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bucket's review
3.0
This volume was pretty hit and miss for me.
I continue to wish we could dive deeper into Nick Jenkins, though it is interesting the way that he serves as a window onto a certain phase of history in England. (And onto the lives of characters like Widmerpool).
I wasn't much interested in the minutiae of the war but the huge number of minor characters here, with all their ticks and foibles, were pretty fascinating. Widmerpool is at his finest/worst, and the pity I often felt for him in volumes 1 and 2 totally faded here. Instead, Stringham (of all people!) becomes the one to pity.
Things are shaping up for Pamela Flitton to be Widmerpool's downfall in volume 4 and I suspect there will be Schadenfreude.
I continue to wish we could dive deeper into Nick Jenkins, though it is interesting the way that he serves as a window onto a certain phase of history in England. (And onto the lives of characters like Widmerpool).
I wasn't much interested in the minutiae of the war but the huge number of minor characters here, with all their ticks and foibles, were pretty fascinating. Widmerpool is at his finest/worst, and the pity I often felt for him in volumes 1 and 2 totally faded here. Instead, Stringham (of all people!) becomes the one to pity.
Things are shaping up for Pamela Flitton to be Widmerpool's downfall in volume 4 and I suspect there will be Schadenfreude.
smcleish's review
3.0
Originally published on my blog here in October 1999.
Wartime army service is the background to book seven of A Dance to the Music of Time. It is not active service, Nick Jenkins being sent to a unit which remains in Northern Ireland until the fall of Paris and the end of the book. This is a complete break from his normal life in London's literary circles, and so the characters from earlier in the series are almost totally absent. Even Nick's wife Isobel only appears on a couple of pages.
The Valley of Bones is a fairly unsurprising chronicle of the absurdity of wartime life in the army; there must be dozens of such books, including [a:Spike Milligan|114722|Spike Milligan|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1208957754p2/114722.jpg]'s far more outrageous war memoirs. The more novels I read from A Dance to the Music of Time, the less I feel I understand the way that fifties and sixties critics raved about the series. They are certainly enjoyable to read, competently written, but lack (to my mind) significance.
Wartime army service is the background to book seven of A Dance to the Music of Time. It is not active service, Nick Jenkins being sent to a unit which remains in Northern Ireland until the fall of Paris and the end of the book. This is a complete break from his normal life in London's literary circles, and so the characters from earlier in the series are almost totally absent. Even Nick's wife Isobel only appears on a couple of pages.
The Valley of Bones is a fairly unsurprising chronicle of the absurdity of wartime life in the army; there must be dozens of such books, including [a:Spike Milligan|114722|Spike Milligan|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1208957754p2/114722.jpg]'s far more outrageous war memoirs. The more novels I read from A Dance to the Music of Time, the less I feel I understand the way that fifties and sixties critics raved about the series. They are certainly enjoyable to read, competently written, but lack (to my mind) significance.
darwin8u's review
5.0
“War is long periods of boredom punctuated by moments of sheer terror.”
-- old combat adage
The Third Movement (**FALL**) contains the following three novels:
1. The Valley of Bones (A Dance to the Music of Time, #7) -- read June 19, 2016
2. The Soldier's Art (A Dance to the Music of Time, #8) -- read August 16, 2016
3. The Military Philosophers (A Dance to the Music of Time, #9) -- read August 22, 2016
I read these three novels starting in mid June 2016 and ending August 22, 2016. I've hyperlinked to my original review for each book.
-- old combat adage
The Third Movement (**FALL**) contains the following three novels:
1. The Valley of Bones (A Dance to the Music of Time, #7) -- read June 19, 2016
2. The Soldier's Art (A Dance to the Music of Time, #8) -- read August 16, 2016
3. The Military Philosophers (A Dance to the Music of Time, #9) -- read August 22, 2016
I read these three novels starting in mid June 2016 and ending August 22, 2016. I've hyperlinked to my original review for each book.
mylogicisfuzzy's review
5.0
Slightly worried what's going to happen to me once I've finished the last movement. The ending of Soldier's Art affected me quite a bit, sleep was impossible. I think this is some of the best writing (I mean the whole of it, not just the third movement) I have ever read.
invertible_hulk's review
3.0
Novels 7-9 of Powell's overall twelve
The Valley of Bones -- 3/5
It took me some time to get into reading this one.
Partly due to it being a war novel, and my dislike of/disinterest in war novels. And partly due to a near-complete reboot of characters. After six novels of getting to know all of the characters of Jenkins' aristocratic world, Powell replaces all of them with the new characters of Jenkins' military career.
As I said, it took some time to get used to these new characters and to care about them in any way; but in true Powell fashion, nearly every character is memorable and by the end of the novel, the reader is left wanting to know more about them all.
The Soldier's Art -- 3/5
Good. God. Damn.
I finally made it through this one.
