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Anthony Powell
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O, How the Wheel Becomes It!: A Novel Kindle Edition

by Anthony Powell (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
3.7 out of 5 stars 24 ratings
The first novel Anthony Powell published following the completion of his epic A Dance to the Music of Time, O, How the Wheel Becomes It! fulfills perhaps every author’s fantasy as it skewers a conceited, lazy, and dishonest critic. A writer who avoids serving in World War II and veers in and out of marriage, G. F. H. Shadbold ultimately falls victim to the title’s spinning—and righteous—emblem of chance. Sophisticated and a bit cruel, Wheel’s tale of posthumous vengeance is, nonetheless, irresistible.

Written at the peak of the late British master’s extraordinary literary career, this novel offers profound insight into the mind of a great artist whose unequaled style, ear for dialogue, and eye for irony will delight devotees and new readers alike.
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  1. Print length
    146 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    The University of Chicago Press
  4. Publication date
    October 30, 2015
  5. File size
    822 KB
  6. Page Flip
    Enabled
  7. Word Wise
    Enabled
  8. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
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Editorial Reviews

Review

“Powell excels at the long arc. . . . For those not yet ready to tackle Dance, Wheel is a work of the mature Powell, very sensitive to those unforeseen changes in fortune or circumstance that occur throughout life and which give the book its title.” -- Gerald J. Russello ― The Millions

“A superlative new short novel, a satirical zinger. . . . O, How the Wheel Becomes It! is a distillation of all that is inimitable about its author—deflation of high seriousness and the pursuit of esteem at the expense of others, achieved with rigorous understatement; a wryness that is never mocking or arch; and a sense of pathos just offstage.” ― New York Times Book Review

“There is no other . . . British novelist whose sense of social nuance is so delicate or so subtle, or whose comic range is so wide. . . . And there is certainly no other novelist whose work gives so much or such consistent pleasure.” ― Times Literary Supplement (UK)

“Powell has always dealt beautifully with the vagaries of the sexual imagination. . . . A treat for the many Powell addicts.” -- Allan Massie ― Scotsman (UK)

“One of his cleverest, funniest, and most delightful books.” -- A. N. Wilson

“Powell’s observations of human behavior are as sharp, his ear for conversation as devastatingly accurate, his wit as trenchant, as they ever were.” -- Susan Hill ― Daily Telegraph (UK)

“The unmatched serenity of Powell’s humor is the product of a classical perspective: confident that the more obvious verities of life do not change much, he refuses to wring his hands at the decadence of the age, contenting himself with the sheer spectacle of human excess.” -- David Heim ― New Republic

About the Author

Anthony Powell (1905−2000) was an English novelist best known for A Dance to the Music of Time, which was published in twelve volumes between 1951 and 1975. He also wrote seven other novels, a biography of John Aubrey, two plays, and three volumes of collected reviews and essays, as well as a four-volume autobiography, an abridged version of which, To Keep the Ball Rolling, is available from the University of Chicago Press.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B014RWV1TK
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ The University of Chicago Press; Abridged edition (October 30, 2015)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ October 30, 2015
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 822 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 146 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    3.7 out of 5 stars 24 ratings

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Anthony Powell

Anthony Powell

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Customer reviews

3.7 out of 5 stars
24 global ratings

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Top reviews from the United States

  • Kindle Customer
    5.0 out of 5 stars Great Reading
    Reviewed in the United States on May 31, 2023
    Verified Purchase
    Anthony Powell has written a fine portrait of a literary writer and his life. His avoidance of many people adds much humor to the story.
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  • Beetlebum
    4.0 out of 5 stars A biting tale of minor players in the literary world...
    Reviewed in the United States on April 10, 2000
    'O, How the Wheel Becomes It' was the first of Powell's books that I ever read, and the one that made me want to sit down and work through 'A Dance to the Music of Time' (which, after some bad experiences with long multivolume novels...ahem, <I>Marcel</I>, I wasn't so keen on doing, however attractive the books appeared to be). Fortunately, 'Wheel' is such an amusing read that any trepidation washes away in anticipation of a good long story.
    'Wheel' is the story of G.F.H. Shadbold, a second-rate author who, in his declining years, has established himself as the sort of literary critic and general hack who appears on television chat shows as the venerable old man of letters, which, of course, he is not. Shadbold's fortunes begin to change, though, when the diary of a companion and fellow-novelist of his youth, Cedric Winterwade, who authored the forgetable 'Welsons of Omdurman Terrace' and later died for his trouble in the Second World War, appears on the scene, and Shadbold attempts to suppress it, fearing the unfavourable exposure that it will bring. The result is one of quiet hilarity, sure to bring a smile to any reader who enjoys a clever lampooning of literary fashion, and the literary establishment as a whole.
    So, while not a book rising to, say, the level of Wodehouse or Stephen Fry, this comic work is well worth the time of the reader with a taste for the ironic, yet devastatingly accuracte, exposure of human nature that Powell has penned.
    15 people found this helpful
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  • Libby Doyle
    5.0 out of 5 stars Spare, unhurried, wicked dissection of litr'y dignitary that is hilariously funny
    Reviewed in the United States on September 6, 2018
    Verified Purchase
    A tremendously funny story of Nemesis overtaking a high-status lit'ry man. Written in Powell's earlier, pre-Dance to the Music of Time style.
    2 people found this helpful
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