June 2014 - Orfeo by Richard Powers

[Michelle, Too many books, too little time!]

Here is the spot to discuss our June 'Something New' selection Orfeo

Please be aware there could be spoilers!

For those of you interested, here is a link to some extra information on this book and the author from Wikipedia

Enjoy!

[Katy]

Michelle wrote: "Here is the spot to discuss our June 'Something New' selection Orfeo

Please be aware there could be spoilers!

For those of you interested, here is a link to some extra information..."

Hi. I'm about 15% in, and I'm fascinated by the descriptions given of his experiences of music.

[Kate S]

Katy, I am so glad you are enjoying this! I am about 100 pages in, and hated putting it down. I'm finding a lyrical quality to his writing which makes the music experience even more profound.

[Katy]

Kate S wrote: "Katy, I am so glad you are enjoying this! I am about 100 pages in, and hated putting it down. I'm finding a lyrical quality to his writing which makes the music experience even more profound."

I'm finding it fascinating. Something tells me it's not for everyone, though.

[Kate S]

So, I finished this one last week and have been kind of mulling it over trying to decide if I actually know what happened. It's a good feeling. This felt like a more contemporary stream of conscious voice. Peter took us on a trip and the story fell into place in whatever order in came into his mind.

I liked the way the sentence structure and tone of the book would slow down sometimes and then speed up all of a sudden. It felt like reading a piece of music. I understand not everyone will enjoy this work. It is not exactly an escapist novel, it certainly took some thought. I will be looking for more titles by Richard Powers.

[Katy]

Kate S wrote: "So, I finished this one last week and have been kind of mulling it over trying to decide if I actually know what happened. It's a good feeling. This felt like a more contemporary stream of consci..."

I'm about 80%, and I was really impressed by his description of Shostakovich's 5th Symphony and the work he produced in New York in 1993, that was to come back and haunt him.

[Katy]

Kate S wrote: "So, I finished this one last week and have been kind of mulling it over trying to decide if I actually know what happened. It's a good feeling. This felt like a more contemporary stream of consci..."

I finished it and thought it was fascinating. There were a few times in the middle I wondered where it was going, but it all tied together in the end. Performance. Pushing the boundaries. Music and chemistry (science/numbers).

Glad I read this one.