Book Review
Dec. 27th, 2024 09:12 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kenjariSonata Mulattica
by Rita Dove
This excellent and unusual novel tells the story of 19th century Black violinist George Augustus Polgreen Bridgetower in the form of poems and one brief play. It's an inventive format that proves extremely effective. Dove renders the story of one of music history's more marginalized figures with depth and sensitivity. Mixed into the narrative are episodes covering Haydn and the posthumous fate of his skull, Beethoven and his moody, volatile personality, and the ups and downs of the life of a prodigy turned working musician in London, Germany, and Austria. The poetry is beautiful and the little play has a lot of sly humor. Dove explores issues of identity versus perception and how lives are shaped by the disconnect between them. It's a deeply beautiful book.
by Rita Dove
This excellent and unusual novel tells the story of 19th century Black violinist George Augustus Polgreen Bridgetower in the form of poems and one brief play. It's an inventive format that proves extremely effective. Dove renders the story of one of music history's more marginalized figures with depth and sensitivity. Mixed into the narrative are episodes covering Haydn and the posthumous fate of his skull, Beethoven and his moody, volatile personality, and the ups and downs of the life of a prodigy turned working musician in London, Germany, and Austria. The poetry is beautiful and the little play has a lot of sly humor. Dove explores issues of identity versus perception and how lives are shaped by the disconnect between them. It's a deeply beautiful book.
