 | Theneutrality of this article isdisputed. Relevant discussion may be found on thetalk page. Please do not remove this message untilconditions to do so are met.(January 2020) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
.jpg) Cover of the first US edition | |
| Author | Edmund White |
|---|---|
| Cover artist | Chip Kidd |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Autobiographical novel |
| Publisher | Alfred A. Knopf |
Publication date | 1997 |
| Publication place | United States |
| Media type | Print (Hardback &Paperback) |
| Pages | 413 pp |
| ISBN | 0-679-43477-1 |
| OCLC | 37538014 |
| 813/.54 21 | |
| LC Class | PS3573.H463 F37 1997 |
The Farewell Symphony is a 1997 semi-autobiographicalnovel byEdmund White.
It is the third of atrilogy of novels, being preceded byA Boy's Own Story (1982) andThe Beautiful Room Is Empty (1988). It depicts the later adulthood of its protagonist and documents his experience ofhomosexuality from the 1960s to the 1990s. Each of the three novels in this series assumes a progression in tone and style which may be measured in part by the sexual content, which starts inA Boy's Own Story, expands inThe Beautiful Room Is Empty and becomes more detailed inThe Farewell Symphony.
Also, the first two novels in the series are shorter and come in at around 300 pages, told through the inner dialogue of their unnamed narrator.The Farewell Symphony is a considerably longer at 500 pages. Another distinguishing characteristic that setsThe Farewell Symphony apart from its predecessors is the former were largely concerned with struggle, whereas in the third volume White/the narrator encounters gradually increasing professional success and is thus initiated into the American literary elite, whilst continuing to deal with the struggles he encounters. This changes the tone and flow ofThe Farewell Symphony in comparison with the previous two installments, with the tone and direction changing on multiple occasions.
The title alludes to the"Farewell" Symphony byJoseph Haydn.
Writing inThe Wall Street Journal, the journalistJames Wolcott suggested that the book "might have been more honestly titledHilly Buttocks I Have Known," wherein the author "invites us to join him as he revisits the beloved rear ends of yesteryear. This is not the sort of invitation many people will leap to accept." Wolcott concluded, "Edmund White the writer has given way to Edmund White the trashy raconteur. It's the same fate that befellTruman Capote, and it wasn't pretty then either."[1] Review magazinePublishers Weekly gave the novel a starred review, praising the "luminous snapshots of New York, Paris and Rome and [...] vital parade of men--dowdy, forbiddingly gorgeous, sylph-like, ephebic, closeted, defiantly and militantly out--that crowd its pages."[2] Katherine Knorr, in a review forThe New York Times applaudedThe Farewell Symphony for its handling of the AIDS crisis, and noting the novel's "dramatic" nature.[3]
 | This article about a novel of the 1990s with alesbian,gay,bisexual,transgender, orqueer theme is astub. You can help Wikipedia byexpanding it. See guidelines for writing about novels. Further suggestions might be found on the article'stalk page. |