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dankeohane's review against another edition
4.0
Picked this up on vacation on a whim, mostly because of the cover (not the one shown here on goodreads, which isn't quite as good). The writing is superb, real, dimensional characters the author deftly paints with only a few strokes. She is also a musician one can tell because of the sheer, almost natural knowledge of the language of music. It never gets in the way. I will admit the characters aren't always the most likeable. They can even be irritating sometimes with their self-absorbtion, but I think that's pretty deliberate. Remy is pretty stable but the cracks begin to show, and her counterpart Mable has a ton of cracks right off
Spoilers maybe
but learns, over a long span, to embrace them. At times I was thinking, I don't know do I want to continue with these folks, and when that happens the writing carries you along. Honestly, the ending makes it worth it. No giveaways, promise, but I'm not talking about any major events, mainly the story, as told, ends with such a perfect, natural note, it completes the whole thing. Probably should work in a symphony metaphor here, but will leave those to the author.
Spoilers maybe
but learns, over a long span, to embrace them. At times I was thinking, I don't know do I want to continue with these folks, and when that happens the writing carries you along. Honestly, the ending makes it worth it. No giveaways, promise, but I'm not talking about any major events, mainly the story, as told, ends with such a perfect, natural note, it completes the whole thing. Probably should work in a symphony metaphor here, but will leave those to the author.
sigo's review against another edition
4.0
Overall a good book, but, while it was very long, I found that the character with the most depth had least attention paid to him. And the ending was a disappointment.
rickijill's review against another edition
5.0
Disclosure: I received a copy of Sight Reading from Harper, an imprint of Harper Collins Publishers. My opinion and thoughts about the book are my own, and I was not paid to write this post.
This week I read Sight Reading by Daphne Kalotay. I've been looking forward to its release because I loved her first novel Russian Winter. You may read my post about Russian Winter on my blog. Sight Reading is a lyrical story of family, betrayal, and yearning set in the world of a classical music conservatory. The book includes a handy musical terminology glossary as well as a playlist on Kalotay's website. I suggest listening to the playlist while reading the novel.
The story spans twenty years beginning in the late eighties. Nicholas Elko and his wife, Hazel, have relocated to Boston from Paris. Nicholas has accepted a prestigious position at a Boston conservatory where Remy, a violinist, is finishing her final year. Nicholas and Remy begin an affair, and after he experiences a shock at a festival in Italy, he decides to leave Hazel and marry Remy. Each of these characters represent three different levels of artistry: Hazel is an artist, but she never fulfills her potential; Remy has talent but lacks a certain quality and never moves beyond second chair; and Nicholas is a prodigy and at the top of his field. I knew that the book was going to be interesting as Remy constantly quotes Oscar Wilde. She wants to live fearlessly like him, and claims to want to live his life, a "big" life. Nicholas' colleague, Yoni, tells her that:
"Even the grandest lives come down to a few people and places. Loved ones, your daily work, your neighborhood....I've been realizing that lately. How complete our lives can be with just the few people and activities you most love."
Although the woman scorned, Hazel is the most well-defined character. It takes her a long time, but she finally "gets it" in the end and lives her life according to Yoni's wisdom. She builds a life of beauty in the small details of her daily life while also giving other artisans an opportunity to sell their creations. In music, sight reading means performing music from a score without having seen the score before. Having the second sight means perceiving things that aren't apparent to most people. Hazel has this second sight, but she doesn't trust it. She sees her doppelgänger on two different occasions, and she has visions. The book is divided into three sections, and all three represent aspects of Hazel's gift.
Nicholas is the least defined main character, and he has abandonment issues. He suffered a childhood trauma that has made him aloof and disengaged, the direct opposite of Remy and her sensitivity to others and their needs. He has been composing an orchestra for years inspired by his Scottish childhood, and he can't seem to finish it; yet he has no problems writing scores for movies and completing other commissions. Ironically Nicholas peaked very young, and Hazel is just coming into her own in her early fifties.
