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doty91's review against another edition
emotional
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
coreyk's review against another edition
Not nearly as affecting as "The Lost Language of Cranes." A fun concept and Leavitt (thankfully) writes musical characters well, but overall it's a bit thin and underdeveloped. And the ending is rather abrupt.
noxfugit's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
abbyhays's review against another edition
challenging
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
not a bad book, but really activated the Trauma of My Youth
djrmelvin's review against another edition
2.0
A coming of age story wrapped up inside the world of concert pianists. Characters come into the story when they have nothing to add, and go missing at points where you think they would be needed. The setting was interesting, but that's about all I can say for it.
shirinfran's review
2.0
I've only read one other David Leavitt book before this one, The Lost Language of Cranes, and it suffered from the same problem I felt this one had: It tried to evoke emotion, but still felt kind of distant and empty. I feel like there's supposed to be some sort of love story in here, or at least one of immense attraction, but it doesn't really come through for me for either Paul or Richard. They kind of tumble into this affair, without the readers ever getting a clear idea why they're attracted to each other, and it ends quick and suddenly, leaving us with a good portion of the book still left. Unfortunately, once they leave Italy, there really is nothing much done to explore these characters and their lives. It stays kind of shallow and distanced, without ever trying to really get in there, and ends without any resolution or satisfaction for the reader. I read it a couple of weeks ago and barely remember anything about it at this point, which happens rarely for me. I expected more passion from such a potent premise, but in the end, I was left wondering what exactly David Leavitt was trying to achieve with this book. It's not badly written, Leavitt's prose is pretty nice, but like I said, he's too removed from emotion for me personally, so I can't connect to anything happening in his books.
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