David’s Comments (group member since Oct 29, 2019)

David’s comments from the The Anthony Powell Reading Group group.

I gave a paper at the 2005 Powell Centenary conference, called “Dance Steps.” My thesis was that the whole of the 1930s oeuvre was a rehearsal for Dance, trying out various themes, styles, plots, and techniques.

June Louise wrote: "Content in brief
Atwater's dinner date with Susan, which becomes rather crowded / we meet Mr Verelst, a former acquaintance of Susan's / Atwater meets Susan's father outside their flat / Pringle's ..."

We seem to have lost forward momentum. I’m talking to myself. Enjoying re-reading the novel, anyway.

The all-night parties, ending with a protagonist groping his way home at dawn, continue, especially in A Buyer’s Market.

I love this exchange:
“Ought we to do anything about Scheigan? ...”
“He’s quite happy on the floor. He needs sleep, I expect.”
“He ought to be moved a bit ..... People are tripping over his head. He’s becoming a nuisance.”
“Nonsense. I like seeing him there. He gives the room a lived-in feeling.”
“He lets down the tone of the party.”
“Not so much as when he’s awake.”

I often wonder if the character name Undershaft is meant as an allusion to George Bernard Shaw (Major Barbra), or if it is simply an allusion to Saint Andrew Undershaft church. I feel the same way about Susan “get thee to a” Nunnery: Is that Hamlet, or a coincidence? The religious mania ascribed to Pringle’s father in chapter 1 is also intriguing. Pringle himself, eventually, seems to be a victim of a kind of mania, though it’s not at all religious. Even Atwater’s name makes me wonder. All the character names are ‘loaded.’

I’ll add this to my annual Powell review tonight. I love the way the sardonic tone is evident from the start.

David Hallett of Newfoundland here. About to begin re-reading Dance for the 61st time—once for every year I’ve been alive. I start on my birthday (2 November) and finish on AP’s birthday (21 December). A ritual for many years.