Venusberg

by Anthony Powell

A major early work of the great British satirist Anthony Powell.

Genres: Fiction, 20th Century, British Literature

253 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1932

About the author

People best know British writer Anthony Dymoke Powell for A Dance to the Music of Time , a cycle of 12 satirical novels from 1951 to 1975.

This Englishman published his volumes of work. Television and radio dramatizations subjected major work of Powell in print continuously. In 2008, The Times newspaper named Powell among their list of "the fifty greatest British writers since 1945."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthony...

Reviews

[Georgia Scott · Rating 3 out of 5]

Laughter is the best medicine? Not this concoction. Any amusement was intermittent, ran out fast, or left a bad taste in my mouth. Such a waste of good ingredients. Eastern Europe, exiles, diplomats.

I had high hopes. How often do you find English novels set on the Baltic coast? And the diplomatic community as a subject? This sounded right up my alley. Then, I got reading. There were times, I smiled. Some things - form filling and bureaucracy - Powell got right. Apart from that, he never gets under the skin of his setting or characters. He skims the surface. Nothing more. And that I could have forgiven. A light read in summer is swell. Not quite up there with eating watermelon, but good. This book though left me wanting to purge myself.

It is comic only if you like laughing at people different from yourself. Count me out.

(Three stars only because it might spur readers to reach for a better novel set in this part of the world.)

[Bob · Rating 4 out of 5]

Anthony Powell and Marcel Proust must suffer from a similar limitation - their grand works are so grand, few people bother to read anything else. I hadn't planned on any further Powell myself, but this one kind of came my way and only took an evening to read. A "comic" novel from 1932 ("comic" in the sense of Evelyn Waugh, which I find less than laugh out loud funny, but amusing in its way) about a young journalist temporarily posted to a fictitious Baltic country, with recently and somewhat insecurely won independence from Russia on the one hand and Germany on the other. You can probably imagine the stock characters that setting suggests; diplomats, fraudulent aristocracy, cuckolded university professors and the like. It ends on a slightly bleak note but is a bit too lightweight to feel actually tragic.

[David]

What impresses me most about re-reading Powell’s early work is how much humour I missed in my younger years. It is deadpan, dry, quiet humour, but very funny nonetheless. Another aspect of this novel is the way in which the crisis point is foreshadowed. It is not at all obvious on the first reading, but on rereading one is impressed by how it is done. One of those novels in which knowing the end and the surprises makes me appreciate the set-up more. I wonder if I only feel the 'disappointment' when reading crime novels in which I already know most of the secrets... except I have never felt that way with Ian Rankin, especially. Hmmmmmmm?.... Meanwhile, "Bang! Bang!" says the drunken American diplomat. And some people die.

[Katrin Olak · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loetud eesti keeles Loomingu Raamatukogu väljaandena. Heal järjel inglased fiktiivses Helsinkis-Tallinnas lõbutsemas, kõrgeima klassi privilegeeritus eluolus. Muretus afäärid, aeglaselt kulgev nautlemine ja kirjeldatud täpselt nii, kuis me ette kujutada suudame. Parajalt mõtisklusi, tegevust, dialoogi.

[Gammakiirgus]

mul kuidagi hakkas nii põnev ja siis sai läbi

[Simon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had heard of Powell, but honestly picked this up on a whim, drawn mostly by the striking cover art of the new UChicago Press edition and the description on the back, which made it sound like a more sardonic version of a PG Wodehouse tale. Which is almost exactly what it turned out to be: a genuinely funny, though much darker and more cynical take on feckless young Britons of a certain class. Even just on the strength of this early work, I'm surprised the Powell isn't more well known: a British Stefan Zweig or Robert Walser, as perceptive as either but funnier than both. I can't wait to begin Powell's epoch-spanning Dance to the Music of Time.

[matthew t]

I thought this was quite a good little novel. Lushington as a somewhat detached character is quite likable as our protagonist, although perhaps that is because we do not know too much about him. The cast is set up very humorously and Powell's characterizations are ridiculous but not so terribly far-fetched that they become tired caricatures. Indeed they seem very plausible for the setting and time period, being at one of those historical crossroads where strange people are jumbled together.
The fatalism and occasional cynicism comes through clear, but throughout there are moments of real sombreness and tenderness. Scherbatcheff's apartment is a hollowing contrast to the parties and nightclubs of diplomacy. Ortrud comes through as a beautifully rounded character too, one of independence and coquettishness, and her warmth and humour serve well to contrast the farcical characters the city is full of.
Powell's humor is dry, and occasionally too repetitively wry, but most of the time his narration worked well to elicit smirks from me. The abrupt ends to dialogues and the depictions of characters movements are apt and funny, and the broader irony of situation kept me well engaged.
Overall I found this an entertaining and thoroughly readable introduction to the work of Powell. A minor classic it may be but one that does not receive the recognition that I believe it deserves.

