The Courage Consort: Three Novellas
by Michel Faber
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The Courage Consort, possibly the seventh best-known a cappella vocal ensemble in Britain, are given two weeks in a Belgian chateau to rehearse their latest commission, the monstrously complicated Partitum Mutante. But can the piece be performed? Does it matter that its composer is a maniac best known for attacking his wife with a stiletto shoe at the baggage reclaim of Milan airport? Can the five members of the Consort endure their own sexual tensions and wildly differing temperaments? And show more what is the inhuman voice that calls out to them from the woods at night? The esoteric world of avant-garde classical music is the unlikely setting for a story of rare power - perhaps the most moving Michel Faber has yet written.. show less
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by devenish
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This is a short, tight, novella, with nary a spare word used.
It is the story of a 5 piece acapella group, who have agreed to try out a new piece written by a very rich (and somewhat "otherworldy" mentally) German and get two weeks in a Belgian Château to practise. The novella starts with Catherine - married to the group's founder Roger Courage - coming out the other side of psychological problems, which include depression and a hinted-at suicide attempt the year before.
They meet up at the Château and there are soon tensions (both mental and sexual) underlying the daily practising. Dagmar - the other female in the group, who has brought her baby son Axel with her - loves biking and mountaineering, and soon begins an unlikely friendship show more with Catherine simply by going out biking daily and inviting Catherine to come with her. Daily exercise, with someone who doesnt seem to judge her or put her under pressure (plus no longer taking the anti depressants) goes much to changing Catherine during the book, to the point where casual acquaintances dont recognise her at first.
Catherine's insomnia makes her thing she hears human like cries in the woods at night Dagmar says she doesnt hear them. Catherine goes out walking one night, spending all night in the wood and comes back the following morning in a dream like state; what happened over night and whether the screams were real are never revealed, which some readers find frustrating, but if the novella is read as a traditional Gothic novel (The Mysteries of Udolpho, or Jane Austen's wind up of "Northanger Abbey") then these situations rarely are.
Catherine is the most rounded of the characters in the book, with the others being a bit one dimensional, but that is in part because Catherine has spent so long in her own world she hasnt been interested in anyone else, so only knows what she knows. She grows the most, since that at the beginning she doesnt even know what time of day it is, at the end she is making decisions for the group and is able to put her foot down to her husband
A question I ask when reading short stories and novellas: Could the story still stand if it was longer? This one I dont know, maybe adding in a little character development of the other 4 singers, expanding on the sexual tension outside of Roger and Catherine, but there is little more that I would add. show less
It is the story of a 5 piece acapella group, who have agreed to try out a new piece written by a very rich (and somewhat "otherworldy" mentally) German and get two weeks in a Belgian Château to practise. The novella starts with Catherine - married to the group's founder Roger Courage - coming out the other side of psychological problems, which include depression and a hinted-at suicide attempt the year before.
They meet up at the Château and there are soon tensions (both mental and sexual) underlying the daily practising. Dagmar - the other female in the group, who has brought her baby son Axel with her - loves biking and mountaineering, and soon begins an unlikely friendship show more with Catherine simply by going out biking daily and inviting Catherine to come with her. Daily exercise, with someone who doesnt seem to judge her or put her under pressure (plus no longer taking the anti depressants) goes much to changing Catherine during the book, to the point where casual acquaintances dont recognise her at first.
Catherine's insomnia makes her thing she hears human like cries in the woods at night Dagmar says she doesnt hear them. Catherine goes out walking one night, spending all night in the wood and comes back the following morning in a dream like state; what happened over night and whether the screams were real are never revealed, which some readers find frustrating, but if the novella is read as a traditional Gothic novel (The Mysteries of Udolpho, or Jane Austen's wind up of "Northanger Abbey") then these situations rarely are.
Catherine is the most rounded of the characters in the book, with the others being a bit one dimensional, but that is in part because Catherine has spent so long in her own world she hasnt been interested in anyone else, so only knows what she knows. She grows the most, since that at the beginning she doesnt even know what time of day it is, at the end she is making decisions for the group and is able to put her foot down to her husband
A question I ask when reading short stories and novellas: Could the story still stand if it was longer? This one I dont know, maybe adding in a little character development of the other 4 singers, expanding on the sexual tension outside of Roger and Catherine, but there is little more that I would add. show less
Three brief novellas by the extremely versatile author of 'Under the Skin' and 'The Crimson Petal and the White'. While the title novella is a standout (the characters will be readily familiar and all too real to anyone who's ever been involved in the business of classical music) and is the most fully imagined and skillfully plotted, all three of these stories offer something of value to the reader. Beautifully written (it's seemingly impossible for Faber to put a word wrong) and unexpectedly sweet and sincere, these little tales don't have the depth or urgency of Faber's novels, but they're a very good read nonetheless.
Review: The Courage Consort by Michel Faber.
I think Michel Faber is a wonderful writer. Faber writes original plots that takes the reader to places and times of interest. However, The Courage Consort consisted of three novellas’ that did not reach his high standards that his novels do. Two out of the three of the stories were interesting enough to keep you reading but not with flare.
The first story is about a group of opera singers going to a mansion in the middle of the woods to practice their latest show with privacy. Even though the story offers touching moments, in the end, it ends up nowhere.
The second story is a mystery about an archeologist’s passion with an old document that has just been discovered. The archeologist is also show more working with a group in the ruins of a museum in some far off city. It was entertaining but somewhat repetitive.
