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Very compelling. I am always interested in novels about obsession and jealousy amongst friends.
This novel encompasses about 15 years in the lives of a musical ensemble comprised of two young men and women. The author delves into the minds of all of them and it is wonderful to see their evolution over that period of time, personally and professionally. We are also allowed into their personal stories . . . where they came from and who they came from and the lessons learned. I became engaged with all the characters and just loved the story and the prose.
I can't believe how much I liked this book. It's basically all character development with just enough plot to move the story along. The idea of musicians as family was very engaging, loved the characters and how intimate without being sexual they were. It shows how deep their love is for each member of the group and what kind of an impact they had on each other.
I would recommend this to others. It's a good read on a subject that will be new to almost every reader.
I would recommend this to others. It's a good read on a subject that will be new to almost every reader.
2.5 Stars...
The Ensemble's premise is interesting enough: a story about the inner lives of the members of the Van Ness String Quartet from 1994-2009.
However, this novel suffered from a great deal of technical weakness. There's a certain lack of rhythm that makes for pretty slow reading for a novel with only 330 pages. (I've been noticing this lack of rhythm in a lot of debut novels lately!) I felt so distanced from the main characters, and ironically, it was because of the long digressions into their inner lives and thoughts. As a reader, I enjoy knowing these things, but the execution felt inauthentic and left me cold.
Another thing is that the writing can be a little sentimental, and quite pedantic concerning the emotions that the protagonists experience, on the verge of being cliche for most of the book.
I'm a professional musician and I thought the strongest scenes were the quartet's performances and rehearsals. Those scenes felt the most realistic and relatable for me.
The Ensemble's premise is interesting enough: a story about the inner lives of the members of the Van Ness String Quartet from 1994-2009.
However, this novel suffered from a great deal of technical weakness. There's a certain lack of rhythm that makes for pretty slow reading for a novel with only 330 pages. (I've been noticing this lack of rhythm in a lot of debut novels lately!) I felt so distanced from the main characters, and ironically, it was because of the long digressions into their inner lives and thoughts. As a reader, I enjoy knowing these things, but the execution felt inauthentic and left me cold.
Another thing is that the writing can be a little sentimental, and quite pedantic concerning the emotions that the protagonists experience, on the verge of being cliche for most of the book.
I'm a professional musician and I thought the strongest scenes were the quartet's performances and rehearsals. Those scenes felt the most realistic and relatable for me.
This follows four musicians struggling to make their way as a classical quartet. Over the course of nearly 20 years we see their personal and professional struggles, their highs and lows both as Individuals and a group. It was an interesting insight into the world of classical music, not something I'm very familiar with. I initially struggled to connect with any of the characters but persevered and found I liked them and understood them a little better by the end of the novel.
I ended up really loving this story of 4 friends who become family over the course of decades working together. It surprised me because I usually hate rotating POVs when some of the characters are insufferable. Here, I might not love them all, but they all play an important part and are intrinsically entwined with each other so even my least favorite character was a joy to spend time with.
DNF. Got about 20% of the way through and couldn't get a feel for the characters so I put it aside.
It took me about 50 pages to get into this, mostly because I didn’t warm to any of the characters and took a while to get into the alternating narratives. However I was soon hooked, and actually became more engrossed the more I read - a beautiful book about friendship, love and art.
This is somewhere between three and four stars. I loved Gabel's imagery and enjoyed the characters and their relationships to each other.
All my reviews can be seen at https://deedireads.com/.
This book was absolutely beautiful—like music. The characters were lovable and flawed and they grew and changed, the language was lyrical, and the metaphors and themes were perfectly balanced. I didn’t want it to end!
Jana, Brit, Daniel, and Henry find one another while pursuing their master’s certificate at conservatory. They commit to a career together as a professional quartet, and life begins. The book is divided into four sections and spans over twenty years, showing us their journey as friends, as professionals, and as people.
All four of them have distinct traits, problems, hopes, and fears. I love the way these morph, soften, and sharpen throughout their lives. There are late chapters that, if read next to early chapters, would seem totally incongruous. But the evolution is natural and really beautiful. I think this is true of all people—we are young, we grow, and we change. We are still ourselves, but we are very different people.
The book had several strong, recurring themes: that you sometimes have to break something to make it better, that love and friendship is a choice you have to make over and over, that the versions of ourself we are today are composed of all our past selves. I loved these characters, and I wasn’t ready to be finished with their stories.
This was the Girls’ Night In book club pick for June 2018, and I’m so glad. I’m not sure I would have found my way to it if they hadn’t chosen it! This is also going to be an incredible book for discussion—so much to unpack.
“How were these terrible, beautiful people worth excluding entire sectors of living? Why were they—once unchosen, regular people, colliding in regular ways with other regular people—now linked to each other inextricably, tied by old binds, each breath wound around the breath of three others, like a monster, like a miracle?”
This book was absolutely beautiful—like music. The characters were lovable and flawed and they grew and changed, the language was lyrical, and the metaphors and themes were perfectly balanced. I didn’t want it to end!
“They were kindred in their prideful loneliness, the stubborn fermata held blankly in their centers that could just go on forever. They pushed their fermatas against each other, and were something close to satisfied.”
Jana, Brit, Daniel, and Henry find one another while pursuing their master’s certificate at conservatory. They commit to a career together as a professional quartet, and life begins. The book is divided into four sections and spans over twenty years, showing us their journey as friends, as professionals, and as people.
All four of them have distinct traits, problems, hopes, and fears. I love the way these morph, soften, and sharpen throughout their lives. There are late chapters that, if read next to early chapters, would seem totally incongruous. But the evolution is natural and really beautiful. I think this is true of all people—we are young, we grow, and we change. We are still ourselves, but we are very different people.
“’I think that’s what happens when you love people more, or more people. In here gets bigger.’ Daniel tapped his hand on his own bullish chest. ‘But out here has to get a little bit smaller,’ he said, sweeping his hand around the room.”
The book had several strong, recurring themes: that you sometimes have to break something to make it better, that love and friendship is a choice you have to make over and over, that the versions of ourself we are today are composed of all our past selves. I loved these characters, and I wasn’t ready to be finished with their stories.
This was the Girls’ Night In book club pick for June 2018, and I’m so glad. I’m not sure I would have found my way to it if they hadn’t chosen it! This is also going to be an incredible book for discussion—so much to unpack.