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Jóvenes talentos
Traducción del inglés por Damià Alou.
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En Sofía, Bulgaria, a finales de los ochenta, la vida bajo el anquilosado régimen comunista no puede ser más lúgubre. En el viejo edificio de la Escuela de Música para Jóvenes Talentos la mayoría de los profesores trata a sus alumnos como si la música que les enseñan no tuviera ningún poder para conmoverlos. Konstantin, un pianista de quince años y talento excepcional, confinado en la escuela durante la mayor parte del día, no pierde ninguna oportunidad de manifestar su rebeldía: fuma, bebe, se burla de las formalidades del partido… Inteligente y arrogante, divertido pero cruel, se debate entre el deseo de sobresalir y el de fracasar estrepitosamente. Pese a todo interpreta apasionadamente a los grandes maestros. El aprendizaje de cada pieza es un nuevo reto que le revela exquisitos matices y el piano, un refugio de la realidad, pero también la cadena que lo mantiene unido a ella: quizá pueda sacarlo del país. Hipnótica e incisiva, "Jóvenes talentos" es una cautivadora narración sobre la angustia adolescente y un deslumbrante retrato de la vida tras el Telón de Acero que nos habla del poder redentor de la música.
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En Sofía, Bulgaria, a finales de los ochenta, la vida bajo el anquilosado régimen comunista no puede ser más lúgubre. En el viejo edificio de la Escuela de Música para Jóvenes Talentos la mayoría de los profesores trata a sus alumnos como si la música que les enseñan no tuviera ningún poder para conmoverlos. Konstantin, un pianista de quince años y talento excepcional, confinado en la escuela durante la mayor parte del día, no pierde ninguna oportunidad de manifestar su rebeldía: fuma, bebe, se burla de las formalidades del partido… Inteligente y arrogante, divertido pero cruel, se debate entre el deseo de sobresalir y el de fracasar estrepitosamente. Pese a todo interpreta apasionadamente a los grandes maestros. El aprendizaje de cada pieza es un nuevo reto que le revela exquisitos matices y el piano, un refugio de la realidad, pero también la cadena que lo mantiene unido a ella: quizá pueda sacarlo del país. Hipnótica e incisiva, "Jóvenes talentos" es una cautivadora narración sobre la angustia adolescente y un deslumbrante retrato de la vida tras el Telón de Acero que nos habla del poder redentor de la música.
352 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2011
25 people are currently reading
668 people want to read
About the author
Nikolai Grozni
16 books48 followersNikolai Grozni was born in Sofia, Bulgaria. His given name is Nikolai Grozdinski - Николай Гроздински.
He began training as a classical pianist at the age of four and won his first major award in Salerno, Italy, at the age of nine. He studied jazz at Berklee College of Music, Boston. He began writing while living in India, where he spent four years as a Buddhist monk, studying Tibetian texts at the Institute of Buddhist Dialects in Dharamsala.
His first book in English, Turtle Feet, about his experience in India was published in 2008 by Riverhead. Wunderkind, his new novel published in 2011 by Free Press, is a roman a clef about music, obsession, genius and growing up behind the Iron curtain as a piano prodigy. He holds an MFA in creative writing from Brown University.
He began training as a classical pianist at the age of four and won his first major award in Salerno, Italy, at the age of nine. He studied jazz at Berklee College of Music, Boston. He began writing while living in India, where he spent four years as a Buddhist monk, studying Tibetian texts at the Institute of Buddhist Dialects in Dharamsala.
His first book in English, Turtle Feet, about his experience in India was published in 2008 by Riverhead. Wunderkind, his new novel published in 2011 by Free Press, is a roman a clef about music, obsession, genius and growing up behind the Iron curtain as a piano prodigy. He holds an MFA in creative writing from Brown University.
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July 6, 2017
Минаха седмици, откакто я прочетох, а все още я държа на масата си. Искам винаги да е на една ръка разстояние от мен, за да мога веднага, когато поискам, да прочета любимите ми сцени – свързани с музика, разбира се, със свиренето на протагониста и Ирина. Богата проза, пищна – и в цинизма на моменти, и в пресъздаването на най-висшите музикални трепети. Уникално пресъздадена атамосфера – и на стара София в края на 80-те, и на Музикалното училище, много ме впечатлиха и страниците за подземията на града. Интересни и добре представени образи. Подразни ме само неистовата отрицателна страст в представянето на учителите (с изключение на двама) – това не са реалистични образи, но си давам сметка, че протагонистът е неуравновесен тийнейджър и че повествовавието тече през неговата гледна точка, така че е напълно достоверно. Това е книга, която ме караше да съпреживявам – не просто да научавам как се чувства протагонистът, но да се почувствам като него. Което в този роман на моменти беше смазващо, но в други – възвисяващо. С превес на второто. Изключителна книга, препоръчвам я горещо.
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February 6, 2016Гледа ми се филм по тая мания.
Приемам, че цинизмът е оправдан, понеже разказвачът е свободолюбив музикант, угнетен от тоталитарния режим в музикалното училище, така че няма как иначе да се справи с реалността, освен чрез бунт, но ми дойде нанагорно. Във втората половина получих усещането, че Константин всъщност има нужда от цинизма като основополагащ камък в идентичността си и следователно има нужда всички около него да са идиоти, за да подхранват световъзприятието му. Това малко ме подразни (същевременно се зачудих дали няма да почувствам същото, ако прочета сега "Спасителят в ръжта"), но мисля, че може би нямам право. Навярно всяко друго изображение на този персонаж в тази обстановка, колкото и по-приемливо в художествен план, би било недостоверно.
Въпреки това ми се щеше да има и други регистри, които да балансират разказването (знам, че това Грозни го умее), като например абсурдно-смешното бягство от болницата в една от последните глави (такива изобилстват в "Крака на костенурка" и заради тях съм влюбен в тази книга). Тук е направен по-скоро опит не за баланс, а за конфликтно противопоставяне между тегавата материална реалност и поетичните трансцендентални изживявания при изпълнението на клавирните произведения.
Иначе всичко беше много интересно и полезно от познавателна гледна точка, имаше чудесни сцени от училищния живот, теоретична фиксация върху комунистическата идеология (закрилницата на посредствеността) и описания на всякакви подривни дейности и смахнати типажи, изобщо останах с много богат образ в главата. Фен съм. Продължавам нататък с Грозни. Има какво да ми каже.
