The Washington Square Ensemble Summary
Madison Smartt Bell

The Washington Square Ensemble Summary

In The Washington Square Ensemble, his first novel, Bell creates an atmosphere of fate. The storytelling stone functions as an instrument to reveal the inner strengths and weaknesses of the characters and to direct the course of the action. When the Comanche insists that Porco has been chosen by the stone, this insignificant, washed-up horn player sets in motion a series of apparent coincidences that eventually break up the ensemble. After each section...

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