-- There is more than one copy of the book on my bookshelf --

Part 12 of A Dance to the Music of Time

Synopsis (Credit: http://en.wikipedia.org)

A Dance to the Music of Time is a twelve-part cycle of novels by Anthony Powell, inspired by the painting of the same name by Nicolas Poussin. One of the longest works of fiction in literature, it was published between 1951 and 1975 to critical acclaim. The story is an often comic examination of movements and manners, power and passivity in English political, cultural and military life in the mid 20th century.

On the 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die List.
Modern Library 100 Best Novels: No 43.

(Bought second-hand at Help the Rural Child Charity Bookshop, Victoria Road, Sea Point.)

Not the best of the series for me, but by and large enjoyable. The phrase "truth is stranger than fiction" certainly does not apply here, though none of it is unrealistic in the sense that it won't happen in real life.

I found the following observation by one of the characters interesting:

People think because a novel's invented, it isn't true. Exactly the reverse is the case. Because a novel's invented, it is true. Biography and memoirs can never be wholly true, since they can't include every conceivable circumstance of what happended. The novel can do that. The novelist himself lays it down. His decision is binding. The biographer, even at his highest and best, can be only tentative, empirical. The autobiographer, for his part, is imprisoned in his own egotism. He must always be suspect. In contrast with the other two, the novelist is a god, creating his man, making him breathe and walk. The man, created in his own image, provides information about the god. In a sense you know more about Balzac and Dickens from their novels, than Rousseau and Casanova from their Confessions.

And that brings me to the end of this epic series. I'm glad to have made the acquaintance. Thanks again, Dunzy. Thanks, klaradyn.

Donated to 1001-library to be included in the library of books on the combined 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die list.

This donation is in memory of Dunzy, who recommended this cycle of books and was always encouraging others to donate parts of the series to the 1001-library. I have copies of 9 parts of the cycle of 12, and klaradyn kindly gave me copies of all 12 parts for BookCrossing purposes. As I read them, I intend to select from the combined group a full set to donate to the 1001-library. If you are interested, let me know.

Thanks so much for your donation Stoepbrak!

This book is now part of the 1001-library. If you want to take this book from the library but don't know how to proceed, please refer to the 1001-library bookshelf.

The book is on its way to Danielle23 in the UK. I posted it this morning, opting for surface mail. Quite often a tracked package like this gets lucky and is included with items dispatched by airmail. Only time will tell.

International tracking number: CN023077952ZA
http://www.postoffice.co.za/tools/trackandtrace.html
http://www.track-trace.com/post

The books are here safely, and in only a week too! Thanks so much Stoepbrak, I'll have to get to this series soon xx