my books. my life.

Title: Sight Reading
Author: Daphne Kalotay
Genre: Literary Fiction, Contemporary Fiction
Pages: 352
Year: 2013
Publisher: Harper
Source: Review copy from publisher
Rating: 4.5/5

Summary:

When Nicholas moves his young family, wife Hazel and daughter Jessie, to Boston to take a professorship at a conservatory, he doesn’t see Remy coming. But there she is, sitting second-chair in his orchestra. Remy is a gifted violinist; Nicholas, a genius composer; and Hazel, not quite sure where she fits in.

The story unfolds by fast forwarding ten, then twenty, years later.

My Thoughts:

A story of love, family, music, and all of the complicated relationships surrounding them. Kalotay’s writing is often breathtaking and always beautiful.

This book took me almost a month to read, but solely because of my own busy life. If I’d had the time (or lacked a baby), I would have spent a lovely weekend with it.

I may not have always understood the characters, or even liked them, but I was completely invested in them. They are flawed and insecure. By passing the third-person narration around, each character is well-developed.

I know now that putting off Russian Winter this long has been a mistake. If Kalotay can do with ballet what she did with here with music, I am sure I am in for a treat.