Much like the last novel, this one was a chore for me to get through. I don't care about military history, and as such I really don't care about British military history. I don't know what 'DAAG's and 'DAPM's are, I don't know what 'A & Q' is, I don't know exactly what the Mobile Laundry is or why it's the spot to send all the rejects -- and I don't fucking care that I don't know it.
But, in order to move through the story, I had to drag myself along through 150pgs of it all. It's part of the overall narrative, and part of the development of Jenkins as a character, but it's nowhere near as engaging as the first six novels. However, the middle 80pgs (roughly) of the novel are.
When Jenkins returns to London, on leave, some of the old characters are seen again, and it's like welcoming back old friends. Friends who are far more lively than the military lot. But, that's all over soon enough, and we're plunged back into the Divisions. Oh well...
The Military Philosophers -- 3/5
Yet another war novel, but thankfully Jenkins has been removed from the cavalry and placed (slightly) behind the scenes. Instead of infantry training and field maneuvers, he's now serving as go-between to the Polish army, and later to the Belgians.
Stringham and Templer don't make it through this one, but Stringham's niece -- Pamela -- pops up to take one of the empty spaces.
As with the other two novels in this 'trilogy', the parts dealing with the war were a struggle; while the sections where Jenkins was back in London, amongst the life he left behind when he joined the military, were the definite highpoints.
The Valley of Bones -- 3/5
It took me some time to get into reading this one.
Partly due to it being a war novel, and my dislike of/disinterest in war novels. And partly due to a near-complete reboot of characters. After six novels of getting to know all of the characters of Jenkins' aristocratic world, Powell replaces all of them with the new characters of Jenkins' military career.
As I said, it took some time to get used to these new characters and to care about them in any way; but in true Powell fashion, nearly every character is memorable and by the end of the novel, the reader is left wanting to know more about them all.
The Soldier's Art -- 3/5
Good. God. Damn.
I finally made it through this one.
Much like the last novel, this one was a chore for me to get through. I don't care about military history, and as such I really don't care about British military history. I don't know what 'DAAG's and 'DAPM's are, I don't know what 'A & Q' is, I don't know exactly what the Mobile Laundry is or why it's the spot to send all the rejects -- and I don't fucking care that I don't know it.
But, in order to move through the story, I had to drag myself along through 150pgs of it all. It's part of the overall narrative, and part of the development of Jenkins as a character, but it's nowhere near as engaging as the first six novels. However, the middle 80pgs (roughly) of the novel are.
When Jenkins returns to London, on leave, some of the old characters are seen again, and it's like welcoming back old friends. Friends who are far more lively than the military lot. But, that's all over soon enough, and we're plunged back into the Divisions. Oh well...
The Military Philosophers -- 3/5
Yet another war novel, but thankfully Jenkins has been removed from the cavalry and placed (slightly) behind the scenes. Instead of infantry training and field maneuvers, he's now serving as go-between to the Polish army, and later to the Belgians.
Stringham and Templer don't make it through this one, but Stringham's niece -- Pamela -- pops up to take one of the empty spaces.
As with the other two novels in this 'trilogy', the parts dealing with the war were a struggle; while the sections where Jenkins was back in London, amongst the life he left behind when he joined the military, were the definite highpoints.
gengelcox's review
4.0
The third season into Powell's "A Dance to the Music of Time" series, and I finally feel that I'm understanding what's going on. Powell's series is very British, and early on I missed a lot of action because it was hidden amongst the understatements and other polite forms of communication. I read this group of three much more closely, and I feel that I got much more out of it. "Autumn" (as my three in one volume calls this group of three) is the World War II years for Jenkins and his life comrades, although in the first volume, The Valley of Bones, we don't get to see too many of his schoolmates until the very end. Jenkins, who waited too long to join the British army and slightly too old for the rank and file, is assigned to a Welsh regiment made up mostly of the men of one small town. The lieutenant is an ex-bank clerk with delusions of grandeur, who is frustrated by the abilities of the men assigned to him as well as his own ambition. In some ways, this lieutenant resembles Widmerpool; both men are driven by their desire for acceptance by society. Jenkins, the bobbing buoy in the storm of all this ambition, seems almost goal-less. Even his previous occupation as a writer seems worthless in the light of war, and he flounders, searching for a place to fit in and make something of himself. The Welsh regiment is not it, and at the end of The Valley of Bones, Jenkins finds himself becoming an aide de camp of Widmerpool, who has become the Q&A (roughly, the military police) of a division. At the end of the book, this prospect seems quite despairing to Jenkins, although he is resigned to his fate, which could be worse, he surmises, but not much.
