Klarinet Archive - Posting 000361.txt from 2003/07
From: "Lelia Loban" <lelialoban@-----.net> Subj: [kl] Novel "The Soloist" (was: [kl] Ignorance and competence) Date: Fri, 11 Jul 2003 10:15:19 -0400
Claudia Zornow wrote,
>Has anyone on the list read Mark Salzman's novel
>"The Soloist"? It's about a former child prodigy cellist
>who at age 18 found himself unable to play in public
>and almost unable to bear his own playing in private
>because he had become so aware of tiny intonation
>flaws. Of course his issues are more complex than that,
>but the hyper-awareness is a symptom--and definitely
>not a productive trait. The book is a good one and
>I recommend it.
So do I. "The Soloist" (New York: Random House, 1994; Vintage trade
paperback, 1995) is a fascinating page-turner of a murder mystery in the
classic style, set in California, where an unusual session of jury duty
leads the former soloist to investigate the killing of a Buddhist monk.
Meanwhile, the former cellist teaches at the university level and also
teaches a private student, a fouled-up child prodigy who reminds him of
himself at age 9. It's an unusually engrossing book, in part because,
unlike many mystery writers who pick a topic and research it a little bit,
Salzman thoroughly knows this subject matter. He plays the cello and
practices the martial arts. He's also wise enough as a writer to separate
his personal experiences from those of his characters. Among the novels
I've read that feature a musician as protagonist, "The Soloist" is one of
my favorites.
Lelia Loban
E-mail: lelialoban@-----.net
Web site (original music scores as audio or print-out):
http://members.sibeliusmusic.com/LeliaLoban
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