A review by robertrivasplata
Sight Reading by Daphne Kalotay

1.0

Sight Reading is not worth reading. The book seems like it's trying to be character-driven, yet it doesn't really characterize anyone. It seemed like Kalotay was inventing the characters' traits as she went along, to conform to Sight Reading's plot points (such as they were). The relationships and sexual interactions aren't fleshed out. The characters abruptly hop into bed with each other, without any exploration of their attractions to one another. This combined with the fact that the book doesn't even depict anyone having sex, often left me wondering if anyone had actually had sex with anyone else at all. Similarly, While the reader was constantly told how important music was to the characters, it was usually hard to see any of the characters connection to music. Sight Reading could have been any group of academics, but Kalotay decided her book would be about musicians and music, and so filled her book with tired cliches about the power of music and art without ever showing the readers HOW the music affected the characters. For me the music parts of the book served mainly to heighten its pretentiousness.