Don't Miss

• NYRB Classics: Save 30%
• Paperback Favorites
  for Book Groups
• Springer Math Sale!
• Subscribe to Indiespensable

More at Powell's

• Featured Signed Editions
• Rare and Collectible Books
• eBooks | Audio | DVDs | Blu-ray

---

Guests | October 20, 2009

A Practical Matter

2 comments By Vincent McCaffrey

It was in a letter of 1897, about his cousin James Ross Clemens, that Mark Twain famously noted that "the report of my death was an exaggeration." He... Continue »

---

1. 
   $16.80 Sale Hardcover add to wish list

   Hound: A Mystery

   Vincent McCaffrey

Report Comment

---

You are reporting a comment on the following title:

---

You are reporting the following comment:

welshsinger, June 21, 2007

In this prize-winning novel Richard Powers interweaves several narrative strands, along with neurological and scientific themes. It is very difficult to read and must be read slowly and then reread and then reread. And then read again. Reading it inspired me to return to reading his first, "Three Farmers on the Way to a Dance." This is an investigation of the point in time when the paradigm changed with WW I. "The Echo Maker" is a depiction of post-911 America. Each of his novels is intellectually dense, almost to the point of being turgid. Yet each is a tour de force. He doesn't repeat himself. But there is definitely a recognizeable voice here, which resonates in all his work. He is interdisciplinary in his background and interests. At the same time, he is cool but empathetic, intellectual but involved. "The Echo Maker" is musical in its form as well, and its structure could be compared to a sonata perhaps? He has been compared to Joyce (whose work also was influenced by musical forms, perhaps chamber music); but "Ulysses" is simple to read compared to "The Echo Maker," a combination of "Sound and the Fury," "Ulysses," and Oliver Sachs. I look forward to reading his next novel. Access to the novel is possible but like climbing Mount Everest. Sorry for all the comparisons, but it's hard to articulate my reaction to this novel, without resorting to metaphor or allusion, even simple metaphors and allusions. One final comparison! George Bush to Thomas Jefferson! What more can I say? This novel is not summer reading but well worth the effort. I heartily recommend it but with all these cautions.

---

Your email address:

---

Reason for report:

---

Are you a robot? We didn't think so. But just to be sure, please type what you see in the following image into the box below.

---

Confirmation:

Are you certain you wish to report this comment?

---

Terms and Conditions

We welcome your comments and ideas, but we ask that you refrain from:

• Obscenity
• Spam
• Illegal content
• Copyrighted material
• Commercial solicitations

By posting your comments you are granting the good people of Powells.com the right (but not the obligation) to make your comments available to others over the Internet, and to copy and distribute your comments via other media, in each case on a royalty free basis. These terms govern the rights and obligations of the person posting comments and Powells.com; there are no intended third party beneficiaries of these terms.

Posted comments are subject to monitoring, editing, and removal at any time. Please see our Terms of Use for our complete terms and conditions.

---

Children's Online Privacy Protection Act

In accordance with The Children's Online Privacy Protection Act, you must be at least 13 to submit comments on Powells.com.