#thenoiseoftime

[annotatingdays]

[motherbookerblog]

Do you find it hard to review a book?

Some reviews are, obviously, easier than others. It all depends on the book and how it makes you. I always find it difficult to review Julian Barnes. Not because I don’t enjoy his writing but because it always leaves me with so many thoughts. He’s definitely one of the greatest British writers at the moment but he always fills my head with loads of ideas.

It’s great but it makes it really hard to collect my thoughts. Today’s blog post is a review of his short novel The Noise of Time. It’s something I’ve been meaning to read for ages but just never got round to. I guess it didn’t help that my knowledge of Shostakovich is limited. Still, I’m very interested in Russian history and this sounded great.

Retelling three meetings with powerful men and how he reacted. It’s a story about power and the struggle of keeping your integrity. He’s a troubled man and has to live with his lack of courage. It’s a struggle but he does what he must to survive.

I really enjoyed this book but I definitely didn’t do a good job of reviewing it. It’s such a complex and brilliantly written work. It offers so many insight into courage and cowardice as well as the relationship between art and power. It’s already on my reread pile. ⭐⭐⭐⭐

My Instagram

[chamud1964]

#Shostakovich #LadyMcBethOfMtsensk #russianopera #opera #JulianBarnes #thenoiseoftime #💖 #socool #novel (at Bockenheim (Frankfurt am Main))

[mrholmes-minorclassics]

the little big things . #TobiasPhotoADay #thenoiseoftime (at UCL) https://www.instagram.com/p/BqVCAhYAWuD/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=j26ip629qnsw

[itstwads]

This week I have quickly devoured Julian Barnes' wonderful The Noise of Time. Agreeing with all the selected praise on the book jacket, I found it a stunning meditation on the relationship between art and Power, set during the era of purging Soviet Russia. Scary, ironic, truthful, funny, sad, musical, questioning, brilliant. A great read. Also great cover illustration by Vladimir Zimokov and design by Suzanne Dean. #JulianBarnes #TheNoiseOfTime #shostakovich #SovietUnion #Stalin #art #music #shakespeare #bookstagram #book #whatimreading #goodreads https://www.instagram.com/p/BnW3y-NFTcd/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=jv1d2bdkp5rj

[concretemods]

"Nothing but nonsense in the world." #julianbarnes #thenoiseoftime #dimitryshostakovich #book