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This really grew on me as I read it. Nothing really happens, but it's about a complicated friendship and partnership over a lifetime and I think she's done it well. It sort of reminded me of a quieter version of A Little Life
I don’t do this often but.. I DNFd this book. I was about 3 hours shy of finishing the audio and just couldn’t do it. Every. Single. Character is so pretentious and annoying. I felt like nothing memorable happened through out the book and was just so bored. I’m surprised I made it as far as I did. With that said I would still encourage people to read it because everyone likes different books.
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
“People are so much music.” The Ensemble, by Aja Gabel.
In Aja Gabel’s debut, four friends form the Van Ness String Quartet and spend years navigating their relationships to their art and with one other. Rivalries, romance, insecurities, and injuries form some of the drama of their artistic lives, but this story is as much about how being artists influences their personal lives over decades.
I have always had a thing for books about musicians, maybe because I think I’ve had a tendency to view that vocation as particularly romantic (even though I know it is one of the hardest gigs around). Also, Gabel’s writing has a particular quality that I find immediately absorbing. The prose itself has a lyrical kind of rhythm and I felt this draw me even more fully towards the characters’ emotions. It offered the kind of reading experience where the external world faded for me whenever I picked it up. And there’s a slightly wistful feeling underlying the whole narrative. I’m here for books with an ever-present, quiet thread of sadness. Not sure what that says about me, but there you have it!
THE ENSEMBLE is in essence, about friendship, how we change (and don’t) through the years, where we find meaning, and how even art - like life - contains mundane and magical qualities.
In Aja Gabel’s debut, four friends form the Van Ness String Quartet and spend years navigating their relationships to their art and with one other. Rivalries, romance, insecurities, and injuries form some of the drama of their artistic lives, but this story is as much about how being artists influences their personal lives over decades.
I have always had a thing for books about musicians, maybe because I think I’ve had a tendency to view that vocation as particularly romantic (even though I know it is one of the hardest gigs around). Also, Gabel’s writing has a particular quality that I find immediately absorbing. The prose itself has a lyrical kind of rhythm and I felt this draw me even more fully towards the characters’ emotions. It offered the kind of reading experience where the external world faded for me whenever I picked it up. And there’s a slightly wistful feeling underlying the whole narrative. I’m here for books with an ever-present, quiet thread of sadness. Not sure what that says about me, but there you have it!
THE ENSEMBLE is in essence, about friendship, how we change (and don’t) through the years, where we find meaning, and how even art - like life - contains mundane and magical qualities.
I really, really wanted to like this one - it sounds like the kind of book I WOULD love. A story of four people who only came together for a quartet but now are growing and shaping each other over the years? Lots of character development, thoughts about art and music? It automatically went on my TBR.
At first, I did enjoy it. I believe in giving authors the benefit of the doubt, so I very rarely DNF before 100 pages. So I settled in for that familiar blur of disorientation that happens alongside immersion in a new story. But unfortunately, about halfway through I realized that I still couldn't keep the backstories straight, was getting confused by the jumping timelines, and a question kept bubbling up: is this going anywhere?
After a good premise and good (enough) beginning, the execution of this novel just didn't work for me. The story fizzled; the characters lacked distinction; I never really started caring. So on to the next book!
At first, I did enjoy it. I believe in giving authors the benefit of the doubt, so I very rarely DNF before 100 pages. So I settled in for that familiar blur of disorientation that happens alongside immersion in a new story. But unfortunately, about halfway through I realized that I still couldn't keep the backstories straight, was getting confused by the jumping timelines, and a question kept bubbling up: is this going anywhere?
After a good premise and good (enough) beginning, the execution of this novel just didn't work for me. The story fizzled; the characters lacked distinction; I never really started caring. So on to the next book!