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The Actual Whole of Music
Many years later a small boy would say to me, ‘What’s inside music? If the bit we hear is just the skin of it, the scent, what’s the actual whole of music?’ There wasn’t a great deal I could say to him in reply. Not then. But his question took me back to our expeditionary era, which did feel like a time of transaction as well as transition. Could we, just conceivably, have been bringing something to leave behind? And might we also have been taking something on?"
A love letter to the entrancement of being alive - or an untrustworthy recollection of events?
A manual for existence - or an invitation to surrender before the mysteries of life?
Young travellers emerge from the blackout, uncertain of their past, unknowing of their future. As they drift across a reconfiguring world, the darkness gives way to laughter. Then one of their number is charged with setting down what happens next.
In a narrative which speaks both to and for its audience, this is that account.
A novel of astonishing power and originality, The Actual Whole of Music is a reminder that we are relentlessly displaced by forces around us, before us and after us.
It is the essential novel for now. As it always will be.
A love letter to the entrancement of being alive - or an untrustworthy recollection of events?
A manual for existence - or an invitation to surrender before the mysteries of life?
Young travellers emerge from the blackout, uncertain of their past, unknowing of their future. As they drift across a reconfiguring world, the darkness gives way to laughter. Then one of their number is charged with setting down what happens next.
In a narrative which speaks both to and for its audience, this is that account.
A novel of astonishing power and originality, The Actual Whole of Music is a reminder that we are relentlessly displaced by forces around us, before us and after us.
It is the essential novel for now. As it always will be.
298 pages, Paperback
Published May 1, 2021
2 people are currently reading
128 people want to read
About the author
Haydn Middleton
243 books11 followersHaydn Middleton was born in Reading and studied History at Oxford, where he now lives. He has worked in advertising and publishing, lectured in British myth and legend, and written a dozen works of fiction and non-fiction.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
April 23, 2021
Back in the gramophone era you lowered a needle on to a spinning vinyl disc, and the room came alive with music. You could say this era of our own dawned in much the same way. A needle dropped from nowhere on to an already revolving record, then the darkness thinned a little, we looked around and found ourselves at sea. Just us. A small youthful convoy, faced by a chain of mostly uninhabited islands stretching out to the west.
Haydn Middleton’s The Actual Whole of Music is published by Propolis Books, run out of the Hive Bookshop in Norwich and founded by Henry Layte who was originally co-owned Galley Beggar Press:
Situated on the corner of London St. in Norwich, The Book Hive serves as the city's only truly independent book shop. This beautiful three storey building houses a unique collection of hand curated books unlikely to be found elsewhere. Both Eimear McBride’s 'A Girl Is a Half-formed Thing' and Jonathan Gibbs' 'Randall' were discovered by the owner of the book shop [Henry Layte] when it was home to Galley Beggar Press.
Propolis will specialise in “idiosyncratic works which may not be able to find a home in the larger publishing market or may even not have been considered for publication at all”, Layte said.
In this novel, post an event the narrator calls the ‘blackout’, which seems to both rather reset the world and also erase most of his past memories, he finds himself in a small convoy of boats together with several other young people, drifting with the currents from island to island in an archipelago. As they land on each island they seem to be expected by the locals, although expected to do what doesn’t seem entirely clear to anyone.
The novel follows him on his journeys over the decades, while he has a series of enigmatic love affairs with a succession of women, and the islanders drop portentous comments:
With only-one, the freshest faced of the men, did I enquire about the nature of his specialism. He thought hard before telling me he was more of a generalist tan some, his main focus being upon “the lifetime’s narrative arc.”
At the end of that session, I hesitantly put it to him that rather than an arc, I’d come to feel I was following a spiral groove, like that on a vinyl record.
‘Well,‘ he said after another long moment, ‘Good stories do tend to travel from the outside in. The centre’s what we aim for, after all.’ He gave me a level look. ‘The heart of the matter.’