[Cera · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't think I'd like Powell, but yes, he's very funny, and the viewpoint character in this one is fairly sympathetic.

Thinking about it more, this novel stands out for me in his early work because the atmosphere of his fictional Baltic city felt so emotionally real. It's a highly stylised place, not meant to be realistic in the traditional sense, but the way the characters move around each other in the space of the city made me feel like I was learning something true about the 1930s in Europe.

[Ryan Murdock · Rating 5 out of 5]

I stumbled across this wonderful early novel by Anthony Powell in a used bookshop. Written a decade before the first of his brilliant A Dance to the Music of Time novels, it contains the humour, melancholy, and brilliant observation of the work that would make him a 20th century literary great.

[Piret Dahl · Rating 2 out of 5]

jumal seda teab, miks LR valis ilmutamiseks just selle teose - kas seetõttu, et romaanis räägitakse "balti riigist, mille nimi kunagi meelde ei jäänud" (see oleks minu esimene pakkumine). Kuid ka selles mõttes on tegu pisukese pettumusega, sest kui tahta teada "mida elevant Eestist arvab", siis ... eriti Eestit sealt leida ei olnud. Sadam ja meri ilmselgelt ei olnud ühegi Balti linna sadam ja meri, kui siis Helsingi, ja mis puutub hotellidesse, kirikutesse ja muudesse hoonetsesse, siis - no ma ei tunne Helsingit nii hästi, et kinnitada või ümber lükata. Tallinna vaated ja Tallinna geograafia see küll ei olnud. Ja nagu ma aru saan, kirjanik käiski ainult Helsingis ja pisut Eestis, Lätis-Leedus vist ei käinudki. Tegelased olid... võibolla jah 20ndate värvikas internatsionaalne seltskond ja ma täitsa usun, et selliseid võis ka Balti riikidest leida.
Või siis valiti Venusberg avaldamiseks seetõttu, et Powell on kirjutanud olulise Inglise kirjanduse mammutromaani A Dance to the Music of Time, aga see poleks LR kaante vahele ära mahtunud, ja et siis midagigi? Ausalt öeldes ponud ma sellest suurromaanist midagi kuulnud, aga 12 köidet kõlab ahvatlevalt küll ja edukas olevat see ka olnud... äkki peaks lugema?;)

[Richard Clay · Rating 3 out of 5]

'OMG! Anthony Powell is writing a porno!' was my reaction to the first few chapters. And thus indeed it appeared to be - albeit with all the explicit bits cut out (Thankfully: one senses that, had Powell ever attempted full-on porn, It Would Not Have Ended Well). But the style and tone of the novel's opening is such as one would expect to find on the obvious websites. Later on, though, things sober up a bit and one is left with what was probably to be his most thoughtful novel until 'Hearing Secret Harmonies' (NB. I've not yet read 'Agents and Patients') Many will snigger at this and remark that 'thoughtful' is not exactly what one turns to Powell for and, indeed, 'PG Wodehouse on barbiturates' remains as good a summary of his work as I'll ever be able to come up with. All the same, 'Venusberg''s East European setting is not badly evoked and one senses that, even this least visionary of writers had clocked that there was trouble a-brewing for that part of the world.

[Carmen Raudmets · Rating 4 out of 5]

äge raamat! kuigi materjal või seisukohad sõgedad. lushington on kergelt spliini sattunud ajakirjanik, kes satub mingisse balti riiki, mille nime kuidagi meelde ei taha jääda (ja enim meenutab ikkagi iseseisvunud eestit) ja avastab, et see on üks müstiline maa kentsakate tegelastega, kellega ollakse viisakad, aga kes tegelikult mingit rolli pärismaailmas või -poliitikas ei mängi. ja kes püüavad eurooplasteks hakata, aga see ei tule päriselt välja: uhkeks balliks laenatakse ehtsana näivaid raudrüüsid rahvusteatri kostüümilaost ja kohaliku politseikapteni meelest tuleks pärast kahe inimese surmaga lõppenud õnnetust kordnikke kiita selle eest, et ükski kodanik politsei lastud kuulide tõttu viga ei saanud.
aga lushingtoni enda tegelane oli väga põnev, kuigi inimesena üsna mittemidagiütlev. läks mingile veidrale rännakule veidrasse riiki ja kibestus seal ja tuli õnnetumana "päris inimeste sekka" tagasi.

[Peeter Talvistu · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a complete snoozefest. I think that the main reason for the badness is the fictional location which tries to imply it is somewhere in the Baltics but actually feels more like Helsinki. Almost nothing actually happens and I believe that real life was even more colourful back then (read Curzio Malaparte, for example). The "romance" was impossibly stupid and the tragedy was set up very clumsily.

