Book description
Anthony Powell's universally acclaimed epic encompasses a four-volume panorama of twentieth century London. Hailed by "Time" as "brilliant literary comedy as well as a brilliant sketch of the times," "A Dance to the Music of Time" opens just after World War I. Amid the fever of the 1920s and the…
Why read it?
1 author picked A Dance to the Music of Time as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?
This distinction between doing and suffering may be traced back at least as far as Homer. What I love most about Anthony Powell’s epic 12-volume about such agents and patients is how it satirizes so-called ‘men of action’. Seemingly in control of their life and imposing their will upon the world, these ‘history makers’ ultimately prove to be marionettes who have been dancing to the music of their time all along.
The plot largely consists of people bumping into one another and life is accordingly portrayed as a series of accidents, rather than of good or bad decisions. One of…
From Constantine's list on human action.
If you love A Dance to the Music of Time...
Aggressor
It is April 1st, 2038. Day 60 of China's blockade of the rebel island of Taiwan.
The US government has agreed to provide Taiwan with a weapons system so advanced that it can disrupt the balance of power in the region. But what pilot would be crazy enough to run…
Want books like A Dance to the Music of Time?
Our community of 12,000+ authors has personally recommended 91 books like A Dance to the Music of Time.
Share your top 3 reads of 2025!
And get a beautiful page showing off your 3 favorite reads.
1,211
readers submitted
so far, will you?
📚 If you like A Dance to the Music of Time, you might also like...
Old Man Country
This book follows the journey of a writer in search of wisdom as he narrates encounters with 12 distinguished American men over 80, including Paul Volcker, the former head of the Federal Reserve, and Denton Cooley, the world’s most famous heart surgeon.
In these and other intimate conversations, the book…
Lane and the Inventor
A grumpy-sunshine, slow-burn, sweet-and-steamy romance set in wild and beautiful small-town Colorado. Lane Gravers is a wanderer, adventurer, yoga instructor, and social butterfly when she meets reserved, quiet, pensive Logan Hickory, a loner inventor with a painful past.
Dive into this small-town, steamy romance between two opposites who find love…
