Book Review
Sep. 21st, 2022 12:33 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kenjariThe Violin Conspiracy
by Brendan Slocumb
This novel is about Ray McMillian, an African-American concert violinist whose family heirloom Stradivarius is stolen. The narrative switches between the search for the missing instrument and Ray's backstory. Ray grew up in the South, the oldest child of a mother who does not support his talent for and interest in the violin. Despite these obstacles and through hard work, perserverance, and a little luck, Ray becomes a concert violinist and competes in the Tchaikovsky competition. A couple of months before the competition, his violin is stolen out of his hotel room, adding one final and particularly cruel obstacle to his success.
The Violin Conspiracy is billed as a thriller, but that's only one part of the story. The mystery is not too hard to figure out, but the execution of it was pretty good. I found Ray's rise to the heights of concert performance the most compelling part of the book. Ray is tenacious and likable, and his story points up the racism and classism in the classical music world. The story of the violin and its theft touches on the dichotomy of a rare violin as both valuable object and as an instrument with which a musician has a deep connection as a vehicle for his art.
by Brendan Slocumb
This novel is about Ray McMillian, an African-American concert violinist whose family heirloom Stradivarius is stolen. The narrative switches between the search for the missing instrument and Ray's backstory. Ray grew up in the South, the oldest child of a mother who does not support his talent for and interest in the violin. Despite these obstacles and through hard work, perserverance, and a little luck, Ray becomes a concert violinist and competes in the Tchaikovsky competition. A couple of months before the competition, his violin is stolen out of his hotel room, adding one final and particularly cruel obstacle to his success.
The Violin Conspiracy is billed as a thriller, but that's only one part of the story. The mystery is not too hard to figure out, but the execution of it was pretty good. I found Ray's rise to the heights of concert performance the most compelling part of the book. Ray is tenacious and likable, and his story points up the racism and classism in the classical music world. The story of the violin and its theft touches on the dichotomy of a rare violin as both valuable object and as an instrument with which a musician has a deep connection as a vehicle for his art.
