 Second edition | |
| Author | Andrew Crumey |
|---|---|
| Cover artist | Willi Gray |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Literary Fiction |
| Published | 1994 (Second edition 2004) |
| Publisher | Dedalus Books |
| Publication place | United Kingdom |
| Media type | Paperback, e-book |
| ISBN | 9781873982112 |
Music, in a Foreign Language is the first novel by physicist Andrew Crumey, published by Dedalus Books in 1994. It won the Saltire Society First Book Award for that year, in a ceremony broadcast on STV.[1]
It is an alternate history novel that imagines Britain occupied by the Nazis during World War 2, becoming a communist state afterwards. The central character, Charles King, is a physicist and musician involved in a dissident journal. His story is embedded within that of a narrator writing in post-communist times. Crumey has said that inspiration came from the many worlds interpretation of quantum theory, and eighteenth-century philosophical fiction.[2] The title comes from a poem within the novel,[3] written by a character in response to one by C.P. Cavafy.[4]
Crumey explained a further reason for his choice of setting in an interview. "The most significant was a research trip I made to the University of Wroclaw in Poland, whose Institute of Theoretical Physics was situated in what, until only a few years previously, had been the local Communist headquarters. There was still much evidence of the former occupancy, and this labyrinthine building captured my imagination. But the only way I could bring it into my own domain, was to imagine such a building existing in Britain."[5]
Music, in a Foreign Language was published in the United States in 1996 by Picador USA. Translated editions were published in Greece, Denmark, Italy, Russia, Taiwan and Romania.[6]
The book shares its title with a 2003 album by Lloyd Cole.
- ^ Marsden, Stevie (15 February 2021). Marsden, Stevie. Prizing Scottish Literature: A Cultural History of the Saltire Society Literary Awards. Anthem Press, 2021. ISBN 9781785274831.
- ^ "Andrew Crumey". www.northumbria.ac.uk.
- ^ "FamousPoemsAndpoets.com".
- ^ Music, in a Foreign Language (Dedalus, 1994), p161.
- ^ "Bent Sørensen. Physicists in the Field of Fiction. Comparative Critical Studies Volume 2, Issue 2, pp241-55 (2005)".
- ^ "Music, in a Foreign Language by Andrew Crumey : Our Books :: Dedalus Books, Publishers of Literary Fiction". www.dedalusbooks.com.