I enjoyed this book so much and not just because of its focus on music. It's a family drama about divorced parents with joint custody attempting to rear a daughter amicably. The characters harbor deep, dark secrets, and some of them are quite shocking. There is an element of magic in it (even a leitmotif of Gypsy music) and the unexplained. But my favorite element of the book is the creative process and what it truly means to be an artist. Remy's tutor at the conservatory teaches her that "the practice is the performance." I couldn't agree more!
This week I read Sight Reading by Daphne Kalotay. I've been looking forward to its release because I loved her first novel Russian Winter. You may read my post about Russian Winter on my blog. Sight Reading is a lyrical story of family, betrayal, and yearning set in the world of a classical music conservatory. The book includes a handy musical terminology glossary as well as a playlist on Kalotay's website. I suggest listening to the playlist while reading the novel.
The story spans twenty years beginning in the late eighties. Nicholas Elko and his wife, Hazel, have relocated to Boston from Paris. Nicholas has accepted a prestigious position at a Boston conservatory where Remy, a violinist, is finishing her final year. Nicholas and Remy begin an affair, and after he experiences a shock at a festival in Italy, he decides to leave Hazel and marry Remy. Each of these characters represent three different levels of artistry: Hazel is an artist, but she never fulfills her potential; Remy has talent but lacks a certain quality and never moves beyond second chair; and Nicholas is a prodigy and at the top of his field. I knew that the book was going to be interesting as Remy constantly quotes Oscar Wilde. She wants to live fearlessly like him, and claims to want to live his life, a "big" life. Nicholas' colleague, Yoni, tells her that:
"Even the grandest lives come down to a few people and places. Loved ones, your daily work, your neighborhood....I've been realizing that lately. How complete our lives can be with just the few people and activities you most love."
Although the woman scorned, Hazel is the most well-defined character. It takes her a long time, but she finally "gets it" in the end and lives her life according to Yoni's wisdom. She builds a life of beauty in the small details of her daily life while also giving other artisans an opportunity to sell their creations. In music, sight reading means performing music from a score without having seen the score before. Having the second sight means perceiving things that aren't apparent to most people. Hazel has this second sight, but she doesn't trust it. She sees her doppelgänger on two different occasions, and she has visions. The book is divided into three sections, and all three represent aspects of Hazel's gift.
Nicholas is the least defined main character, and he has abandonment issues. He suffered a childhood trauma that has made him aloof and disengaged, the direct opposite of Remy and her sensitivity to others and their needs. He has been composing an orchestra for years inspired by his Scottish childhood, and he can't seem to finish it; yet he has no problems writing scores for movies and completing other commissions. Ironically Nicholas peaked very young, and Hazel is just coming into her own in her early fifties.
I enjoyed this book so much and not just because of its focus on music. It's a family drama about divorced parents with joint custody attempting to rear a daughter amicably. The characters harbor deep, dark secrets, and some of them are quite shocking. There is an element of magic in it (even a leitmotif of Gypsy music) and the unexplained. But my favorite element of the book is the creative process and what it truly means to be an artist. Remy's tutor at the conservatory teaches her that "the practice is the performance." I couldn't agree more!
el1zabe4h's review against another edition
4.0
Beautiful story woven together like a fine symphony. One of my favorites of 2013.
I received this as an ARC.
I received this as an ARC.
carka88's review against another edition
3.0
At a few points during this book, I asked myself why I kept reading because I didn't want the story to move in the direction it was going. I kept reading, however, because the writing was compelling and I was along for the ride. I wish I had known about the glossary of musical terms before I reached the end of the book, though! One year of piano lessons just wasn't enough to follow the technical terms.
edenseve63's review against another edition
3.0
Ms. Kalotay is a fine writer and "Sight Reading" her latest work shows her amazing ability to delve so deeply into the livelihood/passion of her characters, that she can speak with authority on the many facets of the world of classical music. She did the same remarkable job with her first novel, "Russian Winter", which featured a well-known auction house and an antiquarian specialist. An adept storyteller, Ms. Kalotay takes the reader through two decades in the life of classical violinist, Remy, her gifted composer, husband, Nicholas and his first and quickly discarded wife, Hazel.
