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helenstoreygird's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
3.0
kaaatherin3's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
candacesiegle_greedyreader's review
5.0
Brodie Moncur is a piano tuner in Edinburgh which sounds like a pretty low-key profession, but in the hands of William Boyd certainly is not. It's the last decade of the 19th century when Brodie has the opportunity to move to his employer's new Paris showroom and help establish the brand on the Continent.
Brodie is an artist, not only musically, but also as a tuner. He knows how to shave and balance the hammers so that a piano has just the touch the pianist needs. This gift is what brings John Kilbarron--"The Irish Lizst"--into the fold as a representative of Brodie's piano company. They travel across Europe and Russia, travels made prickly by transporting a grand piano hither and yon, and by Brodie's growing obsession with Kilbarron's lover, a Russian soprano named Lika Blum.
""Love is Blind" has many of the classic Boyd features; the silvery, unattainable woman, a wavering, flawed man with a special talent. As in the best of Boyd's novels, you are immediately immersed in the time and place, familiar, yet quirky and unexpected. There's an aspect of his writing that will tickle you in a subversive way.
My favorite of his novels is "The New Confessions" and the thrillers are masterful as well. It's such a joy to read his latest, and continue to experience him as a writer at his best.
Brodie is an artist, not only musically, but also as a tuner. He knows how to shave and balance the hammers so that a piano has just the touch the pianist needs. This gift is what brings John Kilbarron--"The Irish Lizst"--into the fold as a representative of Brodie's piano company. They travel across Europe and Russia, travels made prickly by transporting a grand piano hither and yon, and by Brodie's growing obsession with Kilbarron's lover, a Russian soprano named Lika Blum.
""Love is Blind" has many of the classic Boyd features; the silvery, unattainable woman, a wavering, flawed man with a special talent. As in the best of Boyd's novels, you are immediately immersed in the time and place, familiar, yet quirky and unexpected. There's an aspect of his writing that will tickle you in a subversive way.
My favorite of his novels is "The New Confessions" and the thrillers are masterful as well. It's such a joy to read his latest, and continue to experience him as a writer at his best.
millypip's review against another edition
3.0
Love is Blind is the travelogue of a love-stricken piano tuner at the turn of the century. Seeped in rich history, the novel is driven by the intensity of of its characters’ passions, jealousies and genius.
krobart's review against another edition
3.0
See my review here:
https://whatmeread.wordpress.com/2019/10/21/review-1408-love-is-blind/
https://whatmeread.wordpress.com/2019/10/21/review-1408-love-is-blind/
jacki_f's review against another edition
3.0
William Boyd is very good at creating imaginary characters and giving them such full and eventful lives that you feel they must have been real people. He does this again in Love is Blind, the story of a Scottish piano tuner called Brodie Moncur. Set between 1894 and 1906, it begins in Scotland, unfolds across Europe and finishes in the Andaman Islands. At its core it is a love story, about Brodie's obsession with a Russian opera singer called Lika Blum and the events that in turns bring them together and keep them apart.
I love the breadth of this novel, the immaculate research, the way it gives me a picture of the Continent at a particular time. The story begins slowly but definitely gets more interesting as it moves along. The biggest flaw is the characters. Brodie is a bit wet and I never understood what he sees in boring, self-obsessed Lika. For the book to really work she has to be a magnificent, charismatic, fascinating creature. Instead she's just a bit dull and because everything is told to us from Brodie's point of view we don't get any sense of why she does the things she does. Plus the sex scenes are terrible. As an example, a great deal is made of some amazing kissing technique that Lika supposedly "invents" - it feels like this part was written by a 15 year old.
This isn't a bad book. It's better than some of the others that William Boyd has written - but not as good as when he's at his best.
I love the breadth of this novel, the immaculate research, the way it gives me a picture of the Continent at a particular time. The story begins slowly but definitely gets more interesting as it moves along. The biggest flaw is the characters. Brodie is a bit wet and I never understood what he sees in boring, self-obsessed Lika. For the book to really work she has to be a magnificent, charismatic, fascinating creature. Instead she's just a bit dull and because everything is told to us from Brodie's point of view we don't get any sense of why she does the things she does. Plus the sex scenes are terrible. As an example, a great deal is made of some amazing kissing technique that Lika supposedly "invents" - it feels like this part was written by a 15 year old.
This isn't a bad book. It's better than some of the others that William Boyd has written - but not as good as when he's at his best.
stmchester's review against another edition
4.0
I grabbed this at the last minute off the New Books shelf at my local library, desperate for something to read and not knowing anything about the book or its author. I'm glad I did -really enjoyed it!
It might be described as "literary fiction" by some readers, but it wasn't difficult to read; I actually couldn't put it down. At the same time, I knew there were many literary allusions that I was missing - if I understood them, that would have enhanced my enjoyment of the book.
The scenes of family life were priceless, so vivid and painful! And how did the author make the mechanics of piano tuning so interesting?
A solid 4...maybe will revise to a 5 after thinking about it some more!
It might be described as "literary fiction" by some readers, but it wasn't difficult to read; I actually couldn't put it down. At the same time, I knew there were many literary allusions that I was missing - if I understood them, that would have enhanced my enjoyment of the book.
The scenes of family life were priceless, so vivid and painful! And how did the author make the mechanics of piano tuning so interesting?
A solid 4...maybe will revise to a 5 after thinking about it some more!
kelbi's review against another edition
5.0
A totally superb book. Indescribable really. What a story-teller William Boyd is. The detail of Brodie Moncur's travels held my attention throughout. I tend to be a skipper when it comes to detailed description but not with this book. It is so wide-ranging in depth and scope. It tells the reader so much about the human condition - life, upbringing, love, death, loss. Well I cannot praise this book too highly. I doubt I shall read a better book in 2019