Book Review

Journey of a Thousand Miles: My Story
by Lang Lang

Lang Lang is a young Chinese concert pianist, who was something of a child prodigy. This short biography chronicles his childhood and education up through the establishment of his international performance career. He is very honest about both the joy and pain of being a child prodigy, and often shows a surprising amount of insight into his life and the forces that shaped it. I was particularly fascinated by the way in which Lang's father gave his son unconditional and tireless support while at the same time subjecting him to pressure so intense and relentless that is often crossed the line into cruelty. I only wish that the book had been written less for a casual general audience and more for a musically informed audience. While this book does touch on how Lang feels about various pieces and composers, all such discussion stays at the surface level.

Book Review

Crown in Candlelight
by Rosemary Hawley Jarman

This historical novel is about Owen Tudor, Henry V, and Katherine Valois. It's finely written and the characters are well-drawn. Owen Tudor in particular comes across as quite interesting and likeable. I really liked the portrayal of Katherine and Henry's marriage as an arrangement of political necessity that surprisingly produced a sincerely loving and affectionate relationship that was tragically cut short. (And it doesn't matter in the least how any author describes Henry, he will always look just like Kenneth Branagh in my head) Unfortunately, the portrayal of the post-Henry love affair between Katherine and Owen utterly failed to be appealing. Jarman gives their relationship an element of obsessiveness and overwrought passion that I just wasn't quite comfortable with.