Unfortunately, I found that the character development was such that it lent itself a stereotypical soap opera like quality, where all the main characters are lovely to look at and a man's Lothario-like behavior and infatuation with young small-breasted, short-haired women can be explained away by a long lost male love of his youth. Middle-aged women are either holding up remarkably well (if they can get a man), go to fat or lost searching bitter divorcees - not a pretty picture. I'd like to say as one of them - we are sometimes a conglomeration of all of the above at different times; but generally not just one aspect all the time.
Then there was a heavy-handedness with symbolism - the missing fingers on the hands of the unrequited lover and the ever-shedding skin of Hazel which finally revealed her true self.
Intelligent and elegant, come to mind, when I think of Ms. Kalotay's writing style. An educated vocabulary, a lovely turn of phrase, and rarely do you run across slang in her work. I will look forward to her next offering.
Unfortunately, I found that the character development was such that it lent itself a stereotypical soap opera like quality, where all the main characters are lovely to look at and a man's Lothario-like behavior and infatuation with young small-breasted, short-haired women can be explained away by a long lost male love of his youth. Middle-aged women are either holding up remarkably well (if they can get a man), go to fat or lost searching bitter divorcees - not a pretty picture. I'd like to say as one of them - we are sometimes a conglomeration of all of the above at different times; but generally not just one aspect all the time.
Then there was a heavy-handedness with symbolism - the missing fingers on the hands of the unrequited lover and the ever-shedding skin of Hazel which finally revealed her true self.
Intelligent and elegant, come to mind, when I think of Ms. Kalotay's writing style. An educated vocabulary, a lovely turn of phrase, and rarely do you run across slang in her work. I will look forward to her next offering.
robertrivasplata's review against another edition
1.0
Sight Reading is not worth reading. The book seems like it's trying to be character-driven, yet it doesn't really characterize anyone. It seemed like Kalotay was inventing the characters' traits as she went along, to conform to Sight Reading's plot points (such as they were). The relationships and sexual interactions aren't fleshed out. The characters abruptly hop into bed with each other, without any exploration of their attractions to one another. This combined with the fact that the book doesn't even depict anyone having sex, often left me wondering if anyone had actually had sex with anyone else at all. Similarly, While the reader was constantly told how important music was to the characters, it was usually hard to see any of the characters connection to music. Sight Reading could have been any group of academics, but Kalotay decided her book would be about musicians and music, and so filled her book with tired cliches about the power of music and art without ever showing the readers HOW the music affected the characters. For me the music parts of the book served mainly to heighten its pretentiousness.
heat_her's review against another edition
4.0
Although I particularly love the parts about the music in Sight Reading, the whole book is beautifully written. The story follows Hazel, Nicholas, and Remy, and shows how each of them uses their creative abilities to deal with life and everything life throws at them. Kalotay does a fantastic job writing about love and friendship, and the connections, misunderstandings, and sometimes pain that are a natural part of close relationships. I was duly impressed with the way Hazel, Nicholas, and Remy made their non-traditional family work without giving in to the drama that divorce and sharing a child seem to frequently cause. I love that the three of them use their art as a way of expressing themselves when they feel unable to express themselves with words.
I have been meaning to read another of Daphne Kalotay’s books–Russian Winter–for quite some time, and now I am really looking forward to finding time for it. Kalotay’s writing is just lovely, and I recommend Sight Reading to music lovers and to anyone who likes good literary fiction.
Read my full review on Between the Covers...
I have been meaning to read another of Daphne Kalotay’s books–Russian Winter–for quite some time, and now I am really looking forward to finding time for it. Kalotay’s writing is just lovely, and I recommend Sight Reading to music lovers and to anyone who likes good literary fiction.
Read my full review on Between the Covers...
iron_bunny's review against another edition
1.0
The characters were mainly why I hated this book. They were the most unlikable characters I have ever read about. They were horribly judgmental about everything and thought they were perfect.
Also, I don't think almost every human sleeps around and doesn't respect their marriage. All in all, the characters and the events were all not very believable.
Also, I don't think almost every human sleeps around and doesn't respect their marriage. All in all, the characters and the events were all not very believable.
blackbookishbabe89's review against another edition
So good. I liked the reality of the different situation that played out.