Bryan Walpert
Autor von Entanglement
Über den Autor
Bryan Walpert made the New Zealand Best Seller List with his title Native Bird. (Bowker Author Biography)
Werke von Bryan Walpert
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Wissenswertes
- Geschlecht
- male
- Nationalität
- USA
- Wohnorte
- USA
New Zealand - Ausbildung
- University of Denver
University of Maryland, College Park - Berufe
- Associate Professor
poet
short story writer - Organisationen
- Massey University
Mitglieder
Rezensionen
Late Sonata is an interesting novella, framed around the structure of a sonata. And not just any old sonata, it's Beethoven's No 30 in e Major, Op 109. (Yes, it has its very own Wikipedia page.) You do not need to know anything about sonatas to enjoy the book, but it enhances the pleasure if you know that this sonata consists of three movements, corresponding to the three parts of the book; and that the sonata has six variations in the third movement, which corresponds to six versions of reality that the central character considers in the last part of the book.
I did take the narrator's advice at the beginning of Part One:
#Digression1: The recording I chose was played by Gerard Willems, on the Australian designed and manufactured Stuart & Sons piano. (I have, BTW, on the TBR a copy of Brendan Ward's The Beethoven Obsession which tells the remarkable story of how Willems came to record all 32 of Beethoven's sonatas on the Stuart piano. You can read a review of that book here.) But you can also listen to Daniel Barenboim's recording here.
#BackToTheBook: As we know from the first paragraph, Stephen exhorts us to listen with a loved one while they are still capable of sharing it because his wife Talia has Alzheimer's and she has slipped further into total dependence since the death of their son Michael. Stephen is a flawed character, but his devotion to caring for Talia at this time of her life when he is grieving for a son she can't remember, makes him a good man. He's not just alert for any sound in the night that tells him she's gone wandering, he's also reluctantly editing her last book. Talia was a musicologist and this last book is a study of Beethoven's sonatas.
At the same time, Stephen escapes into his own writing, which Talia had described as his redemption fantasies. Again, the sonata structure that underlies the novella makes an appearance: in the first movement, the exposition, a sonata begins in the tonic key, and moves into the dominant key. It's supposed to resolve in the tonic, and it doesn't sound 'right' if it doesn't. So Late Sonata features two stories:
I did take the narrator's advice at the beginning of Part One:
Listen to Beethoven's Sonata No 30 in E Major, Op. 109. Really listen to it. Not while you're cooking or ironing or reading or paying the bills. Listen with your eyes closed. Lie down on the rug. If you can, listen beside someone you love, while they are still capable of sharing it. Give your attention to every note, every silence. (p.1-2)
#Digression1: The recording I chose was played by Gerard Willems, on the Australian designed and manufactured Stuart & Sons piano. (I have, BTW, on the TBR a copy of Brendan Ward's The Beethoven Obsession which tells the remarkable story of how Willems came to record all 32 of Beethoven's sonatas on the Stuart piano. You can read a review of that book here.) But you can also listen to Daniel Barenboim's recording here.
#BackToTheBook: As we know from the first paragraph, Stephen exhorts us to listen with a loved one while they are still capable of sharing it because his wife Talia has Alzheimer's and she has slipped further into total dependence since the death of their son Michael. Stephen is a flawed character, but his devotion to caring for Talia at this time of her life when he is grieving for a son she can't remember, makes him a good man. He's not just alert for any sound in the night that tells him she's gone wandering, he's also reluctantly editing her last book. Talia was a musicologist and this last book is a study of Beethoven's sonatas.
At the same time, Stephen escapes into his own writing, which Talia had described as his redemption fantasies. Again, the sonata structure that underlies the novella makes an appearance: in the first movement, the exposition, a sonata begins in the tonic key, and moves into the dominant key. It's supposed to resolve in the tonic, and it doesn't sound 'right' if it doesn't. So Late Sonata features two stories:
- the one that Stephen is narrating about his real life, about his memories, and about his struggles to confront his past, to resolve his concerns about marital fidelity, and to face the truth about his family; and
- the other, the story that Stephen is writing, about Orville who is involved in an experimental treatment to reverse ageing, a kind of Benjamin Button experience that presents an older man adjusting to life as a young man again.
To read the rest of my review please visit https://anzlitlovers.com/2020/10/16/late-sonata-by-bryan-walpert/
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- 2
- ISBNs
- 8
The protagonist is an American writer, who has been involved in an awful accident in his early life for which he feels responsible. In an attempt to come to terms with this event, he is endeavouring to write a novel. He wants to incorporate time travel in his work, so in 2011 he attends the Centre for Time in Sydney to undergo research on it. While there, he falls in love with a young New Zealand woman.
This all seems straight forward however each chapter alternates from 2019 where the past is revealed in a series of story lead ins, to 2011 where time moves backwards through that six months in residence in Sydney, to Time Travel in the 1970's or is it. Scattered throughout the books are various theories on quantum physics which I found somewhat difficult to follow. It was worth the perseverance though and perhaps I have retained some of the scientific knowledge shared. The main story thread is about love and life and the emotional entanglements, although 'entanglement' is also a scientific term related to physics. This book is shortlisted for the New Zealnd Ockham Awards for fiction and has a very good chance of winning.… (mehr)