This is a novel which has a linear plot in one sense, and in another this reader at least ended the book none the wiser as to what was happening.
There are a number of recurrent motifs – vinyl records (mostly as an analogy for the narrator’s own personal journey), an old rhyme about a lighterman, cliched phrases, particularly “I/We used to Know This” (used more with a sense of deja-vu when confronting an experience, than lamenting something that has slipped from mind), L-shaped signs made with the fingers (like the ‘Loser’ symbol but not held to the forehead) to him by those he encounters, and a certain quality of light as well as a heart symbol, which combine in a heart of light.
The text is beautifully written and I savoured the first half, although I found this a slow read, one to pick up and read a few brief chapters, rather than a page-turner.
But I increasingly have a strong preference for shorter novels, 200 pages maximum, and this at 290 pages rather reinforced by view as the last 100 or so felt a bit of a drag before the story reached a resolution, or a turn in the cycle, of sorts.
For as long as this might last, she belonged with us, her breath as a part of our chorus, these children hers as much as mine. The chorus swelled, and then we went deeper. A new heart of light had been formed. A light not from above but from us: our light inside the skin of sound. This was what had to add up. All the life in us, the love in us, taking us beyond ourselves to a place not there before; the actual whole of music is when we become it.
Overall, certainly an idiosyncratic work and worthwhile, although for me a little frustrating. 3 stars
Haydn Middleton’s The Actual Whole of Music is published by Propolis Books, run out of the Hive Bookshop in Norwich and founded by Henry Layte who was originally co-owned Galley Beggar Press:
Situated on the corner of London St. in Norwich, The Book Hive serves as the city's only truly independent book shop. This beautiful three storey building houses a unique collection of hand curated books unlikely to be found elsewhere. Both Eimear McBride’s 'A Girl Is a Half-formed Thing' and Jonathan Gibbs' 'Randall' were discovered by the owner of the book shop [Henry Layte] when it was home to Galley Beggar Press.
Propolis will specialise in “idiosyncratic works which may not be able to find a home in the larger publishing market or may even not have been considered for publication at all”, Layte said.
In this novel, post an event the narrator calls the ‘blackout’, which seems to both rather reset the world and also erase most of his past memories, he finds himself in a small convoy of boats together with several other young people, drifting with the currents from island to island in an archipelago. As they land on each island they seem to be expected by the locals, although expected to do what doesn’t seem entirely clear to anyone.
The novel follows him on his journeys over the decades, while he has a series of enigmatic love affairs with a succession of women, and the islanders drop portentous comments:
With only-one, the freshest faced of the men, did I enquire about the nature of his specialism. He thought hard before telling me he was more of a generalist tan some, his main focus being upon “the lifetime’s narrative arc.”
At the end of that session, I hesitantly put it to him that rather than an arc, I’d come to feel I was following a spiral groove, like that on a vinyl record.
‘Well,‘ he said after another long moment, ‘Good stories do tend to travel from the outside in. The centre’s what we aim for, after all.’ He gave me a level look. ‘The heart of the matter.’
This is a novel which has a linear plot in one sense, and in another this reader at least ended the book none the wiser as to what was happening.
There are a number of recurrent motifs – vinyl records (mostly as an analogy for the narrator’s own personal journey), an old rhyme about a lighterman, cliched phrases, particularly “I/We used to Know This” (used more with a sense of deja-vu when confronting an experience, than lamenting something that has slipped from mind), L-shaped signs made with the fingers (like the ‘Loser’ symbol but not held to the forehead) to him by those he encounters, and a certain quality of light as well as a heart symbol, which combine in a heart of light.
The text is beautifully written and I savoured the first half, although I found this a slow read, one to pick up and read a few brief chapters, rather than a page-turner.
But I increasingly have a strong preference for shorter novels, 200 pages maximum, and this at 290 pages rather reinforced by view as the last 100 or so felt a bit of a drag before the story reached a resolution, or a turn in the cycle, of sorts.
