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4.07 AVERAGE
4.07 AVERAGE
emotional
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I would probably rate it 3.5 stars. The author's note at the end helped me understand the race piece of the book a bit more as I felt the scenarios were shallow, but so is humanity. What I enjoyed most about the book was the description of the character's love for music. I really felt I was inside his head as he was performing and I could hear the music he was playing. I loved his teacher, Janice...we should all be so lucky to find a Janice to foster our talent. Ray's ability to compartmentalize everything going on around him and do what he did is just phenomenal, but I think musicians are very good at drowning out the "noise" of the world and just playing.
The parts about this book that focused on attachment to family, mentorship, and the legacy of racism and slavery were incredibly good. Other times, the writing felt a bit clumsy and the mystery of the book felt very predictable. A bit of a mixed bag but I’ll definitely read whatever this author does next.
challenging
emotional
inspiring
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I was drawn in by the mystery of a stolen Stradivarius violin, but I was surprised at how interesting the backstory was with Ray’s family.
Warning: this book may lead you down Spotify and YouTube rabbit trails to listen to classical pieces and watch videos of past performances from the International Tchaikovsky Competition.
Warning: this book may lead you down Spotify and YouTube rabbit trails to listen to classical pieces and watch videos of past performances from the International Tchaikovsky Competition.
Liked it, but didn’t love it as I know so many people do. I think Brendan Solcumb has a gift for making something uninteresting to a lot of people (violin playing) widely appealing. Loved the twist at the end..but I felt myself wanting more of that mystery element that’s in the beginning and the last 50 pages. I felt like all of a sudden in the blink of an eye he was onto the thief and that was it. Looking forward to his upcoming new release.
The whodunit part of this book is a bit obvious from the beginning - but, for me, the importance of the violin missing was less about figuring out who took it, and more about exploring why the violin's ownership was so important. So, in the end, I didn't mind that there weren't big surprises or twists in this mystery. The story concept is excellent (I just thought some of the interesting story elements/branches kind of fizzled out without coming to something? E.g., decendents of people who enslaved Ray's family trying to take the violin, some family members wanting money from him). Similarly, I thought the decision to have a section of the book be set in the near past sort of took out some other possible tension/conflict (e.g., you knew that some stressful situations were going to work out because you knew Ray ended up making it to the place he's at in the beginning of the book). Still, reading the book had a rollercoaster feeling that made it hard to put down, I think due to the narration of Ray's experiences with racism and elite music culture. He is a loveable lead and easy to root for, and he certainly has to go through a lot.
I especially appreciated Ray's relationship with his grandmother and the descriptions of Ray's music (e.g., depictions of nature, him sometimes seeing/feeling deceased relatives when he played). A written piece of family history, depicting horrors of slavery, towards the end was very moving and especially well-timed in the plot. It was also cool that towards the end of the book the tense changes and the style gets a bit bolder/looser, which really moved the end along.
Aside from Ray, I viewed some of the characters as a bit flat (e.g., his mother - who I thought was an especially important character to be so, by my read, one dimensional, Nicole, and some of his aunts/uncles). I also may just be sensitive to this, but there were a few separate examples of characters being described as stupid or gross by way of describing them as fat, which I wasn't impressed by. Otherwise, I really enjoyed reading this book and I recommend it!
I especially appreciated Ray's relationship with his grandmother and the descriptions of Ray's music (e.g., depictions of nature, him sometimes seeing/feeling deceased relatives when he played). A written piece of family history, depicting horrors of slavery, towards the end was very moving and especially well-timed in the plot. It was also cool that towards the end of the book the tense changes and the style gets a bit bolder/looser, which really moved the end along.
Aside from Ray, I viewed some of the characters as a bit flat (e.g., his mother - who I thought was an especially important character to be so, by my read, one dimensional, Nicole, and some of his aunts/uncles). I also may just be sensitive to this, but there were a few separate examples of characters being described as stupid or gross by way of describing them as fat, which I wasn't impressed by. Otherwise, I really enjoyed reading this book and I recommend it!
I was drawn to The Violin Conspiracy because it is a mystery without a murder. HOWEVER, the mystery is not the main part of the plot, which was disappointing. I appreciated that Slocumb explored and highlighted racism in the classical music world (largely based on his own experience), but I think, as others mentioned in their reviews, that some of the characters became caricatures and it detracted from the message. I loved that Ray’s teacher was the most solid and stable influence in his life, and I appreciated the insight into a world I don’t know much about.
I figured out what would eventually be the plot twist/ending early on, so I wasn’t shocked with the reveal.
I figured out what would eventually be the plot twist/ending early on, so I wasn’t shocked with the reveal.
4.5 stars. Fast paced, interesting, keeps you reading. Really liked the music competitions and details about the Strat and compositions. Good, quiet mystery. I look forward to his next book.