Quartet for the End of Time (novel)

Quartet for the End of Time is a 2014 novel by Giller Prize–winning author Johanna Skibsrud. The novel takes its name and structure from Quatuor pour la fin du temps, a piece of chamber music by the French composer Olivier Messiaen.

Quartet for the End of Time
The first edition cover
AuthorJohanna Skibsrud
LanguageEnglish
Published2014
PublisherW. W. Norton & Company
ISBN978-0-393-07373-7

Structure

Like the musical piece it takes its name from, the novel is divided into seven sections and an interlude with each section told from the point of view of Sutton, Douglas, or Alden.

Plot

Sutton Kelly, a judge's daughter, is coerced into covering for her brother Alden by their father after Alden becomes involved in a communist plot to blow up the National Mall.

Reception

The novel received mixed reviews with the Toronto Star calling it a "distracted, meandering, at times opaque novel" and criticizing Skibsrud for being "prone to amateur mistakes."[1] In the New York Times Skibsrud's technique was criticized as feeling "artificial, as if the emotional consequences of her characters’ actions are being thrown out willy-nilly to see which ones stick."[2] However a critic at The Globe and Mail praised the novel calling it a "strange, deeply compassionate, and beautiful work."[3]

References
  1. Donaldson, Emily (Oct 18, 2014). "Quartet for The End of Time by Johanna Skibsrud". Retrieved 13 November 2014.
  2. Thompson, Andrea (Nov 7, 2014). "Johanna Skibsrud's 'Quartet for the End of Time'". Retrieved 13 November 2014.
  3. SANYAL, APARNA (Oct 10, 2014). "Quartet for the End of Time: A strange and beautiful work". Retrieved 13 November 2014.
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