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ori_gina_lity's review against another edition
2.0
The premise of the novel was interesting, modern day character's intertwining with Arthurian lore, but I wasn't impressed with what I read. The whole novel basically took place in the ship's dining room over dinner and drinks... like one very long conversation between aging couples on holiday... very disjointed and dry. I struggled with the writing style and found that there really wasn't a climax to tie everything together. This novel gave me a chance to research some myths I have never heard of “The Fisher King” being one of them and I was most intrigued by the story of the “Loathly Damsel”. Each stand alone myth or legend the character's spoke of was delightful but everything meshed together didn't work as well as I'd hoped.
In my opinion the informational portion of this book (97%) was carelessly thrown about and it was difficult to follow. One moment the characters were discussing Arthurian lore and the next Greek gods. While I could see some of the similar traits between the modern characters and the myths it was at times unclear who was being compared to who. I wish more time was spent expounding on the character's relationships with each other. That being said the story drug on for what seemed like forever and it's final destination left me confused and somewhat disappointed.
I'm going to have to go and read a Meg Cabot book just to wash this story out of my memory. Which Princess Diaries book did I leave off on? Number 11? Only kidding, I left that phase behind in middle school. But the fact still remains that I'm still really young, and at this stage in my life I don't think I'm “well-read” enough to fully appreciate this novel – however I did stick with it to the end . Maybe this is something I'll pick up again when I'm older and have some more literature under my belt... but for now I have to give “The Fisher King” a 2 out of 5 stars.
In my opinion the informational portion of this book (97%) was carelessly thrown about and it was difficult to follow. One moment the characters were discussing Arthurian lore and the next Greek gods. While I could see some of the similar traits between the modern characters and the myths it was at times unclear who was being compared to who. I wish more time was spent expounding on the character's relationships with each other. That being said the story drug on for what seemed like forever and it's final destination left me confused and somewhat disappointed.
I'm going to have to go and read a Meg Cabot book just to wash this story out of my memory. Which Princess Diaries book did I leave off on? Number 11? Only kidding, I left that phase behind in middle school. But the fact still remains that I'm still really young, and at this stage in my life I don't think I'm “well-read” enough to fully appreciate this novel – however I did stick with it to the end . Maybe this is something I'll pick up again when I'm older and have some more literature under my belt... but for now I have to give “The Fisher King” a 2 out of 5 stars.
phileasfogg's review
3.0
A highlight of one of the later volumes of A Dance to the Music of Time is a story about the life of X. Trapnel, following the time when the narrator lost sight of him. The narrator tells us this story at second hand, telling us about the man who told it to him, and about the way he tends to tell a story, so that we can judge the extent to which it is likely to be a straightforward and unflavoured account of the truth.
This narrative device is seemingly the whole basis of The Fisher King, in which the narrator tells us a story about a group of people on a cruise ship, but focuses to an extraordinary extent on the way the story was told by one of those present. It is about equally the story of the telling as it is the story of the story.
What worked as a small part of Dance doesn't work very well as a whole novel here. X. Trapnel was a great character and I was keen to find out what happened to him after we last saw him. At that point in Dance I'll take whatever I can get and like it, unreliable narrator be damned. I want that Trapnel story so much that the distancing effect of the layered narrative is powerless to stop me imagining the events exactly as described.
The characters in The Fisher King might be great, but we encounter them so distantly, at two arms' length, amid lots of discussion about how the character from whom the narrator heard the story tends to tell a story, that they don't have much chance to come alive for us. Their story is not compelling enough to blaze through the fussy narratological concerns that stifle it.
This narrative device is seemingly the whole basis of The Fisher King, in which the narrator tells us a story about a group of people on a cruise ship, but focuses to an extraordinary extent on the way the story was told by one of those present. It is about equally the story of the telling as it is the story of the story.
What worked as a small part of Dance doesn't work very well as a whole novel here. X. Trapnel was a great character and I was keen to find out what happened to him after we last saw him. At that point in Dance I'll take whatever I can get and like it, unreliable narrator be damned. I want that Trapnel story so much that the distancing effect of the layered narrative is powerless to stop me imagining the events exactly as described.
The characters in The Fisher King might be great, but we encounter them so distantly, at two arms' length, amid lots of discussion about how the character from whom the narrator heard the story tends to tell a story, that they don't have much chance to come alive for us. Their story is not compelling enough to blaze through the fussy narratological concerns that stifle it.
lateromantic's review against another edition
4.0
Powell does character studies like no other, and this book is no exception. Very wordy, with complex references to classical music and British myth, it is nevertheless gripping when you get into his rhythm and style. Simultaneously capturing profound and mundane, The Fisher King is definitely a book I would recommend.
chaydgc's review
1.0
I never bought the premise: a writer naturally and diligently invests himself in the conviction that people he encounters on a cruise represent archetypes, and the 3 people he's travelling with readily share his perspective and are equally interested in fitting what they know and imagine into an allegory. (This is not presented as a folie a quatre). I stayed with it to the end in the hope that the device would at some point pay off, but the rest of the narrative simply unfolds to confirm speculation and fill in the blanks.
One feels as if Powell is entertaining himself. (Like Mr. Jack). His solipsism played out fantastically out over the vast canvas of Dance to the Music of Time, which certainly dealt with allegory, mysticism etc but as themes not an organising principle. After having tried 2 other Powell novels (this and O How the Wheel Becomes It), I am ready to conclude that Powell is best taken in large doses, not small.
One feels as if Powell is entertaining himself. (Like Mr. Jack). His solipsism played out fantastically out over the vast canvas of Dance to the Music of Time, which certainly dealt with allegory, mysticism etc but as themes not an organising principle. After having tried 2 other Powell novels (this and O How the Wheel Becomes It), I am ready to conclude that Powell is best taken in large doses, not small.
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