Приемам, че цинизмът е оправдан, понеже разказвачът е свободолюбив музикант, угнетен от тоталитарния режим в музикалното училище, така че няма как иначе да се справи с реалността, освен чрез бунт, но ми дойде нанагорно. Във втората половина получих усещането, че Константин всъщност има нужда от цинизма като основополагащ камък в идентичността си и следователно има нужда всички около него да са идиоти, за да подхранват световъзприятието му. Това малко ме подразни (същевременно се зачудих дали няма да почувствам същото, ако прочета сега "Спасителят в ръжта"), но мисля, че може би нямам право. Навярно всяко друго изображение на този персонаж в тази обстановка, колкото и по-приемливо в художествен план, би било недостоверно.
Въпреки това ми се щеше да има и други регистри, които да балансират разказването (знам, че това Грозни го умее), като например абсурдно-смешното бягство от болницата в една от последните глави (такива изобилстват в "Крака на костенурка" и заради тях съм влюбен в тази книга). Тук е направен по-скоро опит не за баланс, а за конфликтно противопоставяне между тегавата материална реалност и поетичните трансцендентални изживявания при изпълнението на клавирните произведения.
Иначе всичко беше много интересно и полезно от познавателна гледна точка, имаше чудесни сцени от училищния живот, теоретична фиксация върху комунистическата идеология (закрилницата на посредствеността) и описания на всякакви подривни дейности и смахнати типажи, изобщо останах с много богат образ в главата. Фен съм. Продължавам нататък с Грозни. Има какво да ми каже.
January 5, 2015
(I lent this book to Petr S.)
The best thing to do would be to listen to the music of each chapter while you're reading it.
I knew the feeling of becoming suddenly self-aware while playing in front of a large audience; the panic that seizes your mind and body when you realize that you've been playing a Chopin ballad for what seems like ages, and you've yet to go through the coda. To forget oneself again, once you've woken up in the middle: that's the hardest thing to do onstage, and perhaps in life.
only some of the music I've listened to:
Liszt's Les Jeux d'eau a la Villa d'Este
Rachmaninov's Vocalise
Chopin's Heroique
And I'd like to listen to every piece that each chapter is titled and to every piece mentioned in this book.
"Are you mocking me? To mock a colonel, awarded twice for exceptional bravery, and once for ... other things, is like mocking a lame duck. A lame duck isn't what one thinks it is. Moreover, I'm not a lame duck. This is a plain observation. Is that clear, number eleven?"
"Number fourteen, sir."
Each small victory over mediocrity counts. What to do with a talent, a singular gift, in a society that suppresses individuality?
Sofia, Bulgaria: My playing now carried the smell of the old apartment buildings on Serdika Street, of damp basements, of deformed Bakelite light switches in the staircases, of moldy wooden racks of mailboxes, of bitter dust blowing through the cracks of the unwashed windows, of freshly hung laundry in the courtyards. And then there was the light, the claustrophobic November light trapped between buildings, the profound, almost tangible bodies of gray that the clouds produced as they moved over the cobblestones and crept up balconies and roof tiles, the muddied orange sun reflected in the windows of the Soviet cars parked halfway over the sidewalks, and then, later, the neon red night sky that flooded the street, the buildings, and the minds of the living with the thick substance of Erebus.
Aside from being about an angry, rebellious piano prodigy in a communist music school, it's kind of a love-hate letter to Sofia, Bulgaria. The descriptions are sensual; you smell the city, you see its light and colors in all the seasons, you hear its sounds, not only the music. As for the music, you more than just hear it too; you smell it and see its light and colors. This is an amazing, probably autobiographical novel that I as a non-musician got a lot from, and I can only imagine a musician might love.
The best thing to do would be to listen to the music of each chapter while you're reading it.
I knew the feeling of becoming suddenly self-aware while playing in front of a large audience; the panic that seizes your mind and body when you realize that you've been playing a Chopin ballad for what seems like ages, and you've yet to go through the coda. To forget oneself again, once you've woken up in the middle: that's the hardest thing to do onstage, and perhaps in life.
only some of the music I've listened to:
Liszt's Les Jeux d'eau a la Villa d'Este
Rachmaninov's Vocalise
Chopin's Heroique
And I'd like to listen to every piece that each chapter is titled and to every piece mentioned in this book.
"Are you mocking me? To mock a colonel, awarded twice for exceptional bravery, and once for ... other things, is like mocking a lame duck. A lame duck isn't what one thinks it is. Moreover, I'm not a lame duck. This is a plain observation. Is that clear, number eleven?"
"Number fourteen, sir."
Each small victory over mediocrity counts. What to do with a talent, a singular gift, in a society that suppresses individuality?
Sofia, Bulgaria: My playing now carried the smell of the old apartment buildings on Serdika Street, of damp basements, of deformed Bakelite light switches in the staircases, of moldy wooden racks of mailboxes, of bitter dust blowing through the cracks of the unwashed windows, of freshly hung laundry in the courtyards. And then there was the light, the claustrophobic November light trapped between buildings, the profound, almost tangible bodies of gray that the clouds produced as they moved over the cobblestones and crept up balconies and roof tiles, the muddied orange sun reflected in the windows of the Soviet cars parked halfway over the sidewalks, and then, later, the neon red night sky that flooded the street, the buildings, and the minds of the living with the thick substance of Erebus.
Aside from being about an angry, rebellious piano prodigy in a communist music school, it's kind of a love-hate letter to Sofia, Bulgaria. The descriptions are sensual; you smell the city, you see its light and colors in all the seasons, you hear its sounds, not only the music. As for the music, you more than just hear it too; you smell it and see its light and colors. This is an amazing, probably autobiographical novel that I as a non-musician got a lot from, and I can only imagine a musician might love.
May 18, 2020
Много мрак има в тази книга, но това няма значение, защото е невероятно добра, гениална и блестяща :)
Мрак от посредствеността, която с наслада смачква таланта. От послушанието, което качва на кладата вдъхновението и младостта. Тресавището на живуркането.
Това е книга за младостта, любовта, възходите и паденията, отрицанието на всичко/всеки, който налага правила и ти можеш да се скриеш само в пианото, или цигулката.... въртележки, гори, други светове: "...във всяко голямо музикално произведение се спотайват призраци и богове, герои и злодеи, които чакат да бъдат освободени, за да разкажат своите истории."
