Customer comments on this selection.
 Invitation to a Review
Having just finished reading Anthony Powell's 'A Dance to the Music of Time' for the third time, I was hesitant in ordering a copy of Spurling's 'Invitation to a Dance' assuming I knew all there was to know in Powell's work. I was right and I was wrong! Spurling's work re-introduces all of the characters, no matter how minor, from the 12 books plus summarises places, paintings and books that have appeared in Powell's work. Nothing new there.
However, when describing the characters, places etc she manages to extract from Powell's work, the very best of his writing. She shows his ability to sum up a character, their foibles, their very nature, in one or two lines, an economy of words that echoes Evelyn Waugh at his very best. This is reason enough to buy the book.
I would recommend it to all of Powell's fans and to anyone who would like to see what fine, entertaining writing and character portrayal is all about.
More fun than you'd think
I expected a rigorous critical work, but this is quite jolly. Surprisingly useful reminder about the many characters and events running through the twelve volumes of A Dance to the Music of Time.
 Great Guide!
I have found this book to be a wonderfully handy guide to the sometimes daunting Dance to the Music of Time. Though the book has a number of features, including a brief plot summary and chronology, details on places, works of art and literature mentioned in the novels, it is the character guide that is indispensible. In fact, it takes up about 200 pages of the book. It not only lists the characters, but gives a brief account of them, how they are related to one another, and also an index to where they are mentioned in all the books.
Absolutely invaluable to a first time reader of the series!
The ideal companion to Anthony Powell's major work
First a warning to people who want to buy this book online: it is a comprehensive glossary, not a book about Anthony Powell and his writing. This is probably why it is called a "handbook". Unlike me, you should not wait until you have read Dance three times before you buy it. The entries are heavily provided with quotations. Very useful for scholarship work are the accurate references (with page numbers). I wonder whether this may pose a problem with subsequent editions that have different paginations. I wish I had bought Spurling's book much earlier: it would have made my first readings easier.
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