For as long as this might last, she belonged with us, her breath as a part of our chorus, these children hers as much as mine. The chorus swelled, and then we went deeper. A new heart of light had been formed. A light not from above but from us: our light inside the skin of sound. This was what had to add up. All the life in us, the love in us, taking us beyond ourselves to a place not there before; the actual whole of music is when we become it.
Overall, certainly an idiosyncratic work and worthwhile, although for me a little frustrating. 3 stars
April 19, 2021
A group of young people seemingly adrift in an archipelago. They make no plans for which island they will visit next, often leaving the decision to the underlying currents in the seas. But, wherever they make landfall, they are expected and provisions and other supplies are waiting for them.
So begins The Actual Whole of Music. And what a strange book it is!
This is not a book for those who like loose ends tied up as a novel draws to a close. As a general rule, I am a fan of loose ends, of things to think about after you put a book down. Here there are plenty of these.
Several years ago, I watched the TV series Lost. Reading this book felt very much like watching a long episode of Lost. We learn almost immediately that there has been some kind of cataclysmic event (a “blackout”). But no one really seems to remember life before that and all technology has been eradicated. As our group of young people travels from island to island, we see the technological infrastructure being re-built around them at a rapid pace. But who is supplying the provisions they find wherever they go?
Our narrator is Reger (pronounced “Rayga”) Bede. At least, that’s how we come to know him. This world is a place where names are held lightly. If you wake up one morning and feel your current name doesn’t quite fit, the simple answer, of course, is to just change it. Reger tells us the story of his travels. And they begin with a strange encounter with a heart shaped light.
Mysterious provisions, fluid names, a heart shaped light (watch for this again and again in different places - like the Lost lottery numbers!). A journey through a world that is re-configuring itself as they travel. Then there’s a kind of diary that someone has to keep although no one knows what will happen if they don’t (like the button in Lost that had to be pressed every 108 minutes even though no one knew why). There’s always the feeling that there are unknown and unseen influences watching over, maybe even directing, the actions of the travelling group.
It would not be appropriate to discuss the plot of the book here. If you know anything about the plot, that probably spoils a lot of the fun to be had whilst reading. You need to remember and discover things for yourself as the story unfolds.
There’s an interview on the author’s website (which I have to say reads rather like the author asks the questions as well as providing the answers, but that might just be me!). In that interview he is asked how he would describe the book in a headline sentence, and the answer is “The Collective Unconscious Speaks!”. He says the book is “like waking up inside a song you think you’ve always known”. That may or may not help in giving a feel for the book.
And what about the music of the title? Well, in the interview, the author says “Music is not a sound, according to Arnold Schoenberg, it’s an idea.” I can’t find that quote on the internet, but I am sure he is right (and someone will show me in the comments) and it perhaps helps with the book. There isn’t much about music (there’s a song that keeps appearing in one of those Lost-like motifs), but perhaps this concept of music as an idea gives us a pointer.
There again, perhaps not.
I don’t really know, to be honest. You’ll have to read it for yourself. At the very end there’s a finale that sort of draws it all together and gives you a kind of clue about the book (take note of the vinyl LP references that are scattered through the book), but it leaves nearly all the questions unanswered.
I find myself very undecided about this book. I’m going with 3 stars for now and hoping some of my friends on here will read it so we can talk about it and I can resolve my rating in one direction or the other.
So begins The Actual Whole of Music. And what a strange book it is!
This is not a book for those who like loose ends tied up as a novel draws to a close. As a general rule, I am a fan of loose ends, of things to think about after you put a book down. Here there are plenty of these.
Several years ago, I watched the TV series Lost. Reading this book felt very much like watching a long episode of Lost. We learn almost immediately that there has been some kind of cataclysmic event (a “blackout”). But no one really seems to remember life before that and all technology has been eradicated. As our group of young people travels from island to island, we see the technological infrastructure being re-built around them at a rapid pace. But who is supplying the provisions they find wherever they go?