Справедливост няма, винаги е съществувала само на хартия. Бива си го героят.
"Адът не беше някаква далечна земя, която ни чакаше в отвъдното; адът беше битието зад следващия ъгъл, в което ние попадахме отново и отново, за да репетираме нашето изкупление" - брилянтно
Образите са уникално създадени - училището, София, учителите, и о да: малката градинка при Свети Седмочисленици винаги ми се е струвала като някакъв център (на света).
Пепи, сестрите, бившата балерина, Старата госпожа: "Мога да се закълна в жартиерите на баба ми, че това беше звук на чист порцелан!" :)
За мен този роман е едно изключително постижение.
И слушах музика, ах колко много музика слушах в почивките от четенето.
Мрак от посредствеността, която с наслада смачква таланта. От послушанието, което качва на кладата вдъхновението и младостта. Тресавището на живуркането.
Това е книга за младостта, любовта, възходите и паденията, отрицанието на всичко/всеки, който налага правила и ти можеш да се скриеш само в пианото, или цигулката.... въртележки, гори, други светове: "...във всяко голямо музикално произведение се спотайват призраци и богове, герои и злодеи, които чакат да бъдат освободени, за да разкажат своите истории."
Справедливост няма, винаги е съществувала само на хартия. Бива си го героят.
"Адът не беше някаква далечна земя, която ни чакаше в отвъдното; адът беше битието зад следващия ъгъл, в което ние попадахме отново и отново, за да репетираме нашето изкупление" - брилянтно
Образите са уникално създадени - училището, София, учителите, и о да: малката градинка при Свети Седмочисленици винаги ми се е струвала като някакъв център (на света).
Пепи, сестрите, бившата балерина, Старата госпожа: "Мога да се закълна в жартиерите на баба ми, че това беше звук на чист порцелан!" :)
За мен този роман е едно изключително постижение.
И слушах музика, ах колко много музика слушах в почивките от четенето.
November 22, 2011
Nikolai Grozni's book Wunderkind was a terrifying reading experience. It was also disturbing, sad, embarrassing. A few times I had to put it down and walk away. It was quite literally making me sick.
It is also absolutely spectacular.
Wunderkind is an autobiographical novel about a piano student at the Sofia Music School for the Gifted in the last couple of years of communism. Konstantin and his friends are bright, passionate, talented and that makes them everything that the regime does not need them to be. Young hearts and minds are treated as criminals for wanting to be free and inspired. Ideas are crushed. Brains are washed. Hopes and dreams are laughed upon.
Full review: here.
It is also absolutely spectacular.
Wunderkind is an autobiographical novel about a piano student at the Sofia Music School for the Gifted in the last couple of years of communism. Konstantin and his friends are bright, passionate, talented and that makes them everything that the regime does not need them to be. Young hearts and minds are treated as criminals for wanting to be free and inspired. Ideas are crushed. Brains are washed. Hopes and dreams are laughed upon.
Full review: here.
February 24, 2018
Ще заявя важното ясно в началото: пасажите във "Вундеркинд" за музика са сред най-плътната и превъзходна проза, писана на български език. Нерешимият ребус как звукът да се сведе до думи получава своя привиден отговор за няколко страници във всяка глава; тук прозира не просто познанието на автора за класиката, а дълбоко разбиране на същността на музиката. Това е повече от достатъчно за да вложи читателят своето време в книгата.
Светът на творбата е изграден върху талвега талант/бездарие; героят, гимназист в музикалното училище, балансира, поне докато може, върху тънката нишка, разделяща посредствеността от творчеството в киароскуро. Този извечен конфликт динамично движи сюжета и бързо обръща страниците, но създава представа за двумерен свят. Това не се отразява на естетическите качества на творбата, но отслабва етичните оценки за режима, щедро разхвърляни с язвително остроумие. Също така, някои отломки от английския текст са се промъкнали до печат ("импрегниран", "само за шоу", "сулфур", "фалцето"...), което би могло да бъде избегнато лесно при по-внимателна редакция.
Това обаче са бели кахъри. "Вундеркинд" осъществява визията на своя автор, придавайки литературна плът на неговите демони, като за тази книга разсъждавам с абсолютни, а не с локални критерии. 300 страници по-късно ми се струва очевидно, че за Николай Грозни не съществуват литературни предели. В най-силните си страници, творбата му докосва лазура.
Светът на творбата е изграден върху талвега талант/бездарие; героят, гимназист в музикалното училище, балансира, поне докато може, върху тънката нишка, разделяща посредствеността от творчеството в киароскуро. Този извечен конфликт динамично движи сюжета и бързо обръща страниците, но създава представа за двумерен свят. Това не се отразява на естетическите качества на творбата, но отслабва етичните оценки за режима, щедро разхвърляни с язвително остроумие. Също така, някои отломки от английския текст са се промъкнали до печат ("импрегниран", "само за шоу", "сулфур", "фалцето"...), което би могло да бъде избегнато лесно при по-внимателна редакция.
Това обаче са бели кахъри. "Вундеркинд" осъществява визията на своя автор, придавайки литературна плът на неговите демони, като за тази книга разсъждавам с абсолютни, а не с локални критерии. 300 страници по-късно ми се струва очевидно, че за Николай Грозни не съществуват литературни предели. В най-силните си страници, творбата му докосва лазура.
September 11, 2011
This book was pretty grim. It depicts a communist run music school for truly talented protégés a few years before the Berlin wall came down and subsequently communism. Our hero is an extremely talented pianist who is just tired. Tired of being repressed and forced to be what others expect of him instead of being free to explore the music as it speaks to him. Given I attended a boarding school (I actually lived at home as I was only a few miles from campus) I can say he got the atmosphere perfect in this book. All the smoking, drinking, and every opportunity for sexual relations is exactly what goes on when you separate a bunch of coming of age teenagers from any parental controls.
But if that was what this book was about I wouldn’t recommend it ( I would go with Prep by Curtis Sittenfeld – excellent book) because it is only passable at being entertaining on that topic. Accurate yet average.
What this book really does well, and why I am giving it a 4 star rating, is breakdown exactly what it is like to live in an oppressive society. To want freedom, to want to just explode out of your bonds and just live. Wunderkind lays this out with perfection. In every failed society you can trace it back to one individual or one common thought/philosophy that must destroy all others who vie for the masses attention. If it didn’t then it would ultimately be swallowed up and forgotten. So it fights these encroachers anyway it can, usually by coercion and oppression. When maintaining status quo becomes more important than excellence, and that is the end of your society.
