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3.71 AVERAGE
3.71 AVERAGE
adventurous
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
reflective
sad
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
See my commentary called "Novel Fragments."
http://www.washingtonindependentreviewofbooks.com/book-blog/novel-fragments/
http://www.washingtonindependentreviewofbooks.com/book-blog/novel-fragments/
emotional
funny
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
slow-paced
Fluently written, gripping narrative of time and music explored through a number of characters loosely connected to each other. Each chapter is dedicated to one character and in other novels that use this technique, I usually find it hard to invest in any one character and am left wondering half way through about a character from an early part of the book. However, here, each character's arc is seamlessly completed not in their chapter, but though the eyes of the other characters. Impressively done. Also, one chapter is just a power point presentation.
reflective
slow-paced
4.5 stars for sure !! My only real complaint was that there wasn’t enough Sasha, I kept waiting and waiting for more info on her and we just never got it and then the book ended. I would read a whole book about her. Maybe that’s the point though maybe she is supposed to be mysterious, the reader sees her the way alex and Bennie do at the end. I love the way the book depicts the passage of time, poor choice of reads during a passage of time related existential crisis though.
I was torn by this book -- the thing that made it good is also the thing that I had trouble with. I really liked the author's different writing styles and changing character viewpoint in each chapter. But my connection with the characters also suffered because of that. I was often not exactly sure who was narrating until pages into the chapter, so I spent more time wondering who it was than really enjoying the writing. It felt more like reading a book of short stories that happened to be connected. There were times when her writing was beautiful.
I enjoyed it throughout the book, but it wasn't until the last maybe third of the book, starting with Allison's slides, that I really started getting it. Without giving away much, I love through-line of music and art never losing its emotional meaning to people. We span decades and decades but the importance of music, even when it's 50 years old, never is lost and never stops influencing or driving or teaching, in so many ways, any generation.