Our narrator is Reger (pronounced “Rayga”) Bede. At least, that’s how we come to know him. This world is a place where names are held lightly. If you wake up one morning and feel your current name doesn’t quite fit, the simple answer, of course, is to just change it. Reger tells us the story of his travels. And they begin with a strange encounter with a heart shaped light.
Mysterious provisions, fluid names, a heart shaped light (watch for this again and again in different places - like the Lost lottery numbers!). A journey through a world that is re-configuring itself as they travel. Then there’s a kind of diary that someone has to keep although no one knows what will happen if they don’t (like the button in Lost that had to be pressed every 108 minutes even though no one knew why). There’s always the feeling that there are unknown and unseen influences watching over, maybe even directing, the actions of the travelling group.
It would not be appropriate to discuss the plot of the book here. If you know anything about the plot, that probably spoils a lot of the fun to be had whilst reading. You need to remember and discover things for yourself as the story unfolds.
There’s an interview on the author’s website (which I have to say reads rather like the author asks the questions as well as providing the answers, but that might just be me!). In that interview he is asked how he would describe the book in a headline sentence, and the answer is “The Collective Unconscious Speaks!”. He says the book is “like waking up inside a song you think you’ve always known”. That may or may not help in giving a feel for the book.
And what about the music of the title? Well, in the interview, the author says “Music is not a sound, according to Arnold Schoenberg, it’s an idea.” I can’t find that quote on the internet, but I am sure he is right (and someone will show me in the comments) and it perhaps helps with the book. There isn’t much about music (there’s a song that keeps appearing in one of those Lost-like motifs), but perhaps this concept of music as an idea gives us a pointer.
There again, perhaps not.
I don’t really know, to be honest. You’ll have to read it for yourself. At the very end there’s a finale that sort of draws it all together and gives you a kind of clue about the book (take note of the vinyl LP references that are scattered through the book), but it leaves nearly all the questions unanswered.
I find myself very undecided about this book. I’m going with 3 stars for now and hoping some of my friends on here will read it so we can talk about it and I can resolve my rating in one direction or the other.
April 13, 2021
One major debate from ancient to current times is the power of written word over spoken word. Granted, generally, one leads to the other, but written word does have something concrete and permanent about it.
Such is one of the many topics discussed in Haydn Middleton's novel, The Actual Whole of Music. The book is a multi-layered piece of work which focus on different aspects of language, not only including spoken and written but the language of art is included, and, as the title states, but the language of music as well.
The book begins with the narrator Reger Bede (whether this is a tribute to the historian Saint Bede and composer Max Reger, I don't know but given the novel's plot it is apt) and a group of nomads travelling to other islands due to an apocalyptic event called the blackout. They generally follow a pattern; land on a place stay for a tiny bit and then move on. One day the group land on an archipelago and settle for good.
Reger then meets Lani, who documents what she sees in a notebook. Reger falls in love with Lani and due to circumstances, Reger becomes the new chronicler, a position he does not like at first but gets the hang of. Through this process he becomes more observant of what is happening.
As the group travel to another island on the archipelago, this time 'owned' by an artist. Reger's friend falls in love with one of the original inhabitants and marry. On the day of the celebration Reger experiences a personal blackout and when he wakes up finds out that the crew he has travelled with for so long has left him stranded. This leads to another set of 'adventures' and happenings.
One cannot actually summarise The Actual Whole of Music's plot as it will go into spoiler territory but really it the fact that this is a novel that unveils a wealth of questions is where it's strength lies. As I stated before I saw a lot of them based around language. In the books names have a superfluous quality and can be pronounced differently. Even in some cases people have many names. Characters are asking about different definitions, throughout the book, Reger is either refusing to write his observations or he succumbs and feels that it is his duty to write. There are questions about the validity of art and the healing power of music.
By the novel's conclusion a series of events Reger comes to the realisation that writing is his destination. Like vinyl records, which often gets mentioned in the novel, the reader and Reger come to a full circle.
