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Sound: A Novel
by
T.M. Wolf
Built on musical notation and modeled after hip-hop beats, an innovative first novel set on the New Jersey shore among neon-lit arcades, riot-haunted blocks, and dilapidated boatyards
Sound is the story of a young man who drops out of graduate school and returns to his hometown on the New Jersey shore, only to find that home is not what he remembers it to be. Brainy, music-...more
Sound is the story of a young man who drops out of graduate school and returns to his hometown on the New Jersey shore, only to find that home is not what he remembers it to be. Brainy, music-...more
Paperback, 384 pages
Published
April 24th 2012
by Faber & Faber, Inc.
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So far, "Sound" is the best novel I've read this year. I was initially concerned about its structural complexity, but those worries evaporated within the space of ten or twenty pages. I read the entire book in two days, and found that I couldn't put it down.
There are two kinds of problems faced by Cincy, the protagonist, in the book. One receives a pretty straightforward resolution. The other does not, and I've found that it's reflection on the lack of resolution to that problem that was the mos...more
There are two kinds of problems faced by Cincy, the protagonist, in the book. One receives a pretty straightforward resolution. The other does not, and I've found that it's reflection on the lack of resolution to that problem that was the mos...more
It was fun to read the novel, with its unique formatting/design as a mix CD with the narrative text transposed as sheet music. James Joyce would have approved of the method, methinks. The author is also well-versed in painting his picture of the Jersey Shore and The Boardwalk, very concrete imagery (invaluable considering how some of the details have been wiped away by Hurricane Sandy, which hit months after this book's publication.) But sadly, the story itself is quite simplistic and silly. Pro...more
Any points Wolf gained by virtue of his creativity where layout and text are concerned are somewhat negated by the lackluster story and the lack of any sort of resolution regarding the character of Vera. I got to the end of this novel and said out loud to my copy, "That's IT?!" I'm not someone who needs everything spelled out for me, and I like ambiguity as much as the next person, but goddamn, that character was irritating and I needed some sort of explanation to make me feel like I hadn't just...more
I was intrigued by reviews of this book and chuffed to pick up a new copy in my local Oxfam charity bookshop cheaply before it arrived in the shops. It turns out it was a copy sent to a journalist by the publisher to review (their letter was shoved inside the book), but she punted it to the second-hand bookshop rather than bothering. Music and sound are at the heart of it, as you can tell by the LP cover design and chapters laid out as album tracks. Conversations are written as in a musical scor...more
It bums me out that this book got such low reviews here. But I'm a sucker for ergodic literature, so I could be biased.
It seemed as I read that a more appropriate title for the book would be "Place," since so much of the energy in the book is devoted to descriptions of the setting, going so far as to replace Cincy's inner monologue--he's buried so far in place that you understand soon into the book that the setting descriptions are a heavily veiled metaphor for his thoughts and emotions. If you...more
It seemed as I read that a more appropriate title for the book would be "Place," since so much of the energy in the book is devoted to descriptions of the setting, going so far as to replace Cincy's inner monologue--he's buried so far in place that you understand soon into the book that the setting descriptions are a heavily veiled metaphor for his thoughts and emotions. If you...more
SOUND is one of the best books I have read in a long, long time. The way that the form and content of the novel complement and reinforce each other makes the novel one of the most poetic pieces of fiction I've ever read. Among the books many virtues, one of the most important is that it has something for everyone: it is a true page-turner for even the most casual of fiction readers; it is also, however, a pretty heavy work of literature for those more serious readers. Highly recommended!
The text is presented mostly in the form of a music score; hard to interpret at first but once you get used to it really interesting -- the speaker's thoughts and memories are woven into what he's saying. The story itself isn't much, but as a whole the book is innovative and ends up being very readable. Also great to read about the seedy underbelly of Asbury Park.
"Sound" flows. It's a lot easier to read than you might think considering it's written as a musical score and modeled after hip-hop beats. And considering *that,* it's less gimmicky than earnest. I didn't care a whole lot about the story, but the book is highly readable and engaging, and it succeeds on the level of feeling more lyrical than narrative. It's like you're experiencing more than reading, and because of that, you're moved to turn the page. I read this book before bed, but it consisten...more
Currently reading, but it has been a while since I picked it up off the shelf.
Sep 25, 2012
Caitlin Griffin
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
out-there-and-rocking-it
A fun read. Cool format!
Review & rating TK.
May 01, 2013
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T. M. Wolf grew up on the New Jersey shore. He has written for a variety of music publications, particularly on hip-hop. He has a BA in history from Harvard University, an MPhil in political thought and intellectual history from the University of Cambridge, and an MSC in urban development planning from University College London. He recently graduated from Yale Law School.
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Mind blown now.
Sep 21, 2012 03:21pm