Book description
In Orfeo, composer Peter Els opens the door one evening to find the police on his doorstep. His home microbiology lab-the latest experiment in his lifelong attempt to find music in surprising patterns-has aroused the suspicions of Homeland Security. Panicked by the raid, Els turns fugitive and hatches a plan…
Why read it?
1 author picked Orfeo as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?
The only work of fiction on my list is by an author who, perhaps more than any other contemporary novelist, seems to be composing music even as he’s writing fiction. A theme that keeps coming back in this book is this: “Music doesn’t mean things. It is things,” and in this story about an inventive – and persecuted – composer, Powers imbues practically every page with musicality. One example is on the note of G-sharp:
“For every pitch that ever reaches your ear, countless more hide out inside it. The things he can never tell her, the music he never…
From Annik's list on bringing music to life history listening joy.
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