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4.07 AVERAGE
4.07 AVERAGE
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.
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
It was more straight fiction than mystery. The main character’s story was v compelling. The book would have benefitted from a better editor, some of the errors brought me out of the book (the Competition portion specifically).
As a black man who grew up poor in rural North Carolina, Ray McMillian doesn't have a lot of choices. If he's lucky, he'll graduate high school and work a minimum-wage job at a grocery to support his family. Never mind his enthusiasm and talent for playing the violin; becoming a musician is simply out of the question. When the old fiddle his grandmother left him turns out to be a Stradivarius, everything Ray had ever dreamed of suddenly seems possible until someone stole the violin before the Tchaikovsky Competition. Ray must do everything he can to prove himself as a great musician while recovering his lost violin.
The Violin Conspiracy is a phenomenal book on racism and poverty in the world of classical music. Brendan Slocumb is masterful in writing about Ray's struggles and describing the music vividly while not losing the urgency of a mystery thriller. I enjoyed the book immensely and could almost hear the music while reading it—a truly remarkable and unputdownable work.
The Violin Conspiracy is a phenomenal book on racism and poverty in the world of classical music. Brendan Slocumb is masterful in writing about Ray's struggles and describing the music vividly while not losing the urgency of a mystery thriller. I enjoyed the book immensely and could almost hear the music while reading it—a truly remarkable and unputdownable work.
There is a lot I appreciate about this book, but I almost wish it had either been more mystery or no mystery, and preferably no mystery. The coming-of-age story, based on (as the author's note says) some of the author's own experiences with racism in classical music and the broader world, is much stronger than the plot twists I saw coming from the beginning of the book. It felt like the author was trying to figure out how to make a novel about classical music exciting, so he threw in a heist, but I don't think it needed it.
I also wish some of the characters (Ray's mother especially) had gotten a little more dimension, because it felt like he was constantly being exploited and disrespected by his own family, yet he seems to find that acceptable, and never really explores any reason for their behavior. In fact, everyone in this book aside from Ray, Janice, and one of Ray's aunts are horrible people incapable of love. It was a little much. Can the poor kid have a couple of true friends, or at least a few neutral parties?
I also wish some of the characters (Ray's mother especially) had gotten a little more dimension, because it felt like he was constantly being exploited and disrespected by his own family, yet he seems to find that acceptable, and never really explores any reason for their behavior. In fact, everyone in this book aside from Ray, Janice, and one of Ray's aunts are horrible people incapable of love. It was a little much. Can the poor kid have a couple of true friends, or at least a few neutral parties?
I enjoyed the book and the focus on black musicians. The way the story was told didn’t totally work for me but the representation and family dynamics made up for it.
Music, history and mystery all in one, what could I really ask for? A plausible mystery albeit was a little predictable, but the author did an excellent job to keep me engaged throughout. As a fan of classical music and a diehard mystery reader, "The Violin Conspiracy" was a wonderful treat! Looking forward to Mr. Slocumb's second novel!
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Only complaint is it ended fairly abruptly and I wish there was more back story on how family
I enjoyed the story more than the storytelling. 3.5 bumped up to 4 because I keep thinking back on the tale.