A thriller about a luthier,a stolen violin, and Count Cozio just didn't seem possible

January 26, 2007 at 4:12 PM

I have recently discovered the wonderful world of Violin Fiction. I don't know why didn't discover it earlier... I suppose I just didn't think many authors wrote fiction books on the subject. To my surprise, there were actually quite a few in the library's catalog. (Waiting for Terez Mertes to join the list!) I picked three and went on the search to find them on the shelf. :) They were all there.

Mountain Solo wasn't the type of book I usually read--there was no mention about a theft, a death, or a unicorn-- but the violin bow on the cover had caught my eye. The prologue, titled 'My Grand Debut' was about a girl messing up her German debut big time. Not bad for a book with 'Mountain' in the title. I took it as a reason to keep reading.

306 pages later, I concluded that it was just another one of those novels with the intention of being inspiring to the reader. However, had this book been about anything but a young violinist, I may have not continued beyond the first five chapters. The sections about Tess(ie) getting her first violin, getting lessons, and her troubles were enough to make this a brilliant book. Why the author felt that she had to tie in a chopped-up story about a fiddler who lived in pioneer county is beyond me. No plot, no point, no connection, (unless you count the single violin peg buried in the sand.) Cute, but irrelevant. It just would have been a better book without the excess chapters buried in it.

After Mountain Solo, I pro(retro)gressed to a thin book called the Black Violin. Set during the Napoleon Wars, it wished to convey the connection between the violin and love. Never have I read a blander book. At least in Mountain Solo, there had been sections where the violin teacher gave good advice and sections where the main character's love-hate relationship with the violin really shined through. The Black Violin is one of the what I call el-cheapo books.

The last book I picked up during my trip to the library was by far the best book out of the three. Paul Adam is a genius and I love him for it. The Rainaldi Quartet (published as 'Sleeper' in Britain) is one of the best mystery books I have ever read. Yes, it is a *thriller* about the violin. It starts with four men-- a priest, a well-known luthier, a police-man, and a former La Scala violinist/not-yet-well-established violin-maker-- meeting to play string quartets in the city of, get this, Cremona, Italy! That night, as the quartet disperses, Tomaso Rainaldi is murdered. Why? (This is sublime/hilarious/outrageous/great.) Because he was hot on the trail of a 1716 Strad, one is perfect condition, the sister of the Messiah.

You can call the author nuts, but I say he did a heck of a job with creating a violin-mystery even the non-musician would love. Maybe his plot is a little too far-fetched for some, but as insane as it is, Adam does a good job with intertwining it with history. He goes back in history and follows the events of Cozio and Tarisio, of Paolo Stradivari, and even of Vuillaume. Paul Adam assumes the read knows nothing and shares the legend of the Messiah and the missing Sphor Del Gesu. About half way through the book, another violin-dealer is murdered and a Maggini is stolen out of a room filled with rarer violins by Stradivari, Amati, and Guarneri. Violin auctions, fake violins, English food, the sites of Italy, a crazy woman with cats, and a unscrupulous violin dealer all join the action in the Rainaldi Quartet. Highly entertaining, definitely well-researched, and just plain fascinating. A must-read. xD Some pretty wise information too.

"Whatever you are doing, no matter how busy you are, you must always find time in your day for Bach." (Page 34)

From Cora Venus Lunny
Posted on January 26, 2007 at 7:50 PM

The Rainaldi Quartet sounds like fun, I shall look out for that!

If you're looking for more violin books, I would very highly recommend Tenderwire, by Claire Kilroy; it just came out here last year. It's excellent in every way, about a New York violinist who finds a Strad for sale by a mysterious character at a mysterious price. Another great one is An Equal Music, by Vikram Seth, which goes quite far into the psychology of a musician's relationship with their instrument and with their quartet.

Canone Inverso, by Paolo Maurensig, struck me as awesome when I read it a few years ago but I can't remember for the life of me how it's about the violin, or anything else about it.

From Anne Horvath
Posted on January 26, 2007 at 9:02 PM

I read "Sleeper" last year, and enjoyed it very much. I wish P.D. James would write a Dalgliesh book with a violin theme...
I read Cynthia Harrod-Eagles mystery "Grave Music" awhile back. It is OK. The best part is the dead conductor...
The best fiction I have ever read involving music is "Dvorak In Love", by Josef Skvorecky. His style is so beautiful.

From Sydney M.
Posted on January 27, 2007 at 1:00 AM

V.com book club beginnings...

From Sarah Montoro
Posted on January 27, 2007 at 1:17 AM

ha ha sydney!! I absolutly adore reading--I'll have to try your suggestions everyone! Unfortunatly..somtimes I spend time I should be practicing...um.. reading!!! help--

From Linda Lerskier
Posted on January 27, 2007 at 5:56 PM

xD Sydney! You can't tell me you don't enjoy reading when it's 32o outside and you have a nice cup of hot chocolate to keep you company.

Thanks for all the suggestions. I'll definitely keep my eye out for them.

Sarah, I do the same. Except instead of practicing, I should be sleeping when I'm reading. Or paying attention in history. :D

From Linda Lerskier
Posted on January 27, 2007 at 5:59 PM

These book review blogs I write help me a lot when I have to hand in a short review for school. I just find one that I wrote months before and edit it to fit the criteria! :)

From Molly Ierulli
Posted on January 27, 2007 at 10:35 PM

Don't forget "A Traitor to Memory" by Elizabeth George. Terrific, gripping murder mystery narrated (in part) by a violin prodigy.

From Linda Lerskier
Posted on January 28, 2007 at 12:59 AM

Thanks Molly! Nothing beats murder mysteries! Especially violin-related ones!

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