The Great Concert of the Night blends memory and obsession into an odd novel. The narrator, after watching Le Grand Concert de la Nuit, a film in which his former lover – Imogen – plays a major role, begins to write about Imogen. For the next year, the narrator writes something every day about his lost love. The narrator’s journal becomes both a remembrence and an investigation of the character of the mysterious Imogen and her other relationships: with the narrator, with her family, with friends, and with her other lovers. Imogen emerges as a difficult and cryptic subject.
The Great Concert of the Night blends incidents from the writer’s memory and the present day, mixes scenes from Imogen’s films with aspects of Life. Sadly, Jonathan Buckley lost me when he introduced the visions of female saints, the history of medicine, and the festivals of ancient Rome into the already muddled narrative. The obsession with Imogen leads to a meditation on Life, but confusion and doubt prevail. I had to struggle to finish this book. How often do you think about the Past? GRADE: C
Still waiting for yesterday’s comment to be moderated, which is a pain in the ass!
Bob, sorry for the delay. I was busy snowblowing.
Just the title?
Jeff, sorry. WORDPRESS must be affected by the cold here. It’s 14 degrees, windchill temperature is -9. And, it’s snowing right now.
How is the new counter top? I’m sure Big Orange is ready to take on the snow if necessary. It was cold for Florida the last couple of days – 40s overnight, mid-60s for the high – but we are slowly warming up again. We love it.
As for your question, the older I get the more I find myself thinking about the past, so “a lot” would be the answer.
No interest in this book, by the way.
Jeff, the new Quartz countertop was installed yesterday. We’re waiting for the plumber to arrive to install the new faucet and sink in the kitchen. A contractor will be here early Monday morning to install the new backsplash. Yet despite all these home improvements and stimulating the Economy, we’re facing a Recession because of the coronavirus!
Glad you read this not me. Sounds horrible. How often do I think about the past? Probably a lot more now that I’m older. There is more of it now. And not much future to think about.
Steve, the review of THE GREAT CONCERT OF THE NIGHT sounded good in the Wall Street Journal review. But moping about a former lover is not my style. I think about the Past when I hear music from the Past, especially the Sixties. I loved that decade!
Love 60’s for the music. I was in high school then. Also the mid 70’s when a ton of new artists emerged, Tom Petty, Springsteen, Elvis Costello, Talking Heads, The Clash, Roxy Music, Patti Smith, The Ramones, Graham Parker etc.
Steve, I listened to a ton of music in the 1960s and 1970s. Like you I was in High School in the 1960s and had plenty of time to listen to music. The 1970s was a little more tricky because I was working for a few years before I decided to go get a PhD. Work time really cuts into listening time.
Gah.
Rick, is “Gah” related to “Bah”?
Think of the past? George, a day doesn’t pass that I don’t think of the old days and our riotous carousals…the endless bar fights… the day I put laughing gas in your SCUBA tank…, crossing the desert together… the night you got drunk and shot that old woman’s goat…. How could I NOT think of the past?
Dan, sadly I must confess I don’t remember any of those incidents. I probably drank too much sweet red wine at the time!
As L.P. Hartley put it in the first line of THE GO-BETWEEN: “The past is another country. They do things differently there.” Or as Faulkner famously observed, “The past isn’t over. It isn’t even the past.” I do think of the past—but my impressions of it change based on what I now know. Also, things I had completely forgotten pop up again when family or friends post old photos or memories.
Deb, I feel the same way when I hear a song I haven’t heard in decades. Most of the songs I remember from my youth have memories attached to them so I immediately take a walk down Memory Lane when the song triggers remembrances of the Past.
I live in the past so I don’t have to think about it!