Unfortunately the lowest forms of the society quickly figure out the system and use that knowledge to obtain power. That ever so small slice of power they are given is used to insure they never lose it, usually at all costs. They physically and mentally beat down all those around them. Wunderkind is a statement on all of communism and its failures brilliantly told through the microcosm of a music school in Bulgaria. Once you see it here you can then turn around a review your own life. You will be amazed at how many similarities you can find, especially those who only want to oppress to hold on to their own little perceived kingdoms.
It also does an excellent job of depicting what it means to be enmeshed in something, anything. To hear the hero talk about music is astonishing. For me it opened my eyes to how much could be found in this pursuit, and then consequently I asked myself how much of my life was reduced to quick dips in the shallow end of the pool. Anotherwords, I realized how much I don’t know about anything because I give up to soon.
But if that was what this book was about I wouldn’t recommend it ( I would go with Prep by Curtis Sittenfeld – excellent book) because it is only passable at being entertaining on that topic. Accurate yet average.
What this book really does well, and why I am giving it a 4 star rating, is breakdown exactly what it is like to live in an oppressive society. To want freedom, to want to just explode out of your bonds and just live. Wunderkind lays this out with perfection. In every failed society you can trace it back to one individual or one common thought/philosophy that must destroy all others who vie for the masses attention. If it didn’t then it would ultimately be swallowed up and forgotten. So it fights these encroachers anyway it can, usually by coercion and oppression. When maintaining status quo becomes more important than excellence, and that is the end of your society.
Unfortunately the lowest forms of the society quickly figure out the system and use that knowledge to obtain power. That ever so small slice of power they are given is used to insure they never lose it, usually at all costs. They physically and mentally beat down all those around them. Wunderkind is a statement on all of communism and its failures brilliantly told through the microcosm of a music school in Bulgaria. Once you see it here you can then turn around a review your own life. You will be amazed at how many similarities you can find, especially those who only want to oppress to hold on to their own little perceived kingdoms.
It also does an excellent job of depicting what it means to be enmeshed in something, anything. To hear the hero talk about music is astonishing. For me it opened my eyes to how much could be found in this pursuit, and then consequently I asked myself how much of my life was reduced to quick dips in the shallow end of the pool. Anotherwords, I realized how much I don’t know about anything because I give up to soon.
September 11, 2012
now I wonder if I will always cry while listening to Bach's sonata n.5...
Perfect timing for this book.
Perfect timing for this book.
Read
April 12, 2025DNF at 50%
October 3, 2021
This is a phenomenal book. It captures the atmosphere of 1980's Sofia brilliantly: "The sky over Sofia is made of granite. It is gray in the morning, grayer in the afternoon, and black at night; black, but with a faint ruby glow, its hard, grainy surface ignited by blinking traffic lights, brightly lit streetcars, restless apartment buildings, television sets, neon signs, by iridescent Russian soldiers cast in bronze and the red dreams of fat apparatchiks sleepwalking through the collected works of V.I. Lenin." (It's not so different here now, although we are - mostly- minus Lenin.)
It's not an easy book to read, as the (semi-autobiographical) hero is bent on a course of self-destruction, and the world he lives in is almost without grace or redemption. But still, there are moments of beauty captured in the descriptions of the music, and it is a must-read for people interested in the Balkans. It reflects better than anything I've read the strain of living with the lies and contradictions of authoritarian regimes.
I would have given it 5 stars, but I felt it wobbled a little at the end. I'd give it another 1/2 star, if I could, for the beautiful language, especially considering the author wrote it in English - it's not a translation. Really worth it.
It's not an easy book to read, as the (semi-autobiographical) hero is bent on a course of self-destruction, and the world he lives in is almost without grace or redemption. But still, there are moments of beauty captured in the descriptions of the music, and it is a must-read for people interested in the Balkans. It reflects better than anything I've read the strain of living with the lies and contradictions of authoritarian regimes.
I would have given it 5 stars, but I felt it wobbled a little at the end. I'd give it another 1/2 star, if I could, for the beautiful language, especially considering the author wrote it in English - it's not a translation. Really worth it.
April 6, 2015
The Holden Caulfield of post-1980s Sofia, Bulgaria, is a gifted pianist rebelling against a system that both supports and suffocates him. The strong memoir aspect of the writing makes the story more intense, but it is the writing about piano music that makes it the best I've ever read. It may be difficult to write about music, but he does it in such a way that I instantly identified with his descriptions (I have a more modest piano background). Art vs. Life; Art may be greater, but it is still subject to the laws of physics and politics.
December 16, 2019
The author uses a perfectly balanced combination of memories, colors, and sounds to make you feel truly connected to every moment the characters experience. As the story goes on, there are unending tragedies that feed into the memories that are inspired by some of the best works of classical composers, such as Chopin and Rachmaninov. The unspoken power of the passion these children hide in their bones, hidden away from even themselves and only brought to light when their spirits have nothing left to offer. This story goes to show that talent is truly about dedication and hard work, alongside valuable sacrifices. Behind the face of war, hatred, and abuse, is where these simple minded children find it easiest to invest in a future they have no hope of reaching. Blind trust stems from the most hidden part of their mind and sprouts through their fingertips.
January 6, 2023
KLAR
Tog lång tid, men sista tredjedelen läste jag i ett kör, då jävlar drog boken i gång. Skriven fint, alla kopplingar till klassisk musik som jag egentligen inte förstår, men det spelar ingen roll, känslan han vill förmedla kommer fram.
Konstantin mot ett system, jag vill hålla han om ryggen.
Flera quotes jag tyckte om:
”Irina var inte galen. Hon var den mest normala människan i hela världen. Det var därför de hade låst in henne - för att hon påminde dem om att det var de som var galna” s. 280
”[…] enda sättet att falla är att göra det i lågor, du ska satsa på att bränna hål i marken när du träffar den” s. 264
”I slutändan var jag precis som de […]. Kanske var det bara en tidsfråga innan jag skulle börja njuta av föreställningen” s. 254.
”Folk verkade bara kunna känna sig riktigt självsäkra och starka om de fullständigt underkastade sig de omständigheter och omgivningar de befann sig i, när de villkorslöst accepterade den identitet som systemet hade gett dem.” s. 205
Alla quotes från senare delar i boken, det var verkligen då han hitta sin röst.
