Scan barcode
alectastic's review against another edition
5.0
"How could he ever get well if they wouldn't allow him to return to normal life!"
I'm confronted with the sad reality: this book is a masterpiece that never got to see itself whole. Welch captures suffering in ways that seem near invisible, writes the thoughts you didn't know you too had, and he has a unique voice distinguishing himself. I think we lost a brilliant writer, and I think he was so close.
"I felt then for a sparkling moment that anything might happen, that human beings were never really trapped."
I'm confronted with the sad reality: this book is a masterpiece that never got to see itself whole. Welch captures suffering in ways that seem near invisible, writes the thoughts you didn't know you too had, and he has a unique voice distinguishing himself. I think we lost a brilliant writer, and I think he was so close.
"I felt then for a sparkling moment that anything might happen, that human beings were never really trapped."
foggy_rosamund's review against another edition
5.0
Denton Welch was born in 1915, and lived to be only 33. This is a fictionalised account of the bicycle accident which damaged his spine and kidneys, and ultimately led to his death. Until this accident, Welch had been a painter, but long periods of isolation drew him to writing. His two published novels were admired in his lifetime by writers like E. M. Forster and Edith Sitwell, and A Voice Through a Cloud was published posthumously. Initially I was wary of reading a novel that had not been finished by the author before his death: I felt the experience might be unsatisfying, or the text would seem rough. However, I need not have worried: A Voice Through a Cloud is an astonishingly accomplished novel, marked by Welch's lucid, granular prose, and his careful exploration of sensory details. The first half of this book is harrowing, as Welch gives an account of his accident, and the dehumanising and often brutal treatment he experiences in hospital wards. This is a necessary and vibrant reflection on the disrespectful and cruel ways in which patients were -- and continue to be -- treated by suspicious and detached doctors and nurses. The book is not always despairing, however: Welch also focuses on simple, physical details which allowed his life to become bearable, and conjures up the atmosphere of nursing homes, seaside villages, and warm firesides in vivid and tender descriptions. The book ends before Welch was finished, but the novel has a sense of progress and a carefully judged flow, and the text on a sentence level is all exquisite. Welch is an important writer whose work should be cherished.
jeffhall's review against another edition
2.0
Although I'm a big fan of Denton Welch's writing, this last, incomplete autobiographical novel was a bit of a struggle for me to finish.
As with his other writings, there is no real plot to speak of, but that part does not trouble me - I think it's one of Welch's strengths as a writer. What doesn't really work for me is that the author's idiosyncratic personality has become annoying and somewhat mean-spirited in these pages, making his voice unappealing and the narrative a bit dreary.
Of course, this novel is about the aftermath of a terrible traffic accident which left Welch a permanent invalid. But where his earlier novels (and his excellent short fiction) allow his unusual viewpoint and mannerisms to function as something of a mirror to the world around him, in "A Voice Through a Cloud" the mirror has become a dark cloak, and that defensive shield is simply too impenetrable to make for an interesting read.
As with his other writings, there is no real plot to speak of, but that part does not trouble me - I think it's one of Welch's strengths as a writer. What doesn't really work for me is that the author's idiosyncratic personality has become annoying and somewhat mean-spirited in these pages, making his voice unappealing and the narrative a bit dreary.
Of course, this novel is about the aftermath of a terrible traffic accident which left Welch a permanent invalid. But where his earlier novels (and his excellent short fiction) allow his unusual viewpoint and mannerisms to function as something of a mirror to the world around him, in "A Voice Through a Cloud" the mirror has become a dark cloak, and that defensive shield is simply too impenetrable to make for an interesting read.
benjamin909's review against another edition
5.0
Denton Welch starts this account when as a teenager he is on his fateful cycle ride one June to visit his aunt, the ride that will leave him in hospital and care into the next year. Denton recreates the torment and isolation and at times loss of hope that was to plague him through this time, along with the few glimmers of hope and the few individuals who would help him see a way out of his nightmare.
This is an account of far more than an accident and its consequences; Denton's remarkable ability to express his feelings, his acute powers of observation and his great talent as a writer make this a living and thoroughly convincing record of a young man's life turned in its head.
This is a book that I cannot recommend too highly, the combination of its outspoken honesty and the brilliance of the writing make it irresistible. It ends rather abruptly, understandable given that the author was struggling to finish this before untimely death was to claim him.
This is an account of far more than an accident and its consequences; Denton's remarkable ability to express his feelings, his acute powers of observation and his great talent as a writer make this a living and thoroughly convincing record of a young man's life turned in its head.
This is a book that I cannot recommend too highly, the combination of its outspoken honesty and the brilliance of the writing make it irresistible. It ends rather abruptly, understandable given that the author was struggling to finish this before untimely death was to claim him.
More...