Despite me going on about different forms of language, the book also relevant to what our society is going through. Reger's angst and worries about being alone are definitely reflective of the 21st century. Just like writing is equally his bane, livelihood and method of communication, we could say that Information Technology plays that same role in our lives.
The Actual Whole of Music is gorgeously written. Each word has it's own place, no fat, no extra detail and it flows beautifully. Due to the language's succinctness, the text is multilayered, with many complex concepts just waiting to be picked at. Despite the complexities, the novel is readable and has an addictive quality. Personally,I read the book in ten chapter bursts just to find out about the surprises that were going to occur and then reflect on what was happening.
At the same time there is something special about the book. One knows that one is going in for something different. The Actual Whole of Music is a unique book, one that is ultra contemporary and has a whiff of classical literature as well. Like all great allegorical stories, this novel is, indeed, one that echoes our times and gently criticizes it in the process. We all know of the adage food for thought, well, Haydn Middleton has presented us with a veritable smorgasbord.
Such is one of the many topics discussed in Haydn Middleton's novel, The Actual Whole of Music. The book is a multi-layered piece of work which focus on different aspects of language, not only including spoken and written but the language of art is included, and, as the title states, but the language of music as well.
The book begins with the narrator Reger Bede (whether this is a tribute to the historian Saint Bede and composer Max Reger, I don't know but given the novel's plot it is apt) and a group of nomads travelling to other islands due to an apocalyptic event called the blackout. They generally follow a pattern; land on a place stay for a tiny bit and then move on. One day the group land on an archipelago and settle for good.
Reger then meets Lani, who documents what she sees in a notebook. Reger falls in love with Lani and due to circumstances, Reger becomes the new chronicler, a position he does not like at first but gets the hang of. Through this process he becomes more observant of what is happening.
As the group travel to another island on the archipelago, this time 'owned' by an artist. Reger's friend falls in love with one of the original inhabitants and marry. On the day of the celebration Reger experiences a personal blackout and when he wakes up finds out that the crew he has travelled with for so long has left him stranded. This leads to another set of 'adventures' and happenings.
One cannot actually summarise The Actual Whole of Music's plot as it will go into spoiler territory but really it the fact that this is a novel that unveils a wealth of questions is where it's strength lies. As I stated before I saw a lot of them based around language. In the books names have a superfluous quality and can be pronounced differently. Even in some cases people have many names. Characters are asking about different definitions, throughout the book, Reger is either refusing to write his observations or he succumbs and feels that it is his duty to write. There are questions about the validity of art and the healing power of music.
By the novel's conclusion a series of events Reger comes to the realisation that writing is his destination. Like vinyl records, which often gets mentioned in the novel, the reader and Reger come to a full circle.
Despite me going on about different forms of language, the book also relevant to what our society is going through. Reger's angst and worries about being alone are definitely reflective of the 21st century. Just like writing is equally his bane, livelihood and method of communication, we could say that Information Technology plays that same role in our lives.
The Actual Whole of Music is gorgeously written. Each word has it's own place, no fat, no extra detail and it flows beautifully. Due to the language's succinctness, the text is multilayered, with many complex concepts just waiting to be picked at. Despite the complexities, the novel is readable and has an addictive quality. Personally,I read the book in ten chapter bursts just to find out about the surprises that were going to occur and then reflect on what was happening.
At the same time there is something special about the book. One knows that one is going in for something different. The Actual Whole of Music is a unique book, one that is ultra contemporary and has a whiff of classical literature as well. Like all great allegorical stories, this novel is, indeed, one that echoes our times and gently criticizes it in the process. We all know of the adage food for thought, well, Haydn Middleton has presented us with a veritable smorgasbord.
