Haydn Middleton
Auteur van Grimm's Last Fairytale
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Fotografie: Oxford University Press
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Werken van Haydn Middleton
Project X Origins: Brown Book Band, Oxford Level 11: Heroes and Villains: Heroes or Villains? (2014) 5 exemplaren
Project X Origins: Brown Book Band, Oxford Level 11: Strong Defences: Strong Defences (2014) 3 exemplaren
O Cotidiano Europeu no Século XVI 2 exemplaren
Bragðarefurinn 2 exemplaren
Myths and legends 1 exemplaar
Project X Origins: Grey Book Band, Oxford Level 12: Dilemmas and Decisions: It's Your Call (2014) 1 exemplaar
La psychopompe 1 exemplaar
Dead Adventurous: BC NF Red (KS2) B/5B Dead Adventurous NF Red (KS2) B/5b (BUG CLUB) (2011) 1 exemplaar
Project X Code: The Joust 1 exemplaar
Project X Origins: White Book Band, Oxford Level 10: Working as a Team: The Beautiful Team (2014) 1 exemplaar
Vita sedic.mo secolo (_La) 1 exemplaar
Cleoplatra 1 exemplaar
Gerelateerde werken
Winter's Tales: New Series No 6 (International Anthology of Stories by New & Established Auth) (1990) — Medewerker — 11 exemplaren
Tagged
Algemene kennis
- Geboortedatum
- 1955
- Geslacht
- male
- Beroepen
- children's book author
- Agent
- Christopher Little Literary Agency
Leden
Besprekingen
A Dream in This World or the Next?
Review of Propolis Books paperback edition (to be published May 1, 2021)
The Actual Whole of Music is a mysterious book that seems to take place in a post-apocalyptic world after an event some call "the blackout." But there are others who act as if they have no knowledge of the event. There are a group of about 90 people who call themselves "the cohort" who are visiting islands in this world. They are expected at all of their destinations and find prepared housing and supplies in individual numbered lockers. One member of the cohort is the chronicler and this role has usually been held by women. Early in the book the chronicler role is designated to the protagonist, who is named Reger (pronounced Ray-gah) Bede. Bede is however abandoned by the cohort and lives out his life on O island helping raise two twin children with a woman there until circumstances send him away. The book eventually cycles back to the beginnings of a new cohort where Bede is reunited with people from his past.
I tag the book as post-apocalyptic, but it is not dystopic or sci-fi in the way we usually see in that genre. Generally everyone seems to get along with each other and there isn't conflict over food and shelter. These are plentiful enough that the communities are able to care for the travellers' cohort without a problem. Although the cohort travels on simple boats powered by oar and sail, machine technology exists as well including music players, cars and airplanes, presumably powered by electricity & fuels of some nature.
There are some seemingly anachronistic elements, noted especially in the music players, which range from vinyl records to music cassettes and eventually to digital discs. This may be due to the novel having been written over the course of 20 years as explained in the author's Afterword. Although there are recurring references to the music players, especially the cyclical grooves of vinyl records, there isn't actually much about music which must instead be viewed as a symbolic way to express what cannot otherwise be expressed.
Although the book does not provide an explanation for what is going on, I still found it enormously intriguing and interesting to think about. It would certainly be a great book club discussion to hear what other people's opinions are about what is going on and what is the book attempting to portray. I must admit I did begin to think of the book as a portrayal of the afterlife, but everyone will have their own read on it.
I read The Actual Whole of Music as the April 2021 selection from the Republic of Consciousness Book of the Month club. Subscriptions to the BotM support the annual Republic of Consciousness Prize for small independent publishers.… (meer)
Review of Propolis Books paperback edition (to be published May 1, 2021)
The Actual Whole of Music is a mysterious book that seems to take place in a post-apocalyptic world after an event some call "the blackout." But there are others who act as if they have no knowledge of the event. There are a group of about 90 people who call themselves "the cohort" who are visiting islands in this world. They are expected at all of their destinations and find prepared housing and supplies in individual numbered lockers. One member of the cohort is the chronicler and this role has usually been held by women. Early in the book the chronicler role is designated to the protagonist, who is named Reger (pronounced Ray-gah) Bede. Bede is however abandoned by the cohort and lives out his life on O island helping raise two twin children with a woman there until circumstances send him away. The book eventually cycles back to the beginnings of a new cohort where Bede is reunited with people from his past.
I tag the book as post-apocalyptic, but it is not dystopic or sci-fi in the way we usually see in that genre. Generally everyone seems to get along with each other and there isn't conflict over food and shelter. These are plentiful enough that the communities are able to care for the travellers' cohort without a problem. Although the cohort travels on simple boats powered by oar and sail, machine technology exists as well including music players, cars and airplanes, presumably powered by electricity & fuels of some nature.
There are some seemingly anachronistic elements, noted especially in the music players, which range from vinyl records to music cassettes and eventually to digital discs. This may be due to the novel having been written over the course of 20 years as explained in the author's Afterword. Although there are recurring references to the music players, especially the cyclical grooves of vinyl records, there isn't actually much about music which must instead be viewed as a symbolic way to express what cannot otherwise be expressed.
Although the book does not provide an explanation for what is going on, I still found it enormously intriguing and interesting to think about. It would certainly be a great book club discussion to hear what other people's opinions are about what is going on and what is the book attempting to portray. I must admit I did begin to think of the book as a portrayal of the afterlife, but everyone will have their own read on it.
I read The Actual Whole of Music as the April 2021 selection from the Republic of Consciousness Book of the Month club. Subscriptions to the BotM support the annual Republic of Consciousness Prize for small independent publishers.… (meer)
Lijsten
Misschien vindt je deze ook leuk
Gerelateerde auteurs
Statistieken
- Werken
- 125
- Ook door
- 2
- Leden
- 976
- Populariteit
- #26,389
- Waardering
- 3.5
- Besprekingen
- 8
- ISBNs
- 249
- Talen
- 4
It's a dusky wash of sensations, unclear outlines, uncertain distances, plenty of room for the subconscious mind to wander and fill in.
It begins like a science fiction post-apocalyptic scenario: boats of young people whose memories have seemingly been wiped clean, now emerging from what they call "the blackout", traveling from one island to the next along an apparently unending string of islands, each given a number but also creating their own names, finding all their needs taken care of by unseen hands at each stop/barracks along the way inside lockers labeled with their numbers, mysteriously viewed with some unsettled combination of trepidation/unease/hope/dependence by islanders they come across.
One of them with the name Reger Bede is left behind at an island, where he ages for decades and fills notebooks with his writing (nod to Saint Bede, I presume) as the island society apparently grows all around him. We're not quite sure what his purpose is, or indeed that of the entire group he set out with, what he calls his "cohort". Some themes have settled around him/them but what exactly they mean is not told. They're connected however to burgeoning light, and hearts, and time, and turning records.
Eventually officials take him away for a "time out", a debriefing. You think the author is about to spell out for you what exactly is going on? No, no way. The officials are there to listen to Bede, not give us any information. But, but, but. I seize on this as a clue:
Ah, the idealism of youth. Optimistic that they can remake the world in a more just fashion. Generation after generation rising up anew with that hope, which, [looks around] never quite comes to pass... oh, hey...
Whether I'm on or off base with that interpretation of what this novel is "about", I really enjoyed the language and uniqueness of this novel, and the unresolved plot details intrigued me rather than left me frustrated, which I could definitely see the other reaction being.… (meer)