The History of Sound
by Ben Shattuck
Ben Shattuck’s The History of Sound is a collection of interconnected stories, set across three centuries or so, from the 18th Century to the near future. They are all set in the same geographical area – New England – which not only provides a backdrop and sense of place, but ultimately also assumes the role of a “character” in the narrative.
The stories are self-contained and can be read and enjoyed individually – indeed, some of the pieces were previously published and have been reworked for this book. However, the key to understanding the collection’s structure is found in a preface to the book:
hook-and-chain:
A song or poem form popularized in eighteenth century New England, in which the first and last lines rhyme and contains rhyming couplets within
As in: A BB CC DD EE FF A
This old song-form inspires the book’s shape. Each story is paired with another one, which sheds new light on its companion piece, sometimes providing answers to unresolved narrative threads, at others presenting the same facts from a different angle. The poignant opening story, about two young men who spend a summer together collecting folk songs on wax cylinders, is linked to the final one, framing the rest of the collection.
This is an ingenious approach which gives momentum of the
narrative. In any event, however, the stories taken on their own are artfully
written, in language which is sometimes poetic, sometimes deceptively simple,
revealing the personal emotions which have marked humankind throughout the
centuries. There is an underlying thread of melancholy and wistfulness as Shattuck
presents us with accounts of lost love and lost opportunities. This is a
remarkable book.
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