Infinity by Gabriel Josipovici
In the course of a single extensive interview, this novel recounts the colorful life of a wealthy, eccentric Italian composer through multiple layers of unreality. As Massimo recalls what his master, Tancredo Pavone, told him about his life, he often repeats Pavone's outrageous opinions on everything from the current state of the world to the inner life of each musical note. Eventually, it becomes comically clear that not only does Pavone not always distinguish between memory and imagination, but also that Massimo does not always understand what it is he is repeating. A moving portrait of a close bond between two people from utterly different social spheres, this narrative is an insightful look into the world of a composer and the process of artistic creation.
'A tour de force of straightfaced high-culture lunacy.. very funny, deeply serious, at once scathing about the sublime preposterousness of modernism and profoundly admiring of it. Infinity is that rare thing - a novel about a creative genius in whose artistry you are made to believe, and who, for all his monstrous egoism and crackpot theorising, you come to care about and finally applaud.' Howard Jacobson 'I am a constant admirer of his talent and intellect.' Muriel Spark 'Concealed in this wry interview is an exhilarating "world tour" of music, and how it comes to be created. Music aficionados will recognise Infinity's central figure with delight; newcomers will learn all they need, and more, about an extraordinary composer, and the anguished musical era in which he lived and worked.' Judith Weir 'A Doctor Faustus for our time. Like Thomas Mann's great novel, Infinity shows how a composer's times are reflected in the creative process of composing, and has the novel's structure itself parallel the composer's aesthetic. Books as insightful as these into the composer's world are rare indeed.' Jonathan Harvey
GABRIEL JOSIPOVICI was born in Nice in 1940. He lived in Egypt from 1945 to 1956, when he came to England. After graduating from Oxford he joined the faculty of the University of Sussex, where he taught until 1998. He is the author of sixteen novels, three volumes of short stories, eight critical works, a memoir of his mother, the poet and translator Sacha Rabinovitch, and numerous stage and radio plays, as well as a regular contributor to the TLS. His acclaimed critical book, Whatever Happened to Modernism?, was published by Yale University Press in 2010.
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9781847771667 |
| ISBN 10 | 1847771661 |
| Title | Infinity |
| Author | Gabriel Josipovici |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Paperback |
| Publisher | Carcanet Press Ltd |
| Year published | 2012-05-31 |
| Number of pages | 144 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |