stacey
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Very well observed, but a little too satirical and impersonal for my tastes. I had trouble identifying with any one of the characters and my favorite became a bit player early on in the narrative.
Aug 13, 2010
Lloyd
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The most disappointing Fitzgerald - which is still better than most other literature. The novel is almost too arch and witty. It comes alive with Annie, but other characters are too remote really to engage us.
Jul 30, 2011
I just love her. Took some risks w/ the writing in this one, but the characters are wonderful. BBC in London during WWII. Imaginative
Sep 06, 2010
Sarah
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A bit disappointing for my first reading of Penelope Fitzgerald. The writing is subtle and lovely, but it never came together for me.
Aug 03, 2011
Perfect characterization, dry humour, delicious. Admirable, highly recommended.
Jan 09, 2009
David
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Another great one from Penelope. I don't know what to say, really, that is new. As usual she sketches characters with compassion and concision. Her wit is bone dry and subtle as always.
At this point I think you should just pick whichever of her novels has the most interesting sounding plot and read it. Not that the plot will end up being what you care about, but all of them that I've read are small, sharp masterpieces. (At this point I've read Human Voices, The Beginning of Spring, O More...
At this point I think you should just pick whichever of her novels has the most interesting sounding plot and read it. Not that the plot will end up being what you care about, but all of them that I've read are small, sharp masterpieces. (At this point I've read Human Voices, The Beginning of Spring, O More...
May 10, 2010
Supriya
rated it:
I think if Penelope Fitzgerald wrote the telephone directory it would be interesting to me. HOW PENELOPE, HOW.
Oct 14, 2008
Michael
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I absolutely loved this book. The story of BBC workers during the bombing of London in WWII, it contains Fitzgerald's usual eclectic cast of characters humorously surviving the bureacracy by falling in love, drinking and crying on assitants' shoulders.
In many ways clearer and more well-defined than Fitzgerald's more honored works, I would rank this as one of my favorites. Simply, it was a joy to read and sad when I finished and had to put it down.
In many ways clearer and more well-defined than Fitzgerald's more honored works, I would rank this as one of my favorites. Simply, it was a joy to read and sad when I finished and had to put it down.
Jan 06, 2008
Katrin
rated it:
Penelope Fitzgerald was one of the most wonderful under-read novelists. Her subject matter is approached with the sense of humor and kindness of a compassionate insider. Truly one of the best writers of the last 50 years but- nobody reads her books in America!
Oct 18, 2011
Julia
rated it: 
Boring - only persisted as mum had enjoyed it so thought it might get better
