English Language, Literature & Culture

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The Noise of Time: Shostakovich in Biofiction

Received: 29 August 2020    Accepted: 11 September 2020    Published: 21 September 2020
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Abstract

The life of Dmitri Shostakovich, a Soviet composer and Russian intellectual who was censored under the dictatorship of Joseph Stalin, features in many bio-works. Julian Barnes’s The Noise of Time is a reconstruction of the well-known composer’s life story, and it confronts the readers with the deconstruction of biographical conventions. In the novel, Barnes uses biographical and fictional techniques in portraying a person’s life to reflect on the relationship between art and history, artist and power, and shows that historical truth is t reconstituted, reordered, or reconstructed in a selective way. This article is focused on the narrative modes and re-presentation of the historical subject in The Noise of Time. By emphasizing formal features and their impact upon perception and interpretation of history, this analysis considers the genre of biofiction as a narrative for achieving a sense of “poetic truth” of Shostakovich’s time. By relating history with the theory of neo-historical biofiction, Barnes reminds us that history might have been concealed in totalitarian society but could also be restored among the many stories by and about the individual—to connect the histories with his stories. Thus, we should regard The Noise of Time as an amphibious art form, which ideally has both to obey the constraints of evidence and to respond creatively to the challenge of making literary form and meaning.

DOI 10.11648/j.ellc.20200503.15
Published in English Language, Literature & Culture (Volume 5, Issue 3, September 2020)
Page(s) 107-111
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Julian Barnes, The Noise of Time, Narrative, Biofiction

References
[1] Preston, Alex. The Noise of Time review—Julian Barnes’s masterpiece. The Guardian, 17, Jan. Retrieved January 30, 2017, from https://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/jan/17/the-noise-of-time-julian-barnes-review-dmitri-shostakovich.
[2] Jeremy, Denk (2016). "The Noise of Time, by Julian BarnesBook Review". The New York Times., (5): 9.
[3] Cohn, Dorrit. The Distinction of Fiction. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1999, 26-35.
[4] White, H. “The historical text as literary artifact” of R. Geoffrey The History and Narrative Reader. London: Routledge (2001): 221-236.
[5] Middeke, M. & H. Werner. Biofictions: The Rewriting of Romantic Lives in Contemporary Fiction and Drama. New York: Camden House, 1999.
[6] Volkov, Solomon. Testimony: The Memoirs of Dmitri Shostakovich: As Related to and Edited by Solomon Volkov. London: Faber and Faber, 1979, 48.
[7] Barnes, Julian. The Noise of Time. London: Jonathan Cape, 2016, vii, 15, 23, 63, 80, 123-135, 165-184.
[8] Nikil, Saval. (2016). Julian Barnes and the Shostakovich Wars. The New Yorker, (5): 26-28.
[9] Pateman, Matthew. Julian Barnes. Tavistock: Northcote House, 2002.
[10] Childs, Peter. Julian Barnes. Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2011.
[11] Lasdun, James. (2016). How Shostakovich Survived Stalin. The Guardian, (1): 9-11.
[12] Michael H. M. Ng. "Is Julian Barnes Reliable in Narrating the Noise of Time?” English Language and Literature Studies, Vol. 9, No. 1: 2019.
[13] Herman, David. Basic Elements of Narrative. Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell 2009.
[14] Kristeva. Julia. Desire in Language: A Semiotic Approach to Literature and Art. New York: UP of Columbia, 1980.
[15] White, Hayden. The content of the Form: Narrative Discourse and Historical Representation. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1987.
Author Information
  • Department of Foreign Languages, College of Zhongbei, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing, China

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  • APA Style

    Li Jin. (2020). The Noise of Time: Shostakovich in Biofiction. English Language, Literature & Culture, 5(3), 107-111. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ellc.20200503.15

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    Li Jin. The Noise of Time: Shostakovich in Biofiction. Engl. Lang. Lit. Cult. 2020, 5(3), 107-111. doi: 10.11648/j.ellc.20200503.15

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    Li Jin. The Noise of Time: Shostakovich in Biofiction. Engl Lang Lit Cult. 2020;5(3):107-111. doi: 10.11648/j.ellc.20200503.15

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ellc.20200503.15,
      author = {Li Jin},
      title = {The Noise of Time: Shostakovich in Biofiction},
      journal = {English Language, Literature & Culture},
      volume = {5},
      number = {3},
      pages = {107-111},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ellc.20200503.15},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ellc.20200503.15},
      eprint = {https://download.sciencepg.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ellc.20200503.15},
      abstract = {The life of Dmitri Shostakovich, a Soviet composer and Russian intellectual who was censored under the dictatorship of Joseph Stalin, features in many bio-works. Julian Barnes’s The Noise of Time is a reconstruction of the well-known composer’s life story, and it confronts the readers with the deconstruction of biographical conventions. In the novel, Barnes uses biographical and fictional techniques in portraying a person’s life to reflect on the relationship between art and history, artist and power, and shows that historical truth is t reconstituted, reordered, or reconstructed in a selective way. This article is focused on the narrative modes and re-presentation of the historical subject in The Noise of Time. By emphasizing formal features and their impact upon perception and interpretation of history, this analysis considers the genre of biofiction as a narrative for achieving a sense of “poetic truth” of Shostakovich’s time. By relating history with the theory of neo-historical biofiction, Barnes reminds us that history might have been concealed in totalitarian society but could also be restored among the many stories by and about the individual—to connect the histories with his stories. Thus, we should regard The Noise of Time as an amphibious art form, which ideally has both to obey the constraints of evidence and to respond creatively to the challenge of making literary form and meaning.},
     year = {2020}
    }
    

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