LR: Üks viimase aja suurimaid mööda laskmisi. Mul on tunne, et enamasti need juhtuvadki siis, kui raamatul on mingi seos Eestiga. Kohati tundus ka tõlge kohmakas, aga võib-olla see on hoopis originaalteksti viga.

[Esther · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thought I’d try out a single AP novel to see if tackling the multi-tome A Dance to the Music of Time, would be worth the considerable commitment. So mixed results. No doubting the quality of the prose, the evocation of the unnamed Baltic state around the 1930s full of diplomats, emigres from Russia and various Brits, including our main protagonist Lushington who travels there as a journalist, is great. Some of the funny/absurd moments of humor, are very of their time. Overall none of the characters drew me in, so whilst an interesting read for its 150 or so pages, I doubt I’d be sustained for longer.

[Roland Howard · Rating 1 out of 5]

So dull, it will be a struggle to finish. The humour is tepid and largely laughing at the social inadequacies of others. Characters are caricatures and despite ostensibly interesting setting and period. Waugh transcends his Englishness in his satires; Powell in this early work does not.

I did finish it and it’s not worth reading- it does prick the pompous of the privileged to some extent but without saying that Powell was a pompous prick, how much distance is there between the author and his characters?

[Dajuroka Reads · Rating 3 out of 5]

What a delight! Old fashioned views of a pre-internet world that I have only seen in movies. In places very funny and dense with great characterisations of some complex individuals all prancing around together in a very ephemeral diplomatic world. Will read more of Anthony Powell when I can. Small book but read it slowly as there are many chuckles.

[Jeremy · Rating 2 out of 5]

An inconsequential novel with a bizarre use of anti-semitic references at least once a chapter. Powell, like his French counterpart Proust, is usually referred to as an acquired taste, and after this I see why. I at least haven't acquired it. It's a mildly charming nothing story and I really don't think it translates through the ages.

[Pádraic · Rating 2 out of 5]

A comic novel in the old dry English sense, which is to say, not actually very funny. Points for helping me realise I don't want to read his 12-novel sequence. What a relief. This one's basically fine, inoffensive and a bit tedious at points. For an actual good novel in this vein, see Graham Greene's Our Man in Havana.

[Andres "Ande" Jakovlev · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mina ei suutnud sellest romaanist enda jaoks küll midagi köitvat leida. Tegelased olid kuivad ja igavad, tegevus ei viinud kuhugi... Pidi olema ka huumort, aga isegi muigama ei ajanud vist kordagi. Ei tea, polnud minu maitsele.

Ja see, et tegevuskoht olevat inspiratsiooni saanud muuhulgas ka Tallinnast. Nojah, võib-olla. Aga sama hästi oleks võinud romaani tegevus toimuda kus iganes mujal.

[Martin · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Ich bin das hier ziemlich leid. Schließlich muss das Leben doch mehr zu bieten haben als eine Reihe von Walzern mit Mrs. Bellamy, Frau Kuno und Waldemars Verlobter. Dafür kann ich doch nicht in die Welt gekommen sein."
"Ach, ich weiß nicht. Wahrscheinlich doch."

(S. 173)

[Ruth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Probably worth a 3 and a half.
This is an enjoyable, funny social commentary based around a short chapter in the life of a man called Lushington. Through him we meet all sorts of colourful characters and get to think about some serious issues, though always through a light touch and some humour.

[Kaupo Lepasepp · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mõnus ja lustlik suvelugemine, sotsiaalne olme- ja sekeldusromaan, mis toimub müstilises segus 1920. aastate Helsingist ja Tallinnas. Kuidas suure ilma rahvas vaatas neid väikseid, juhusest sündinud riike? Kuidas nende riikide rahvas ennast ja külalisi vaatas? Millised need külalised ise olid?

[Paul · Rating 2 out of 5]

A sad story loosely based on a medieval German legend. Can see how Powell honed his craft later on. Enjoyed it well enough but wasn't spectacular.

[Flob · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this one. Set in a time that seems fantastical now but was very real then, full of well drawn characters, good plot. A neat little novel.

[Jordan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Funny but ultimately minor book. A less persuasive version of Waugh's A Handful of Dust.

[Catarina · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Alex Feldmann · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ei olnud väga põnev, tempokas ega leidlik.

[Ilona Oeselg-Tigasing · Rating 3 out of 5]

Midagi ebamaist võib ju selles tabada (ebamaiseks nimetab peategelane romaani tegevuspaika), kuid üldiselt siiski ehtinglaslik ajastulik (armastus)romaan.

[Airi Kaunissaare · Rating 4 out of 5]

Armas ja lihtne lugemine.

[Ben · Rating 3 out of 5]

Left a lot to be desired - so much potential!!