Sugars Symphony

A detailed Summary of Sugars Symphony

Some have coined music as a universal language. Perhaps, the complexity of the notes, the consistency of the beat, the array of instruments, or the flow of lyricism offers this universal appeal. Nevertheless, the unique composition of each song enables it to sustain its own magnetic aura, much like the musical implication in Lewis Nordan's Music of the Swamp. Though, many argue Nordan's piece suggests merely a collection of short stories rather than a novel, Nordan uses his singsong methodology- a "novel-in-stories"- to incorporate an anthology of his transformative memory- an autobiography of the way it was.

By examining the structure of Music of the Swamp, it can be broken into a series of short stories, though it is described by some as a "'novel-in-stories'" (Dupuy 1). Although the novel is divided into three parts and an epilogue, each chapter within each part relates a different episode throughout the childhood of Nordan's main character Sugar Mecklin. The first part begins in third person, while Nordan presents the rest of the sections in first person. Critic Edward Dupuy believes that considering the novel as a short story collective makes the part "...in the third person less engaging, and

In Lewis Nordan's Music of the Swamp." Literature Resource Center

Nordan actually accredits a musical influence as a determining factor in writing his prose. In an interview with Sam Staggs, Nordan mentions that the "'the rhythms of nursery rhymes and songs'" are a significant inspiration in his writing (Staggs 1). In fact, he includes an assortment of songs throughout the novel to articulate the emotions felt during a specific occurrence in his main character's, and perhaps his own, early life. For instance, Sugar awakens in the beginning of the story to "I'm so Lonesome I Could Die," by Elvis Presley, who Nordan admits was his first hero (Staggs 2). Furthermore, Nordan represents the misery of Sugar's father through the description of Bessie Smith's music, which Sugar termed "wrist-cutting music" (Nordan 17). The use of these tangible songs further insinuates Nordan's autobiographical connection to the story as each song represents some critical part of Sugar's life.

Staggs, Sam. "Lewis Nordan: his new novel offers a surreal portrait of an event

This summer Sugar Mecklin heard the high soothing music of the swamp, the irrigation pumps in the rice paddies, the long whine and complaint, head the wheezy, breathy asthma of the compress, the suck and bump and clatter like great lungs as the air was squashed out and the cotton was wrapped in burlap and bound with steel bands into six-hundred-pound bales, he heard the operatic voice of the cotton gin s

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 990
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: Novels