We learn much more about Widmerpool and his ambition in The Soldier's Art. Jenkins, acting as his lackey, gets first hand knowledge of both Widmerpool's strengths (hard-working, detailed, thorough) as well as his weaknesses (vain, petty, unscrupulous). One of the strongest scenes yet in the series is a segment herein where Jenkins attempts to help Stringham, who has recovered from his alcoholism, but only managed to achieve a position as a waiter in the Army. Jenkins wants Widmerpool to find Stringham a better position, but Widmerpool at first will have none of it. Widmerpool feels that a man must achieve his own positions, without any string-pulling from his friends. Of course, this is totally hypocritical--he is quite willing to let people pull strings to help his fortunes, and is willing to manipulate the course of actions if they are beneficial to himself (such as having Jenkins assigned to him). Jenkins goes on R&R, and when he returns, he finds that Stringham's been reassigned to the laundry on Widmerpool's suggestion. Thinking Widmerpool has turned a new leaf, he thanks him, then learns that the laundry is due to be shipped out to a nasty portion of the war. The strength of this series by Powell is that all the action above takes place in amongst three of four other developing storylines, including a rivalry between Widmerpool and a office at the same rank, a chance for Jenkins to get out from under Widmerpool's office, and the ongoing blitz of London. Keeping it all straight is difficult at times. Of the books in the series, this is probably my favorite or next favorite so far.
The "Autumn" trilogy ends with The Military Philosophers. Jenkins and Widmerpool separate, each into different parts of the military governance--Widmerpool into intelligence, Jenkins into foreign liaisons. Now that he's back in the city, Jenkins is reunited with his wife and many of the parts of society that being assigned to a country regiment had denied him. Even though the war goes on, and some of Jenkins' in-laws are killed by German bombing raids, the book is concerned as much with the love affairs of the characters as the affairs of the war. Most prominently, Templar's sister, Pamela Flitton, is introduced herein, and the information regarding her dealings with characters that we have met in the preceding eight volumes provides much of the plot. In fact, at one point, where Jenkins is grilling another character regarding Pamela, the character says, "Why do I need to tell you this? Are you from MI5?" because Jenkins, and the reader, has already tied much of what has happened together through the grapevine of other friends and relatives.
I don't think of "The Dance" as a gossip novel, but in many ways, that is how it seems. Action often takes a back seat to the machinations of talk, and the most interesting bits are the surprises that spring from how characters do not relate to one another as seen through Jenkins' eyes. Things do happen--bombs burst, sugar gets poured over heads, intercourse happens--but they become stronger by how they are perceived by the characters than their actual effect. I'm looking forward to the next few books, anticipating Widmerpool's fall from grace and some truth and reconciliation that ties up a lot of what has gone before.
We learn much more about Widmerpool and his ambition in The Soldier's Art. Jenkins, acting as his lackey, gets first hand knowledge of both Widmerpool's strengths (hard-working, detailed, thorough) as well as his weaknesses (vain, petty, unscrupulous). One of the strongest scenes yet in the series is a segment herein where Jenkins attempts to help Stringham, who has recovered from his alcoholism, but only managed to achieve a position as a waiter in the Army. Jenkins wants Widmerpool to find Stringham a better position, but Widmerpool at first will have none of it. Widmerpool feels that a man must achieve his own positions, without any string-pulling from his friends. Of course, this is totally hypocritical--he is quite willing to let people pull strings to help his fortunes, and is willing to manipulate the course of actions if they are beneficial to himself (such as having Jenkins assigned to him). Jenkins goes on R&R, and when he returns, he finds that Stringham's been reassigned to the laundry on Widmerpool's suggestion. Thinking Widmerpool has turned a new leaf, he thanks him, then learns that the laundry is due to be shipped out to a nasty portion of the war. The strength of this series by Powell is that all the action above takes place in amongst three of four other developing storylines, including a rivalry between Widmerpool and a office at the same rank, a chance for Jenkins to get out from under Widmerpool's office, and the ongoing blitz of London. Keeping it all straight is difficult at times. Of the books in the series, this is probably my favorite or next favorite so far.
The "Autumn" trilogy ends with The Military Philosophers. Jenkins and Widmerpool separate, each into different parts of the military governance--Widmerpool into intelligence, Jenkins into foreign liaisons. Now that he's back in the city, Jenkins is reunited with his wife and many of the parts of society that being assigned to a country regiment had denied him. Even though the war goes on, and some of Jenkins' in-laws are killed by German bombing raids, the book is concerned as much with the love affairs of the characters as the affairs of the war. Most prominently, Templar's sister, Pamela Flitton, is introduced herein, and the information regarding her dealings with characters that we have met in the preceding eight volumes provides much of the plot. In fact, at one point, where Jenkins is grilling another character regarding Pamela, the character says, "Why do I need to tell you this? Are you from MI5?" because Jenkins, and the reader, has already tied much of what has happened together through the grapevine of other friends and relatives.
I don't think of "The Dance" as a gossip novel, but in many ways, that is how it seems. Action often takes a back seat to the machinations of talk, and the most interesting bits are the surprises that spring from how characters do not relate to one another as seen through Jenkins' eyes. Things do happen--bombs burst, sugar gets poured over heads, intercourse happens--but they become stronger by how they are perceived by the characters than their actual effect. I'm looking forward to the next few books, anticipating Widmerpool's fall from grace and some truth and reconciliation that ties up a lot of what has gone before.
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