The Courage Consort

By Michel Faber

The Courage Consort, possibly the seventh best-known a cappella vocal ensemble in Britain, are given two weeks in a Belgian château to rehearse their latest commission, the monstrously complicated Partitum Mutante. But can the piece be performed? Does it matter that its composer is a maniac best known for attacking his wife with a stiletto shoe at the baggage reclaim of Milan airport? Can the five members of the Consort endure their own sexual tensions and wildly differing temperaments? And what is the inhuman voice that calls out to them from the woods at night? The esoteric world of avant-garde classical music is the unlikely setting for a story of rare power—perhaps the most moving Michel Faber has yet written.

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Release date: Apr 22, 2014
• ISBN: 9781443432993

Michel Faber

Michel Faber's work has been published in twenty countries and received several literary awards. He lives in Scotland.

Reviews for The Courage Consort

[worldincolour · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

What to say, what to say. The Courage Consort is a somewhat disfunctional choir group that retreats to a castle in Belgium to practice a complicated avant-garde musical piece. Focus is on the relationships between the characters, and Faber manages to present these in an adequately interesting way.

I do however feel that there are a lot of loose ends. Some interesting characteristics are brought forward, but are never really developed throughout the story. This leaves the reader with a novella that could have been so much more than just a novella. Which is a pity.

[imyril · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

The Fahrenheit Twins is by far the strongest (as well as the shortest) of the three novellas contained here, an intriguing 4* Garden of Eden tale set in the Arctic. The other two are instantly and entirely forgettable, being awkwardly written and peopled with unlikeable characters who don't ring true - but curiously republished without the Twins as "The Hundred and Ninety-Nine Steps".

[cassandra2020 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The Courage Consort by Michel Faber - Very Good

Difficult to find what to say about this book. It is, of course, Michel Faber so therefore it is a beautifully written and interesting book but, unlike so much of his other work, nothing much happens.

The Courage Consort are an a cappella group heading off to a Belgian Chateau to rehearse a difficult new piece. Written in the voice of Catherine, a lot of the thread is about her problems and her personal growth. There are the interactions of and with the others in the group, but that's about it. A lot about personal discovery, but not a lot of 'story'.

Regardless, a lovely little book and a very quick read. Really glad I read it.

[mooingzelda · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The Courage Consort is an entertaining little novella with a cast of vividly imagined characters. I enjoyed the writing and Catherine's perspective on things, but felt that there were a few too many unresolved issues. It serves well as a palate cleanser between weightier novels, though!

[edwinbcn · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Another uninspiring read, bland & unintersting, with an oddly large sprawling of Dutch words and expressions.

[michaeldwebb · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I bought this as I absolutely adored The Crimson Petal and the White. This is really different. For a start, it's really short, and the writing is far less stylised. It's unusual story, about a small avant garde choir, and enjoyable enough, but very slight. There's not really enough time for any of the characters (which are a really just stereotypes) to get much of a personality. If this had been built up to a full novel, I would have probably really, really loved it, but as it was, it just didn't give enough. Still worth reading I guess, if only for the unusual subject matter.Note: Looking at the other reviews, it looks like other additions had three stories - mine, an ebook addition, only had one, called the Courage Consort, so check what you are buying!

[apartmentcarpet · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Michael Faber is one of the most inventive writers I have ever read. He can take what should be a boring story about a group of singers rehearsing in an isolated place and with barely any action make it a page turner. His spooky ghost story is atmospheric and suspenseful, and the last story (based on Hansel and Gretel, I think) was magical in its eeriness.

[cariola_6 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I agree that Faber's writing here is exquisite; too bad the quality of the stories did not match it. I found them to be rather bland and predictable, and I never got involved with any of the characters.

[amaliagavea · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

''Within minutes, of course (or was it hours?), her head was disjoined from her neck, and the seagulls were screaming.''Siân is a student of archeology and has recently joined an archeological dig in Whitby. Whitby is a town where the modern tries to stand side by side to the centuries-old past, steeped in legends and sanctity. Every day, she climbs up the hundred and ninety-nine steps of the legendary Abbey, trying to exorcise her demons in a battle that leaves her sleepless every night and a past that has left deep marks in her body and soul. Faber uses the foreboding Abbey as a most effective setting for a story that tackles quite a few complex issues. The effects of past traumas, physical and psychological, the will to find a meaning, the desire for discovery, the sanctity of the influence of History in our lives. In haunting prose, Faber weaves a tale of a young woman who is tempted to give in to her demons, struggling to stand her ground against weakness and the will of an idiot who wants to patronise her.The setting and the depiction of Siân’s complex personality and thoughts are closely connected and the result is powerful. However, you will need every ounce of your patience with the sorrowful existence of Magnus who is the epitome of the manipulative ignorant who knows nothing about anything and wishes to diminish every sense of the importance of History, Remembrance and Religion. The only thing he has on his mind is how to find a woman to get laid. Small wonder his search is futile...We know his type too well…‘’What would she do if she heard the cry?’’In The Courage Consort, a special musical ensemble, aiming to bring new composers into focus, is gathered in a villa in Belgium. Battling with the suffocating summer heat and with each other’s fixations, ambitions and mentality, Catherine must find the strength to overcome her suicidal thoughts and the grip of a controlling, holier-than-thou husband. And what exactly is this cry that can be heard each night, coming from the forest?Faber brilliantly depicts the difficulty and tension that comes with sharing your private space with coworkers from different cultural and social backgrounds, especially when you find yourself in a foreign country, obliged to satisfy an ‘’artist’’ who thinks he is Mozart for the modern audience. Catherine's uncertainty and kindness, Dagmar’s razor-sharp honesty and intelligence, Julian’s idiocy, Ben’s silence and Roger’s fake notion of expertise create a bomb that can go off at any second while the setting of the villa more than brings to mind the legendary gathering of the greats in a villa in Geneva where Mary Shelley conceived Frankenstein. The two novels may seem independent to each other, at first glance, but the themes that connect them are many. The significance of Music and Architecture, the need to preserve our past through History and offer it as a sacrifice to our contemporary times that consist of ephemeral ‘’wonders’’ of dubious quality. The games our mind plays on us, the need for women to distance themselves from manipulative men and forge a path of their own, free from defining themselves as someone’s wife or girlfriend. Set in haunting and haunted locations, Faber showcases his astonishing talent of depicting complex individuals and strained social relationships, influenced by the past and the environment.‘’You who find this; You who read this - Pray for her, I beg of you! Thomas Peirson, father and Christian, as best he could be.’’