# Orfeo, a novel



## GioCar (Oct 30, 2013)

Has anyone heard of this book?










I am reading it (in the Italian translation), it is just astonishing so far.

I've also read some reviews of this kind:
_I'll just say that this is the best novel about classical music that I've read since Thomas Mann's Doctor Faustus_ - The Independent.
_Orfeo is the equivalent in fiction of Alex Ross's history of 20th-century music The Rest is Noise_ - The Guardian.

Any comments on this book and/or the author - Richard Powers?


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## clavichorder (May 2, 2011)

I have not read it, but thank you for bringing it to my attention. Classical music fiction could practically be its own genre.


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## JACE (Jul 18, 2014)

Thanks for the heads-up on this. Looks interesting.


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## MagneticGhost (Apr 7, 2013)

Thanks from here also. I'm going to hunt that one down.


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## SONNET CLV (May 31, 2014)

GioCar said:


> Has anyone heard of this book?
> 
> 
> 
> ...





MagneticGhost said:


> Thanks from here also. I'm going to hunt that one down.


Be careful on your journey. I hear it's a bit treacherous down there. And whatever you do, DON'T LOOK BACK.


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## GreenMamba (Oct 14, 2012)

I haven't read Orfeo, but I've read plenty of Powers, including his early novel The Gold Bug Variations, which as you might expect, makes use of The Goldberg Variations.

I generally like Powers, but he has his faults. His focus on ideas tends to get in the way of his characters. For me, his masterpiece for me is Galatea 2.2 (which is about a Turing Test, not music).


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## GioCar (Oct 30, 2013)

SONNET CLV said:


> Be careful on your journey. I hear it's a bit treacherous down there. And whatever you do, DON'T LOOK BACK.


hmmm...it seems even more interesting! Did you read it? 
Academics will probably turn up their nose, but I have been deeply moved by reading the part on the Kindertotenlieder...


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