Får en 3a för det tog så lång tid för mig att komma in i boken, tror även andra kan njuta mer av den; jag är begränsad av mitt flaw att inte klara långa beskrivningar (som typ hela boken består av). Jag är glad att jag läste den.
Denna boken var första i min EU resa. Dock fick jag reda mitt i att den var originalet skriven på engelska och inte bulgariska som jag trott. Men det finns typ ingen bulgarisk översatt skönlitterär roman så detta fick duga. Väldigt glad att jag inte visste att den var på engelska, för då hade jag inte läst den och missat denna litterära upplevelse.
Tog lång tid, men sista tredjedelen läste jag i ett kör, då jävlar drog boken i gång. Skriven fint, alla kopplingar till klassisk musik som jag egentligen inte förstår, men det spelar ingen roll, känslan han vill förmedla kommer fram.
Konstantin mot ett system, jag vill hålla han om ryggen.
Flera quotes jag tyckte om:
”Irina var inte galen. Hon var den mest normala människan i hela världen. Det var därför de hade låst in henne - för att hon påminde dem om att det var de som var galna” s. 280
”[…] enda sättet att falla är att göra det i lågor, du ska satsa på att bränna hål i marken när du träffar den” s. 264
”I slutändan var jag precis som de […]. Kanske var det bara en tidsfråga innan jag skulle börja njuta av föreställningen” s. 254.
”Folk verkade bara kunna känna sig riktigt självsäkra och starka om de fullständigt underkastade sig de omständigheter och omgivningar de befann sig i, när de villkorslöst accepterade den identitet som systemet hade gett dem.” s. 205
Alla quotes från senare delar i boken, det var verkligen då han hitta sin röst.
Får en 3a för det tog så lång tid för mig att komma in i boken, tror även andra kan njuta mer av den; jag är begränsad av mitt flaw att inte klara långa beskrivningar (som typ hela boken består av). Jag är glad att jag läste den.
Denna boken var första i min EU resa. Dock fick jag reda mitt i att den var originalet skriven på engelska och inte bulgariska som jag trott. Men det finns typ ingen bulgarisk översatt skönlitterär roman så detta fick duga. Väldigt glad att jag inte visste att den var på engelska, för då hade jag inte läst den och missat denna litterära upplevelse.
Read
May 23, 2017The last 100 pages were the best out of the 320 . Probably would have enjoyed it more if I was a pianist. Or knew how to read music sheets. Or knew anything about music at all.
90% bought it for the book cover. 10% because 80's and history is fun :))
90% bought it for the book cover. 10% because 80's and history is fun :))
September 17, 2011
This is a debut novel that is absolutely mesmerizing! The author of this magical story is a very-accomplished memoirist who has been heralded by the New York Times Book Review for his Editor’s Choice Pick, Turtle Feet. But in this, his first foray into the world of fiction, Nikolai Grozni offers a captivating story that will have readers calling out for his next book!
The narrator of our novel is a fifteen-year-old young man by the name of Konstantin, and to say this boy has talent would be an understatement. In fact, Konstantin is brilliant - and he knows it - as he creates music as lovingly and artfully as Michelangelo did when sculpting his David.
But Konstantin is experiencing many difficult issues in his life. He has been literally confined to the Music School, and is reacting substantially to the issues involving his country and his government. It is Sofia, Bulgaria in the late 1980’s and the communist regime is absolutely brutal. They’re also the ones who run the Sofia Music School for the Gifted where Konstantin lives. The school is run with the same “iron fist” that the rest of Sofia is run by; these people are unmerciful, unbending, and completely rigid to the children, causing some to end up despising the music that’d once made them happy.
Konstantin is a rebel. Smoking, drinking, partying - he simply can not stand living under the brutality and oppressiveness that communism has caused in his life. Although the depression, despair, and fear exist in Konstantin’s heart and soul, his outward behavior is that of pure arrogance, which not only hurts him in school, but also makes it impossible for him to get close to the one person who he cares for deep inside his soul; Irina - a lovely girl whose violin is her only saving grace.
The one thing that Konstantin can always count on is his piano. An extremely talented musician, the passion and drive he has for piano playing is the only thing that makes his world possible to live in, and also gives Konstantin the opportunity to get out of the country and out from under his own self-destructiveness in order to have a life and secure a blessed future.
Each and every page of this book is remarkable. The author has done a superb job of structuring each chapter so that it relies upon a piece of music. In fact, it is so well done that it feels as if you’re reading not a novel - but a tribute to the world of music. This man’s life may have started out as a horror show but, through music, became a true and utter gift.
A literary triumph! This in-depth and highly emotional look at life behind the Iron Curtain for a piano prodigy is beyond outstanding, and one readers will never forget!
The narrator of our novel is a fifteen-year-old young man by the name of Konstantin, and to say this boy has talent would be an understatement. In fact, Konstantin is brilliant - and he knows it - as he creates music as lovingly and artfully as Michelangelo did when sculpting his David.
But Konstantin is experiencing many difficult issues in his life. He has been literally confined to the Music School, and is reacting substantially to the issues involving his country and his government. It is Sofia, Bulgaria in the late 1980’s and the communist regime is absolutely brutal. They’re also the ones who run the Sofia Music School for the Gifted where Konstantin lives. The school is run with the same “iron fist” that the rest of Sofia is run by; these people are unmerciful, unbending, and completely rigid to the children, causing some to end up despising the music that’d once made them happy.
Konstantin is a rebel. Smoking, drinking, partying - he simply can not stand living under the brutality and oppressiveness that communism has caused in his life. Although the depression, despair, and fear exist in Konstantin’s heart and soul, his outward behavior is that of pure arrogance, which not only hurts him in school, but also makes it impossible for him to get close to the one person who he cares for deep inside his soul; Irina - a lovely girl whose violin is her only saving grace.
The one thing that Konstantin can always count on is his piano. An extremely talented musician, the passion and drive he has for piano playing is the only thing that makes his world possible to live in, and also gives Konstantin the opportunity to get out of the country and out from under his own self-destructiveness in order to have a life and secure a blessed future.
Each and every page of this book is remarkable. The author has done a superb job of structuring each chapter so that it relies upon a piece of music. In fact, it is so well done that it feels as if you’re reading not a novel - but a tribute to the world of music. This man’s life may have started out as a horror show but, through music, became a true and utter gift.
