Afternoon Men - A Novel Paperback / softback
by Anthony Powell
Paperback / softback
Description
Written from a vantage point both high and deliberately narrow, the early novels of the late British master Anthony Powell nevertheless deal in the universal themes that would become a substantial part of his oeuvre: pride, greed, and the strange drivers of human behavior. More explorations of relationships and vanity than plot-driven narratives, Powell's early works reveal the stirrings of the unequaled style, ear for dialogue, and eye for irony that would reach their caustic peak in his epic, A Dance to the Music of Time. In Afternoon Men, the earliest and perhaps most acid of Powell's novels, we meet the museum clerk William Atwater, a young man stymied in both his professional and romantic endeavors.
Immersed in Atwater's coterie of acquaintances-a similarly unsatisfied cast of rootless, cocktail-swilling London sophisticates-we learn of the conflict between his humdrum work life and louche social scene, of his unrequited love, and, during a trip to the country, of the absurd contrivances of proper manners. A satire that verges on nihilism and a story touched with sexism and equal doses self-loathing and self-medication, AfternoonMen has a grim edge to it.
But its dialogue sparks and its scenes grip, and for aficionados of Powell, this first installment in his literary canon will be a welcome window onto the mind of a great artist learning his craft.
Information
-
Available to Order - This title is available to order, with delivery expected within 2 weeks
- Format:Paperback / softback
- Pages:240 pages
- Publisher:The University of Chicago Press
- Publication Date:06/11/2014
- Category:
- ISBN:9780226186894
Information
-
Available to Order - This title is available to order, with delivery expected within 2 weeks
- Format:Paperback / softback
- Pages:240 pages
- Publisher:The University of Chicago Press
- Publication Date:06/11/2014
- Category:
- ISBN:9780226186894