May 10, 2021
I received this novel as part of a subscription to the Republic of Consciousness, which focuses on small presses in the UK (and which I entirely recommend). Am I entirely sure what I just read? No, not at all. The best way to describe it, for me, is the painting Nocturne in Grey and Silver by James McNeil Whistler:
It's a dusky wash of sensations, unclear outlines, uncertain distances, plenty of room for the subconscious mind to wander and fill in.
It begins like a science fiction post-apocalyptic scenario: boats of young people whose memories have seemingly been wiped clean, now emerging from what they call "the blackout", traveling from one island to the next along an apparently unending string of islands, each given a number but also creating their own names, finding all their needs taken care of by unseen hands at each stop/barracks along the way inside lockers labeled with their numbers, mysteriously viewed with some unsettled combination of trepidation/unease/hope/dependence by islanders they come across.
One of them with the name Reger Bede is left behind at an island, where he ages for decades and fills notebooks with his writing (nod to Saint Bede, I presume) as the island society apparently grows all around him. We're not quite sure what his purpose is, or indeed that of the entire group he set out with, what he calls his "cohort". Some themes have settled around him/them but what exactly they mean is not told. They're connected however to burgeoning light, and hearts, and time, and turning records.
Eventually officials take him away for a "time out", a debriefing. You think the author is about to spell out for you what exactly is going on? No, no way. The officials are there to listen to Bede, not give us any information. But, but, but. I seize on this as a clue:
Ah, the idealism of youth. Optimistic that they can remake the world in a more just fashion. Generation after generation rising up anew with that hope, which, [looks around] never quite comes to pass... oh, hey...
Whether I'm on or off base with that interpretation of what this novel is "about", I really enjoyed the language and uniqueness of this novel, and the unresolved plot details intrigued me rather than left me frustrated, which I could definitely see the other reaction being.
It's a dusky wash of sensations, unclear outlines, uncertain distances, plenty of room for the subconscious mind to wander and fill in.
It begins like a science fiction post-apocalyptic scenario: boats of young people whose memories have seemingly been wiped clean, now emerging from what they call "the blackout", traveling from one island to the next along an apparently unending string of islands, each given a number but also creating their own names, finding all their needs taken care of by unseen hands at each stop/barracks along the way inside lockers labeled with their numbers, mysteriously viewed with some unsettled combination of trepidation/unease/hope/dependence by islanders they come across.
One of them with the name Reger Bede is left behind at an island, where he ages for decades and fills notebooks with his writing (nod to Saint Bede, I presume) as the island society apparently grows all around him. We're not quite sure what his purpose is, or indeed that of the entire group he set out with, what he calls his "cohort". Some themes have settled around him/them but what exactly they mean is not told. They're connected however to burgeoning light, and hearts, and time, and turning records.
Eventually officials take him away for a "time out", a debriefing. You think the author is about to spell out for you what exactly is going on? No, no way. The officials are there to listen to Bede, not give us any information. But, but, but. I seize on this as a clue:
On our earliest travels, I explained, we saw communities of all shapes and sizes, and were treated much the same by each. There hardly seemed to be haves and have-nots, since no one back then had had two beans to rub together. You could therefore believe (as most of us did) that when the regrowth brought plenty, its fruits would be shared out equitably -
I remember one visitor leaning forward when I paused here, a point I had reached previously with at least two of his colleagues.
"And you feel this was not delivered?" he asked.
Ah, the idealism of youth. Optimistic that they can remake the world in a more just fashion. Generation after generation rising up anew with that hope, which, [looks around] never quite comes to pass... oh, hey...
Whether I'm on or off base with that interpretation of what this novel is "about", I really enjoyed the language and uniqueness of this novel, and the unresolved plot details intrigued me rather than left me frustrated, which I could definitely see the other reaction being.
April 24, 2021
A Dream in This World or the Next?