A literary triumph! This in-depth and highly emotional look at life behind the Iron Curtain for a piano prodigy is beyond outstanding, and one readers will never forget!
January 28, 2012
The narrator of "Wunderkind", Konstantin, is memorable not only for his bad attitude, but for the total immersion of his life in music. Everything reminds him of a particular piano interlude; every piece of music contains an intimate, detailed, vast, and deep communication with the universe. Like most adolescents, he is a hopeless romantic, seeing clearly and sarcastically the faults and shortcomings of society and those who give it structure and meaning, including himself. His musical analogies make beautiful sense, even to someone like me without a working knowledge of the composers he references.
Is it possible to have a civilized society that has a tolerance for ambiguity and anarchy? This is the universal cry of disaffected youth. Have the grown-ups messed up? You betcha!! Mistakes are always and forever made. Some can conform, wholly or partially, in order to survive while dreaming of eventually finding a time and place to thrive. But some cannot fit into any of the places they are assigned. Estranged, left dangling in a perpetual present, all that holds their lives together here is music. It is not always enough.
The setting is 1980's Sofia, Bulgaria, a place that has been continuously both influenced and occupied by outsiders. There is repression, demand for conformity and obdience, a grey weariness that hovers over everything. Konstantin simmers, staggers, fights, withdraws, and literally goes underground.
"Evil always comes with a golden system of ethics....There aren't different systems of control. There's only one. It just keeps changing names."
Life and the future are in a holding pattern, always unclear. But for Konstantin, and for much of Sofia, it seems, music at least still promises, if only temporarily, a different and a better world.
Is it possible to have a civilized society that has a tolerance for ambiguity and anarchy? This is the universal cry of disaffected youth. Have the grown-ups messed up? You betcha!! Mistakes are always and forever made. Some can conform, wholly or partially, in order to survive while dreaming of eventually finding a time and place to thrive. But some cannot fit into any of the places they are assigned. Estranged, left dangling in a perpetual present, all that holds their lives together here is music. It is not always enough.
The setting is 1980's Sofia, Bulgaria, a place that has been continuously both influenced and occupied by outsiders. There is repression, demand for conformity and obdience, a grey weariness that hovers over everything. Konstantin simmers, staggers, fights, withdraws, and literally goes underground.
"Evil always comes with a golden system of ethics....There aren't different systems of control. There's only one. It just keeps changing names."
Life and the future are in a holding pattern, always unclear. But for Konstantin, and for much of Sofia, it seems, music at least still promises, if only temporarily, a different and a better world.
September 13, 2011
Wunderkind has so many aspects to it that make it a wonderful, engulfing read. Grozni has a way with words, and his writing is excellent. There's very few books that seriously impact me emotionally, but this was one of them. Sometimes after putting Wunderkind down for the night (and maybe it was just because I was reading late at night that I was so affected or because I'm still an angsty, stressed teenager), the whole loneliness and depression of the characters and setting made me feel like curling up in a ball. Even though I never noticed much plot to the novel, I never thought about this while reading. I was never bored, even though I was reading slower than usual! Grozni also writes about music in a way I've never before thought of it, a way I wish I could view it. Alas, I'm one of the mediocre musicians Konstantin so abhors.
Wunderkind reads like a (literary) dystopian novel at times, and I've figured out from reading this that a lot of dystopian plots and aspects have probably come from Soviet influences. Like with Holocaust books, I would look at the date Konstantin is writing (1987-89) and wish I could tell the characters to hang on for only one more year or two, then everything would be over.
Unfortunately, the engulfing writing didn't stick with the novel for its entire length. The high emotions lasted for about half the book, then it just gradually ceased to be quite so special. Still, I rank Wunderkind with my other favorite teen bildungsromans - The Body of Christopher Creed, Going Bovine, and Jasper Jones - though its literary flavor sets it apart from these as does its realistic Soviet setting based on the author's own experiences.
Disclaimer: I received my copy of this book from the publisher in return for an honest review.
Wunderkind reads like a (literary) dystopian novel at times, and I've figured out from reading this that a lot of dystopian plots and aspects have probably come from Soviet influences. Like with Holocaust books, I would look at the date Konstantin is writing (1987-89) and wish I could tell the characters to hang on for only one more year or two, then everything would be over.
Unfortunately, the engulfing writing didn't stick with the novel for its entire length. The high emotions lasted for about half the book, then it just gradually ceased to be quite so special. Still, I rank Wunderkind with my other favorite teen bildungsromans - The Body of Christopher Creed, Going Bovine, and Jasper Jones - though its literary flavor sets it apart from these as does its realistic Soviet setting based on the author's own experiences.
Disclaimer: I received my copy of this book from the publisher in return for an honest review.
September 16, 2011
Despite Grozni’s obvious writing skill and his command of language, I found myself struggling with this novel. Even as the daughter of a professional musician, I found the musical imagery too abstract and the cadence of the prose challenging. Konstantin’s narrative is very cerebral and his inflections were dense and dark. I can certainly understand his disenchantment with the suppression of the Communist regime; his defiant response to authority is easy to sympathize with. The students of the Sophia Music School for the Gifted seem corrupt beyond their years, whether they are actively rebelling like Konstantin, Irina and Vladim or simply hoping to achieve the status quo. Some are prodigies who have had music ingrained in them at a young age and others are simply mediocre musicians striving to attain something greater than themselves in a country void of any individualism. While the story itself reflects the harsh realities of adolescence in such an oppressive atmosphere, nothing really even happens until the final 40 pages. Konstantin’s internal observations that drone on for over 200 pages finally reveal a conclusion that I found only moderately satisfying. Tragedy and hope are laid bare, but they don’t coexist, and Konstantin’s struggle with his past and his future is never fully resolved. I am commending the beauty of the prose, conceding that much of it was too exclusive for me, and admitting that the story ingrained in the poetic language left me unfulfilled.
I received a complimentary copy of this book via the Amazon Vine Program.
I received a complimentary copy of this book via the Amazon Vine Program.
March 13, 2020
Да кажа, че „Вундеркинд“ ми хареса, би било недостатъчно. Тази книга ме опияни. Погълна. Изпълни. Очарова. Размаза.
Целият ми отзив: https://trubadurs.com/2020/03/12/vund...
