Review of "The Noise of Time", by Julian Barnes : People should think about death more often.

Date of reading : 9th December, 2017.
Location : cafe 'Heung Shin Soh'

*SPOLIER WARNING*

I finished reading The Noise of Time today in a cafe nearby where I am living now. I expect to move in half a month to a place near where I will work as of next Monday(11th Dec).

I bought this book right after I finished "The Sense of an Ending", by Julian Barnes.
Why? Because The Sense of an Engding made a huge impact on me.
https://sohnamu.blogspot.kr/2017/11/book-review-sense-of-ending-by-julian.html 
My previous review on the sense of an ending.

Unfortunately, I couldn't fully concentrate on The Noise of Time. I usually read this book in a waiting room before a job interview or in a train while going there. And I want to re-read this book the next early year.

Anyhow, I did not know that this book is based on actual history about Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich until I saw Author's note after finishing the book. I thought this was a fiction about the history of an artist.

As I said, this book tells a story, history, of Dmitriyevich Shostakovich. During his life, 1906-1975, time was difficult in Russia in terms of poilitics - Stalin, Lenin. Power was not very fond of his music, and many artists were literally wiped out by a whim of a tyrant.

From the beginning to the end of his career, Power never stopped having an interest in his music either in a negative or positive way. In the early times, he was afraid of physical threat such as torture and death. In his old age, Power adopted a different tactic - nagging and pestering until agreement. He succumbed to it eventually and lament it, saying that 'People should think about death more often, and accustom themselves to the notion of it. Just letting it creep up on you unnoticed was not the best way to life. It was his belief that if we thought about death earlier in our lives, we would make fewer mistakes.' He regret that he has lived too long and let power kills his soul instead of his body which he believes would have been much better.

Basically, The Noise of Time is about his career, love, and life based on historical facts.

Great writers have a deep understanding of human mind. Shakespeare master of human soul. Jane Austen. They have a special ability to tell a ordinary and common things in a most extraordinary way. It is all about how you say it rather than what you say. I believe Julian Barnes belongs to one of them. It is fascinating to read his writing.

I do not think The Noise of Time itself is an interesting book. However, anyone who likes to hear a storytelling will love this book because his book is always worth reading it.

My next book by Julian Barnes will be "Nothing to be frightened of" and "Levels of life".