Items related to Time of Our Singing
A magnificent, multifaceted novel about a supremely gifted -- and divided -- family, set against the backdrop of postwar America
On Easter day, 1939, at Marian Anderson's epochal concert on the Washington Mall, David Strom, a German Jewish emigre scientist, meets Delia Daley, a young Philadelphia Negro studying to be a singer. Their mutual love of music draws them together, and--against all odds and better judgment--they marry. They vow to raise their children beyond time, beyond identity, steeped in song. But their three children must survive America's brutal here and now. Jonah, Joseph, and Ruth grow up during the Civil Rights era, come of age in the violent 1960s, and live out adulthood in the racially retrenched late century. Jonah, the eldest, "whose voice could make heads of state repent," follows a life in his parents' beloved classical music. Ruth, the youngest, chooses a militant activism and repudiates the white culture her brother represents. Joseph, the middle child and the narrator of this generational tale, struggles to remain connected to them both.
The Time of Our Singing is a story of self-invention, allegiance, race, cultural ownership, the compromised power of music, and the tangled loops of time that rewrite all belonging.
"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
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.
Review:
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
"A great hurtle of a book, telling several powerful stories at once...An astonishing performance. . . a prodigious, illuminating and exhilarating run." --"The New York Times"
"Ingenious...A heady, panoramic novel, scored, like so much of Powers's work, for full orchestra. . .One of our most lavishly gifted writers." --"The New Yorker"
"One of the best novels ever written about race in America...one of the best written about the joys of music. . .A major novel, harrowing and haunting in blending such intense beauty and such great sorrow into one great, unforgettable American symphony." --"Newsday"
"A bold and vibrant set of variations on the themes of music, race and time. . . It is hard to think of another novel since Thomas Mann's Doctor Faustus that uses music so effectively and with such authority." --"Chicago Tribune"
""The Time of Our Singing" is an astonishment but not a surprise...Richard Powers has been astounding us almost every other year since 1985...We can no longer be surprised about whatever he dares to think in ink about." --"Harper's Magazine"
"With his characteristic mastery of structure and language, Powers has orchestrated a story that. . .plays with bravura to the end." --"People"
"This is a novel God might relish and call enriching. Powers' heart-cry should win big prizes." --"The Philadelphia Inquirer"
"Richard Powers is a wonder. . .["The Time of Our Singing"] is beautifully, meticulously crafted." --"The New York Observer"
"Ingenious...A heady, panoramic novel, scored, like so much of Powers's work, for full orchestra. . .One of our most lavishly gifted writers." --"The New Yorker"
"One of the best novels ever written about race in America...one of the best written about the joys of music. . .A major novel, harrowing and haunting in blending such intense beauty and such great sorrow into one great, unforgettable American symphony." --"Newsday"
"A bold and vibrant set of variations on the themes of music, race and time. . . It is hard to think of another novel since Thomas Mann's Doctor Faustus that uses music so effectively and with such authority." --"Chicago Tribune"
""The Time of Our Singing" is an astonishment but not a surprise...Richard Powers has been astounding us almost every other year since 1985...We can no longer be surprised about whatever he dares to think in ink about." --"Harper's Magazine"
"With his characteristic mastery of structure and language, Powers has orchestrated a story that. . .plays with bravura to the end." --"People"
"This is a novel God might relish and call enriching. Powers' heart-cry should win big prizes." --"The Philadelphia Inquirer"
"Richard Powers is a wonder. . .["The Time of Our Singing"] is beautifully, meticulously crafted." --"The New York Observer"
A great hurtle of a book, telling several powerful stories at once...An astonishing performance. . . a prodigious, illuminating and exhilarating run. The New York Times
Ingenious...A heady, panoramic novel, scored, like so much of Powers's work, for full orchestra. . .One of our most lavishly gifted writers. The New Yorker
Richard Powers is a wonder. . .[The Time of Our Singing] is beautifully, meticulously crafted. The New York Observer
I can think of no American novelist of his generation who makes a stronger [case]--that the writing of novels is a heroic enterprise, and perhaps even a matter of life and death. A. O. Scott, The New York Review of Books
With his characteristic mastery of structure and language, Powers has orchestrated a story that. . .plays with bravura to the end. People