Целият ми отзив: https://trubadurs.com/2020/03/12/vund...
June 14, 2015
Wow. Just wow.
Incredibly beautifull prosing making you smell and feel the dirty old streets of Sofia just before the fall of the Berlin Wall, making you empathize for the 15y old piano virtuoso Konstatin who's life is one big depression fed by cigarettes, coffee and lost love and making you emotional every time you hear a piano piece from Chopin.
This book is easily in my favorites for a long, long time and I recommend it to anyone who's up for 300 pages of grey skies and communist rebellion. 10/10 and 11/10 because of the music provided with each chapter that made this book just that extra little bit special.
Incredibly beautifull prosing making you smell and feel the dirty old streets of Sofia just before the fall of the Berlin Wall, making you empathize for the 15y old piano virtuoso Konstatin who's life is one big depression fed by cigarettes, coffee and lost love and making you emotional every time you hear a piano piece from Chopin.
This book is easily in my favorites for a long, long time and I recommend it to anyone who's up for 300 pages of grey skies and communist rebellion. 10/10 and 11/10 because of the music provided with each chapter that made this book just that extra little bit special.
November 18, 2017
Libro durísimo pero muy necesario sobre lo que realmente es el comunismo: el aplastamiento de los seres humanos, la abolición de la personalidad y la anulación de la individualidad. El amor por la música como tabla de salvación y, a la vez, instrumento de condena. Al leerlo se experimenta la angustia del protagonista por la falta de futuro, de esperanza, el absurdo y la mediocridad que le rodean. Pese a todo, laten con fuerza en estas páginas la rebeldía, el deseo de ser libre, de encontrar un significado en la existencia.
July 28, 2014
A multi-dimensional depiction of the communist era in Bulgaria during the 1980s, life at the Sofia State music school and the acts of rebellion by the main characters. A lot of the stories are based on actual events, which I remember from my time as a student at that school. The musical descriptions are fantastic!
July 10, 2013
Simply beautiful writing. Savored to the last word.
May 30, 2022
Има нещо в децата на соца, които стърчат над всеки строй. Нещо изключително, силно трагично, с нотка романтизъм, щипка лудост, пълни шепи талант и незименна недооцененост. И Грозни не е изключение. Романът му е от онези, в които читателят заживява. Още с първите страници правех паралели между него и „Вчера“ на Владо Даверов. И как иначе, като темите са същите, времето, за което авторите пишат, е същото, режимът с всичките му ограничения, специфики, снобизъм, идеали, потисничество, доносничество, убиване на дарбата на различните... и на същия фон пак любов, пак приятелство отвъд всички граници, пак доблест, опълчване срещу порядки, строй, родители, учители, авторитети. Лудпст и гениалност, талант и школовка, желание за бягство и завръщане към оковите, към „златната клетка“ на „познатото зло“. Преждевременно пораснали деца, които отказват да живеят живота на родителите и учителите си, отказват да се подчиняват, да бъдат обучени как да мислят, да се кланят на „мумии“, да се състезават в нездрава конкуренция, опитвайки да заемат първо място в безсмислени конкурси сякаш е възможно да има единна мярка за изкуството.
Ще излъжа, ако кажа, че ми беше съвсем комфортно в този роман. През половината време се чувствах като пълен глупак поради ниската ми музикална образованост. Искаше ми да издирвам всяка мелодия от заглавията на главите и да я слушам предварително. Знаех, че никога няма да бъде с „ушите“ на професионалния музикант и че по тази причина изпускам половината от чара и дълбочината на романа. Това е книга, която звучи. Като тези на Харуки Мураками. Затова прочитът на тези автори може да бъде пълноценен единствено при познаване на музиката, която вплитат в сюжета.
Невероятен роман за израстването, за сблъсъка с реалността, за преследването на идеали, за краха на мечтите, за конфликта между поколенията, за стремежа към свобода. В това отношение сред нашите съвременни автори първо се удивих на Владо Даверов („Вчера“), след това на Константин Илиев („Френско магаре“), след него на Антония Апостолова („Нас, които ни няма“), а сега и на Николай Грозни („Вундеркинд). Няма да се връщам по-назад, но и там ги има примерите: Павел Вежинов („Бариерата“), Богомил Райнов („Реквием за една мръсница“), просто все още аз не съм открила всички.
Съвсем накрая споделям, че по стечение на обстоятелствата четох книгата в превода й на испански. Не бях очарована от няколко неща, които според мен са ключови за читатели, които не познават добре българската история. Някои от имената и прозвищата на героите бяха транслитерирани, а не преведени – липсваха обяснителни бележки какво означават, а можеха да бъдат добавени поне при първото им споменаване. Нямаше почти никакви бележки под линия, а определено имаше нужда от такива на редица места. Със сигурност ще си купя книгата на български, за да могат след време и децата ми да я прочетат, заслужава си!
Ще излъжа, ако кажа, че ми беше съвсем комфортно в този роман. През половината време се чувствах като пълен глупак поради ниската ми музикална образованост. Искаше ми да издирвам всяка мелодия от заглавията на главите и да я слушам предварително. Знаех, че никога няма да бъде с „ушите“ на професионалния музикант и че по тази причина изпускам половината от чара и дълбочината на романа. Това е книга, която звучи. Като тези на Харуки Мураками. Затова прочитът на тези автори може да бъде пълноценен единствено при познаване на музиката, която вплитат в сюжета.
Невероятен роман за израстването, за сблъсъка с реалността, за преследването на идеали, за краха на мечтите, за конфликта между поколенията, за стремежа към свобода. В това отношение сред нашите съвременни автори първо се удивих на Владо Даверов („Вчера“), след това на Константин Илиев („Френско магаре“), след него на Антония Апостолова („Нас, които ни няма“), а сега и на Николай Грозни („Вундеркинд). Няма да се връщам по-назад, но и там ги има примерите: Павел Вежинов („Бариерата“), Богомил Райнов („Реквием за една мръсница“), просто все още аз не съм открила всички.
Съвсем накрая споделям, че по стечение на обстоятелствата четох книгата в превода й на испански. Не бях очарована от няколко неща, които според мен са ключови за читатели, които не познават добре българската история. Някои от имената и прозвищата на героите бяха транслитерирани, а не преведени – липсваха обяснителни бележки какво означават, а можеха да бъдат добавени поне при първото им споменаване. Нямаше почти никакви бележки под линия, а определено имаше нужда от такива на редица места. Със сигурност ще си купя книгата на български, за да могат след време и децата ми да я прочетат, заслужава си!
