Scan barcode
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...
mcipher's review against another edition
4.0
The writing was lush and beautiful and dreamy, like listening to really great classical music. It sort of flowed over you and it was just lovely to read. Really great writer, and I always love a good story set in Boston.
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.
reader_fictions's review against another edition
3.0
One of the reasons that I've become so taken with young adult fiction in recent years is the focus on coming of age, of finding oneself and accepting that person. Though young adults may grow and change more overtly, this is a lifelong process, and something universally relatable. Yet, somehow, adult fiction rarely focuses on these themes in a similar way, instead showing the way change affects adults through the lens of marital strife and infidelity. Sight Reading is just such a novel, detailing the various affairs of three adults. Though the book is beautifully written, I dislike stories about cheating, so I failed to love Sight Reading as much as Russian Winter.
Daphne Kalotay's prose is glorious. Her writing is the kind that I want to take in slowly, and I make slower progress through her books than I might otherwise, because I really like to chew on the words and appreciate the prose. Her novels feel powerful and meaningful, and have the sort of quotes I want to turn into art for my wall, if I were not too lazy and unartistic for such things.
The parts that focus on the music, too, are brilliant. I loved her descriptions of Nicholas composing and Remy playing the violin. She captures both the love, the suffering, and the boredom that come from their careers. Remy has a constant spot on her neck from her violin. Nicholas suffers from fear that he's no longer the composer he once was and that he'll never complete his symphony. Remy loses her passion for a while, playing by rote and no longer feeling the same drive. Through it all, though, music runs their lives and they could never do anything else, nor would they wish to. The passion, power, and beauty of music runs through the novel.
The big downside for me was that all of the rest focused on the affairs. Nicholas starts out married to Hazel, and they're established as very much in love, drawn to each other from the very beginning. Inevitably, though, he starts getting that itch when she leaves to support her mom during her father's decline in health, and takes up with his student, Remy. Wonderful.
Later on, there are even more affairs, and the behavior of all parties made it impossible for me to like any of them. I didn't feel like any of them really deserved marital happiness, except for Hazel, who I still took an immediate dislike to. At the end, everything resolves into this happily ever after for the couples, now in their fifties (forties for the younger Remy). No cheating story should end with a happily ever after in my opinion, or at least not with the couple still together. That is not my idea of romance or a happy life. That message really does disgust me.
Daphne Kalotay is massively talented, but I do wish she'd taken on some better subject matter than a series of tawdry affairs. Such plots are trite in adult fiction, and she didn't add anything new or satisfying to that framework. Sight Reading is still worth reading for the writing and the music, but it's not one I'll ever be revisiting.
Daphne Kalotay's prose is glorious. Her writing is the kind that I want to take in slowly, and I make slower progress through her books than I might otherwise, because I really like to chew on the words and appreciate the prose. Her novels feel powerful and meaningful, and have the sort of quotes I want to turn into art for my wall, if I were not too lazy and unartistic for such things.
The parts that focus on the music, too, are brilliant. I loved her descriptions of Nicholas composing and Remy playing the violin. She captures both the love, the suffering, and the boredom that come from their careers. Remy has a constant spot on her neck from her violin. Nicholas suffers from fear that he's no longer the composer he once was and that he'll never complete his symphony. Remy loses her passion for a while, playing by rote and no longer feeling the same drive. Through it all, though, music runs their lives and they could never do anything else, nor would they wish to. The passion, power, and beauty of music runs through the novel.
The big downside for me was that all of the rest focused on the affairs. Nicholas starts out married to Hazel, and they're established as very much in love, drawn to each other from the very beginning. Inevitably, though, he starts getting that itch when she leaves to support her mom during her father's decline in health, and takes up with his student, Remy. Wonderful.
Later on, there are even more affairs, and the behavior of all parties made it impossible for me to like any of them. I didn't feel like any of them really deserved marital happiness, except for Hazel, who I still took an immediate dislike to. At the end, everything resolves into this happily ever after for the couples, now in their fifties (forties for the younger Remy). No cheating story should end with a happily ever after in my opinion, or at least not with the couple still together. That is not my idea of romance or a happy life. That message really does disgust me.
Daphne Kalotay is massively talented, but I do wish she'd taken on some better subject matter than a series of tawdry affairs. Such plots are trite in adult fiction, and she didn't add anything new or satisfying to that framework. Sight Reading is still worth reading for the writing and the music, but it's not one I'll ever be revisiting.
jessicaesquire's review against another edition
3.0
At first I wasn't sure whether to keep reading this book or not. But every time I'd think I'd leave it there would be a passage about music that just rang so true that I had to keep going.
Ultimately, though, I felt that the book was more a collection of beautiful moments or paragraphs and not as much a cohesive whole. The characters as well had moments of utter vividness but often were shadows of characters. And just when you think you've finally got a handle on someone (bitter Hazel or absentminded Nicholas) they do something suddenly different.
I'm not sure people who don't care deeply for music or who have played an instrument will be able to find as much pleasure in this novel, but those who do will likely be swept away often as I was by the beauty with which she describes playing and conducting and composing.
Ultimately, though, I felt that the book was more a collection of beautiful moments or paragraphs and not as much a cohesive whole. The characters as well had moments of utter vividness but often were shadows of characters. And just when you think you've finally got a handle on someone (bitter Hazel or absentminded Nicholas) they do something suddenly different.
I'm not sure people who don't care deeply for music or who have played an instrument will be able to find as much pleasure in this novel, but those who do will likely be swept away often as I was by the beauty with which she describes playing and conducting and composing.