Review of Propolis Books paperback edition (to be published May 1, 2021)
The Actual Whole of Music is a mysterious book that seems to take place in a post-apocalyptic world after an event some call "the blackout." But there are others who act as if they have no knowledge of the event. There are a group of about 90 people who call themselves "the cohort" who are visiting islands in this world. They are expected at all of their destinations and find prepared housing and supplies in individual numbered lockers. One member of the cohort is the chronicler and this role has usually been held by women. Early in the book the chronicler role is designated to the protagonist, who is named Reger (pronounced Ray-gah) Bede. Bede is however abandoned by the cohort and lives out his life on O island helping raise two twin children with a woman there until circumstances send him away. The book eventually cycles back to the beginnings of a new cohort where Bede is reunited with people from his past.
I tag the book as post-apocalyptic, but it is not dystopic or sci-fi in the way we usually see in that genre. Generally everyone seems to get along with each other and there isn't conflict over food and shelter. These are plentiful enough that the communities are able to care for the travellers' cohort without a problem. Although the cohort travels on simple boats powered by oar and sail, machine technology exists as well including music players, cars and airplanes, presumably powered by electricity & fuels of some nature.
There are some seemingly anachronistic elements, noted especially in the music players, which range from vinyl records to music cassettes and eventually to digital discs. This may be due to the novel having been written over the course of 20 years as explained in the author's Afterword. Although there are recurring references to the music players, especially the cyclical grooves of vinyl records, there isn't actually much about music which must instead be viewed as a symbolic way to express what cannot otherwise be expressed.
Although the book does not provide an explanation for what is going on, I still found it enormously intriguing and interesting to think about. It would certainly be a great book club discussion to hear what other people's opinions are about what is going on and what is the book attempting to portray. I must admit I did begin to think of the book as a portrayal of the afterlife, but everyone will have their own read on it.
I read The Actual Whole of Music as the April 2021 selection from the Republic of Consciousness Book of the Month club. Subscriptions to the BotM support the annual Republic of Consciousness Prize for small independent publishers.
Review of Propolis Books paperback edition (to be published May 1, 2021)
The Actual Whole of Music is a mysterious book that seems to take place in a post-apocalyptic world after an event some call "the blackout." But there are others who act as if they have no knowledge of the event. There are a group of about 90 people who call themselves "the cohort" who are visiting islands in this world. They are expected at all of their destinations and find prepared housing and supplies in individual numbered lockers. One member of the cohort is the chronicler and this role has usually been held by women. Early in the book the chronicler role is designated to the protagonist, who is named Reger (pronounced Ray-gah) Bede. Bede is however abandoned by the cohort and lives out his life on O island helping raise two twin children with a woman there until circumstances send him away. The book eventually cycles back to the beginnings of a new cohort where Bede is reunited with people from his past.
I tag the book as post-apocalyptic, but it is not dystopic or sci-fi in the way we usually see in that genre. Generally everyone seems to get along with each other and there isn't conflict over food and shelter. These are plentiful enough that the communities are able to care for the travellers' cohort without a problem. Although the cohort travels on simple boats powered by oar and sail, machine technology exists as well including music players, cars and airplanes, presumably powered by electricity & fuels of some nature.
There are some seemingly anachronistic elements, noted especially in the music players, which range from vinyl records to music cassettes and eventually to digital discs. This may be due to the novel having been written over the course of 20 years as explained in the author's Afterword. Although there are recurring references to the music players, especially the cyclical grooves of vinyl records, there isn't actually much about music which must instead be viewed as a symbolic way to express what cannot otherwise be expressed.
Although the book does not provide an explanation for what is going on, I still found it enormously intriguing and interesting to think about. It would certainly be a great book club discussion to hear what other people's opinions are about what is going on and what is the book attempting to portray. I must admit I did begin to think of the book as a portrayal of the afterlife, but everyone will have their own read on it.
I read The Actual Whole of Music as the April 2021 selection from the Republic of Consciousness Book of the Month club. Subscriptions to the BotM support the annual Republic of Consciousness Prize for small independent publishers.
