Here is a great favorite of mine, Glenn Gould, playing Beethoven's Tempest Sonata. If you want to skip his talking about Beethoven, start at 5 minutes 33 seconds.
Years from now, when I'm gone and my library becomes world famous, my books will become priceless collectors items. I can imagine the conversations:
"Are you sure this is an authentic Wilfong?"
"Oh yes! Look at the trademark bird nibbles on the dust jacket."
Officers and Gentlemen by Evelyn WaughMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
This is the second in a trilogy about the adventures of Guy Crouchback who, although older than the average soldier, wants to fight for his country.
As the blurb says, he has been ousted from his previous company due to some mishap, of which cause was due to his incompetence, and here he is on a Scottish island, in training with another cast of characters who could pass as Keystone Cops or the police force in Gilbert and Sullivan's Pirates of Penzance. It all seems rather funny, until they go to the island of Crete and put their training to practice. Then the butchery of real war pay its toll. Much of this is due to the idiocy of the leadership, making obtuse decisions.
I'm sure that is an accurate description of Waugh's view of war.
The story line, seemed sketchy to me and tended to bounce from character to character. I felt like I was watching a Soap Opera where the scenes and isolated plots of each character, while interesting and funny, had no connecting thread to each other.
The dialogue and the writing was sharp and witty, but overall, I preferred the first book, Men at Arms.
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9 comments:
Great choice of music. Glenn Gould Was so talented. Beethoven’s Sonata’s are also a perfect choice.
I have been meaning to read Waugh for years. These books sound pretty good but I will probably start with Brides-head Revisited.
what a treat! Glen Gould speaking as well as playing! first time i ever heard him talk; his enunciation is like his piano style: detailed and perfect in tempi (almost anyway)and dynamics and expressiveness... i just don't see how anyone can ever learn how to do that... i had enough trouble learniing the clarinet after years of struggle; i don't see how pianists can master all that...
i read this trilogy once but i don't recall much about it; i should give it another go, i guess... tx again for the music...
Hi Brian. Gould is a huge favorite for me. He's so expressive.
I finally started reading Waugh a couple of years ago. I started with Brideshead Revisited. It's a good place to start and I can say the book is a lot funnier than the BBC production made back in the 70s.
Gould is amazing. I listened to him play a Beethoven concerto, I think with Leonard Bernstein conducting. He filled in at the last minute for another performer who had become ill. Gould had not played the Beethoven in four years, yet just plunked down and played it from memory and everything. That blows my mind.
Well, BR and this trilogy are different in many respects, although I feel the narrator in both have similar voices.
"Are you sure this is an authentic Wilfong?"
"Oh yes! Look at the trademark bird nibbles on the dust jacket."
Love it!!
Yep. Sigh.
Oh, yeah...I couldn't believe how much birds nibble paper/books until we bird-sat our friend's budgie. He would sit on my book and nibble while I tried to read. So cute!
They are adorable, but destructive.
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