The third story is worth the read. A little corny but understandable. It’s about a set of twin whose mother dies and their father sends them off to bury her in some far away place. That’s one way of getting rid of the kids……but surprise! They found their way back home. show less
I think Michel Faber is a wonderful writer. Faber writes original plots that takes the reader to places and times of interest. However, The Courage Consort consisted of three novellas’ that did not reach his high standards that his novels do. Two out of the three of the stories were interesting enough to keep you reading but not with flare.
The first story is about a group of opera singers going to a mansion in the middle of the woods to practice their latest show with privacy. Even though the story offers touching moments, in the end, it ends up nowhere.
The second story is a mystery about an archeologist’s passion with an old document that has just been discovered. The archeologist is also show more working with a group in the ruins of a museum in some far off city. It was entertaining but somewhat repetitive.
The third story is worth the read. A little corny but understandable. It’s about a set of twin whose mother dies and their father sends them off to bury her in some far away place. That’s one way of getting rid of the kids……but surprise! They found their way back home. show less
The Fahrenheit Twins is by far the strongest (as well as the shortest) of the three novellas contained here, an intriguing 4* Garden of Eden tale set in the Arctic. The other two are instantly and entirely forgettable, being awkwardly written and peopled with unlikeable characters who don't ring true - but curiously republished without the Twins as "The Hundred and Ninety-Nine Steps".
What to say, what to say. The Courage Consort is a somewhat disfunctional choir group that retreats to a castle in Belgium to practice a complicated avant-garde musical piece. Focus is on the relationships between the characters, and Faber manages to present these in an adequately interesting way.
I do however feel that there are a lot of loose ends. Some interesting characteristics are brought forward, but are never really developed throughout the story. This leaves the reader with a novella that could have been so much more than just a novella. Which is a pity.
I do however feel that there are a lot of loose ends. Some interesting characteristics are brought forward, but are never really developed throughout the story. This leaves the reader with a novella that could have been so much more than just a novella. Which is a pity.
I bought this as I absolutely adored The Crimson Petal and the White. This is really different. For a start, it's really short, and the writing is far less stylised. It's unusual story, about a small avant garde choir, and enjoyable enough, but very slight. There's not really enough time for any of the characters (which are a really just stereotypes) to get much of a personality. If this had been built up to a full novel, I would have probably really, really loved it, but as it was, it just didn't give enough. Still worth reading I guess, if only for the unusual subject matter.
Note: Looking at the other reviews, it looks like other additions had three stories - mine, an ebook addition, only had one, called the Courage Consort, so check show more what you are buying! show less
Note: Looking at the other reviews, it looks like other additions had three stories - mine, an ebook addition, only had one, called the Courage Consort, so check show more what you are buying! show less
I agree that Faber's writing here is exquisite; too bad the quality of the stories did not match it. I found them to be rather bland and predictable, and I never got involved with any of the characters.
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Michel Faber was born in The Hague, Netherlands on April 13, 1960. He was educated at the University of Melbourne. His books include The Crimson Petal and the White, The Fahrenheit Twins, Under the Skin, The Apple, and The Book of Strange New Things. He is also the author of two novellas, The Hundred and Ninety-Nine Steps and The Courage Consort. show more He won several short-story awards, including the Neil Gunn, Ian St James and Macallan. He made The New York Times Best Seller List with his title The Book of Strange New Things. This title also made the shortlist for the Arthur C Clarke Award for science-fiction in 2015. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
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- Canonical title
- The Courage Consort: Three Novellas
- Original title
- The courage consort
- Original publication date
- 2002
- People/Characters*
- Catherine Courage; Richard Courage; Julian Hind; Dagmar; Benjamin Lamb
- Important places
- Whitby, North Yorkshire, England, UK
- Epigraph
- So word by word, and line by line, the dead man touch'd me from the past...
Tennyson, In Memoriam (The Hundred and Ninety-Nine Steps) - Dedication
- To all those who sing lustily and with good courage, and to all who only wish they could. (The Courage Consort)
In memory of Panda (The Fahrenheit Twins) - First words
- On the day the good news arrived, Catherine spent her first few waking hours toying with the idea of jumping out the window of her apartment.
- Quotations*
- "Oh, das tut mir Leid", sagte Dagmar.
Es war kurios, diesen gezierten Britizismus in kräftiger Lautstärke aus dem Mund der Deutschen zu hören.
...
Der Ausdruck "Oh, I'm sorry" muss von den Engländern dafür kompo... (show all)niert worden sein, in weibchenhaftem Tonfall leise geflötet zu werden.
Alzheimer hatte etwas ganz und gar Schuldloses und ... Unabwendbares. Niemand käme auf den Gedanken, einen aufzufordern, man solle sich zusammenreissen, oder die Wiederaufnahme des Liebeslebens anzumahnen. ...
Und wenn ma... (show all)n starb, würde man nicht einmal merken, was geschah.
Natur bedeutete die Abwesenheit von Menschen. Sie war ein System, das von der Idee her ohne Menschen funktionierte und sich vielmehr auf das Bewusstlose und das Ewige bezog. - Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)The Book of Knowledge had a lot of blank pages.
- Disambiguation notice
- Do not combine with the edition of The Courage Consort containing only the title novel.
*Some information comes from Common Knowledge in other languages. Click "Edit" for more information.
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- Reviews
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- Paper, Ebook
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- 6