April 30, 2021
Once in a blue moon, I'll read a book so good it fills me with resentment that I wasn't the one who wrote it, that tempts me to throw in the towel, as I'll never write anything this heartstoppingly beautiful.
This is one of those books. A narrative filled with mystery in a world that is both familiar and utterly alien, every sentence feels perfectly crafted. Genuinely astonishing.
This is one of those books. A narrative filled with mystery in a world that is both familiar and utterly alien, every sentence feels perfectly crafted. Genuinely astonishing.
April 1, 2021
I found a proto copy of this book in a public book depository in March ‘21 - intrigued by its blank white covers and “Propolis proof-copy” stamp in red ink on the opening page, I took it home. I found out that it wouldn’t be officially published until 2 months from then, in May ‘21. This is a fantastic book, well-written and quite original. Definitely, it’s worth a read and I’m thankful that I had found it.
May 8, 2021
Beautifully written and highly painted. Not always sure what was going on in the ‘story’ but the writing was captivating
May 26, 2021
Loved this. The Actual Whole Of Music by Haydn Middleton published by Proposes, the publishing arm of the Book Hive in Norwich. The writing is wonderful and very dreamlike and the whole thing is unique and hard to pin down. As the author says 'like waking up inside a song you think you've always known'. You're not always sure of what's going on even after you've finished, and I think that is part of what makes it special. Quite unlike anything else I've read.
July 1, 2023
The Actual Whole Of Music is a beautifully written book. Haydn's world-building is immaculate and I was lost in the story in its midsection, however I don't know how to feel about its ending - which thankfully after seeing other reviews here, doesn't seem to answer any questions, and it wasn't just me not comprehending something vital.
Although I managed to grasp the key narrative of the "cohort" and Reger Bede, the narrative (after the first few pages turned me off after seeming to be far too wordy and lacking sense), the midpoint kept me engaged. However, from the second half onwards, the book seemed to lack resonance with me. Of course Bede's journey was described in depth, but I did not understand what purpose it held.
Another small gripe I had with the novel was how it presented time. I could never tell how old Reger really was, or how long he stayed in places, with Middleton only presenting time in loose terms. I did, however enjoy the metaphor of the passage of time being like a record. And on further reads, I could potentially look deeper into the metaphorical resonance of certain things I may have looked past.
All in all, I wanted to love this book. But it didn't feel cohesive enough for me. I have, however, discovered that the publisher, Propolis, are based in my favourite bookstore in Norwich - The Book Hive. I randomly thrifted this book from a second-hand store in Norwich, so it's interesting to hear that it came from closer to home than I expected. I definitely might consider checking out some more books published by them in the near future.
Although I managed to grasp the key narrative of the "cohort" and Reger Bede, the narrative (after the first few pages turned me off after seeming to be far too wordy and lacking sense), the midpoint kept me engaged. However, from the second half onwards, the book seemed to lack resonance with me. Of course Bede's journey was described in depth, but I did not understand what purpose it held.
Another small gripe I had with the novel was how it presented time. I could never tell how old Reger really was, or how long he stayed in places, with Middleton only presenting time in loose terms. I did, however enjoy the metaphor of the passage of time being like a record. And on further reads, I could potentially look deeper into the metaphorical resonance of certain things I may have looked past.
All in all, I wanted to love this book. But it didn't feel cohesive enough for me. I have, however, discovered that the publisher, Propolis, are based in my favourite bookstore in Norwich - The Book Hive. I randomly thrifted this book from a second-hand store in Norwich, so it's interesting to hear that it came from closer to home than I expected. I definitely might consider checking out some more books published by them in the near future.
May 4, 2021
Frankly, I was baffled. I'm fine with a post-apocalyptic world, but I do need it to have some definition. This one is just too vague for me. I read to the end hoping there would be a conclusion that would in some way make sense of things; there was, sadly, not.
January 8, 2025
It's hard to say anything bad because I did enjoy but I guess I would've enjoyed it a lot more when I started reading but reading now felt easy but often quite boring
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