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Anne Rice, Violin

Synopsis

Triana Becker is a tragic figure. She has lost many of those closest to her, and blames herself for all of it. Misery and pain seem to be her lot in life.

Her consolation, however, is her music. Mozart and Beethoven help her through each day, and she is able to close her mind to the trials of everyday life when she plays her CD collection. But there is still pain, as she desparately wishes she could have learned to play music herself.

On one ultimately tragic day, a lone violinist appears on her street, almost as if to console her in her grief, playing the most beautiful music she has ever heard. But who is this fiddler, and what does he want with her?

My Thoughts

My one criticism of Violin is that it was a little difficult to start - it took me a good few chapters to become interested in it. In fact, I would say there is a distinct change in style half-way through the book. It starts in a very philosophical mode, describing Triana's unhappy trains of thought, becoming romantic at times as Anne Rice skilfully describes pieces of music, and the emotions associated with them.

The Anne of previous novels can't stay away for long, however, and the book soon reveals its supernatural, gothic content, as the violinist introduces himself to Triana, opening the door to a new and surprising world - almost a reflection of her own life, and still full of pain and music.

Once I got into the book (which didn't really take too long), I enjoyed it immensely. Being a musician as well as an Anne Rice afficionado, I was enthralled by her descriptions of various pieces of music, describing how they felt, rather than how they sounded. It is a very difficult thing to describe music in prose, but I feel Anne has made an excellent attempt in Violin.

Overall, a great read. Although it is not soaked in the gothic and the supernatural in the way that many of Anne's other novels are, there was certainly enough to keep me interested. An enjoyable story.