This is a novel God might relish and call enriching. Powers' heart-cry should win big prizes. The Philadelphia Inquirer
Powers is a genuine artist, a thinker of rare synthetic gifts, maybe the only writer working...who can render the intricate dazzle of it all and at the same time plumb its philosophical implications. Sven Birkerts, Esquire
One of the best novels ever written about race in America...one of the best written about the joys of music. . .A major novel, harrowing and haunting in blending such intense beauty and such great sorrow into one great, unforgettable American symphony. Newsday
A bold and vibrant set of variations on the themes of music, race and time. . . It is hard to think of another novel since Thomas Mann's Doctor Faustus that uses music so effectively and with such authority. Chicago Tribune
The Time of Our Singing is an astonishment but not a surprise...Richard Powers has been astounding us almost every other year since 1985...We can no longer be surprised about whatever he dares to think in ink about. Harper's Magazine"
A great hurtle of a book, telling several powerful stories at once...An astonishing performance. . . a prodigious, illuminating and exhilarating run. The New York Times
Ingenious...A heady, panoramic novel, scored, like so much of Powers's work, for full orchestra. . .One of our most lavishly gifted writers. The New Yorker
Richard Powers is a wonder. . .[The Time of Our Singing] is beautifully, meticulously crafted. The New York Observer
I can think of no American novelist of his generation who makes a stronger [case]--that the writing of novels is a heroic enterprise, and perhaps even a matter of life and death. A. O. Scott, The New York Review of Books
With his characteristic mastery of structure and language, Powers has orchestrated a story that. . .plays with bravura to the end. People
This is a novel God might relish and call enriching. Powers' heart-cry should win big prizes. The Philadelphia Inquirer
Powers is a genuine artist, a thinker of rare synthetic gifts, maybe the only writer working...who can render the intricate dazzle of it all and at the same time plumb its philosophical implications. Sven Birkerts, Esquire
One of the best novels ever written about race in America...one of the best written about the joys of music. . .A major novel, harrowing and haunting in blending such intense beauty and such great sorrow into one great, unforgettable American symphony. Newsday
A bold and vibrant set of variations on the themes of music, race and time. . . It is hard to think of another novel since Thomas Mann's Doctor Faustus that uses music so effectively and with such authority. Chicago Tribune
The Time of Our Singing is an astonishment but not a surprise...Richard Powers has been astounding us almost every other year since 1985...We can no longer be surprised about whatever he dares to think in ink about. Harper's Magazine
""A great hurtle of a book, telling several powerful stories at once...An astonishing performance. . . a prodigious, illuminating and exhilarating run." --The New York Times
"Ingenious...A heady, panoramic novel, scored, like so much of Powers's work, for full orchestra. . .One of our most lavishly gifted writers." --The New Yorker
"Richard Powers is a wonder. . .[The Time of Our Singing] is beautifully, meticulously crafted." --The New York Observer
"I can think of no American novelist of his generation who makes a stronger [case]--that the writing of novels is a heroic enterprise, and perhaps even a matter of life and death." --A. O. Scott, The New York Review of Books
"With his characteristic mastery of structure and language, Powers has orchestrated a story that. . .plays with bravura to the end." --People
"This is a novel God might relish and call enriching. Powers' heart-cry should win big prizes." --The Philadelphia Inquirer
"Powers is a genuine artist, a thinker of rare synthetic gifts, maybe the only writer working...who can render the intricate dazzle of it all and at the same time plumb its philosophical implications." --Sven Birkerts, Esquire
"One of the best novels ever written about race in America...one of the best written about the joys of music. . .A major novel, harrowing and haunting in blending such intense beauty and such great sorrow into one great, unforgettable American symphony." --Newsday
"A bold and vibrant set of variations on the themes of music, race and time. . . It is hard to think of another novel since Thomas Mann's Doctor Faustus that uses music so effectively and with such authority." --Chicago Tribune
"The Time of Our Singing is an astonishment but not a surprise...Richard Powers has been astounding us almost every other year since 1985...We can no longer be surprised about whatever he dares to think in ink about." --Harper's Magazine
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
- PublisherFarrar Straus & Giroux (T)
- Publication date2002
- ISBN 10 0374704678
- ISBN 13 9780374704674
- BindingKindle Edition
- Number of pages289
- Rating
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