January 13, 2020
Just wonderful. Ugly and cruel but beautiful, harsh but delicate, this is the story of a teenage pianist prodigy coming of age in Sofia’s Music School for the Gifted. The school itself is almost a microcosm of the decaying but still oppressive totalitarian world outside, so as well as the usual coming of age issues, the narrator and his friends are also having to contend with how you develop in such a stultifying atmosphere, questioning themselves but also the lies and hypocrisy of the society and adults around them. Alongside this, there is also an analysis of the nature of musical genius and talent, and how this needs to combine with absolute dedication to actually come to fruition.
It could just be unrelentingly grim but somehow the writing compensates for this. The 1980s communist city is drab and bleak, but at the same time this is described in such a way that is magical and enchanting. Life inside the school is petty and vicious, there is plenty of causal sex, alcohol and violence, but most of the children have an extraordinary talent as well as a deep affinity with, and the ability to produce, the most exquisite music.
Each chapter is named after a particular (short) piece of music and I definitely benefited from listening along as I read. At the beginning I couldn’t always understand how the chapters and music complemented each other but by the end the combined effect of the story and the music together was heartbreaking. It also helps those of us without a great knowledge of classical music understand the occasional detailed descriptions of the music within the text.
I can see that this wouldn’t be a book for everyone but I loved it and am surprised that it is not better known. Definitely recommended, but especially if you have an interest in this part of the world and period in history.
It could just be unrelentingly grim but somehow the writing compensates for this. The 1980s communist city is drab and bleak, but at the same time this is described in such a way that is magical and enchanting. Life inside the school is petty and vicious, there is plenty of causal sex, alcohol and violence, but most of the children have an extraordinary talent as well as a deep affinity with, and the ability to produce, the most exquisite music.
Each chapter is named after a particular (short) piece of music and I definitely benefited from listening along as I read. At the beginning I couldn’t always understand how the chapters and music complemented each other but by the end the combined effect of the story and the music together was heartbreaking. It also helps those of us without a great knowledge of classical music understand the occasional detailed descriptions of the music within the text.
I can see that this wouldn’t be a book for everyone but I loved it and am surprised that it is not better known. Definitely recommended, but especially if you have an interest in this part of the world and period in history.
September 26, 2025
Me ha resultado demasiado extensa la narración pormenorizada de los años adolescentes de un chaval estudiante genial de una escuela de música para jóvenes talentos que, gracias a situarse en un país comunista de finales del siglo XX, está más cerca de un correccional adoctrinador que de una academia donde se desarrollen artistas de cualquier tipo.
Que sí, que muy rebelde el tal Konstantin y sus 4 geniales amigos, destinados a sufrir y morir (literal o figuradamente) a manos del estado represor. Pero para captar la atención lectora durante 350 páginas con las vicisitudes de un puñado de jovencísimos músicos geniales en esa represora sociedad hay que tener más soltura con la visión general y menos tono autobiográfico detallista con exceso de conocimientos técnicos musicales. Creo que sobra bastante verborrea especializada en cuanto a sensibilidad y técnica pianistica, y aunque la visión poética y catastrofista del protagonista está bastante bien llevada, con algo menos de análisis musicológico de cada pieza se haría más llevadera la historia.
Total, que para contar ese año de un genio musical encerrado en las inestables hormonas de un adolescente, con el añadido de la bomba de relojería de un sistema político a punto de estallar y desaparecer, no hace falta tanto rollo.
Muy bonita la playlist (éxito asegurado si el nombre más raro que tienes es el de Mussorgsky, con Chopin como estrella principal y contribuciones de Bach, Beethoven o Rachmaninoff), y muy dura esa etapa vivida bajo una dictadura represora y salvaje que se llevó por delante a tantas personas.
Que sí, que muy rebelde el tal Konstantin y sus 4 geniales amigos, destinados a sufrir y morir (literal o figuradamente) a manos del estado represor. Pero para captar la atención lectora durante 350 páginas con las vicisitudes de un puñado de jovencísimos músicos geniales en esa represora sociedad hay que tener más soltura con la visión general y menos tono autobiográfico detallista con exceso de conocimientos técnicos musicales. Creo que sobra bastante verborrea especializada en cuanto a sensibilidad y técnica pianistica, y aunque la visión poética y catastrofista del protagonista está bastante bien llevada, con algo menos de análisis musicológico de cada pieza se haría más llevadera la historia.
Total, que para contar ese año de un genio musical encerrado en las inestables hormonas de un adolescente, con el añadido de la bomba de relojería de un sistema político a punto de estallar y desaparecer, no hace falta tanto rollo.
Muy bonita la playlist (éxito asegurado si el nombre más raro que tienes es el de Mussorgsky, con Chopin como estrella principal y contribuciones de Bach, Beethoven o Rachmaninoff), y muy dura esa etapa vivida bajo una dictadura represora y salvaje que se llevó por delante a tantas personas.
December 24, 2021
The story line is quiescent, this is not action packed or plot driven, and the travails of a disaffected youth won't resonate for many. The hyper-descriptive language may not appeal to some. The musical references will leave many, me included, in the dust; although the suggestion someone made to listen to the pieces referenced in each chapter adds to the enjoyment and understanding.*\
That being said, the music brings it all together. It supports the beautiful and often haunting descriptive language. It turns youthful disaffection in to a sort of unwitting wisdom. Maybe it was the author's later years practicing Buddhism after the fraught childhood and youth that is coming through but it is subtle enough, although very real, that it doesn't feel at all forced. Much of it is wisdom in spite of the emotional states of the narrator.
If it were possible I'd give it an even higher rating and I'm not easy.
*Try several variants of a piece. For instance, the Bach Sonata for violin and harpsichort No. 5 in F minor; the version by David Oistrakh captures the mood of the chapter perfectly. Other version range from insipid to wildly different in affect. Of course it's the Oistrakh version....
That being said, the music brings it all together. It supports the beautiful and often haunting descriptive language. It turns youthful disaffection in to a sort of unwitting wisdom. Maybe it was the author's later years practicing Buddhism after the fraught childhood and youth that is coming through but it is subtle enough, although very real, that it doesn't feel at all forced. Much of it is wisdom in spite of the emotional states of the narrator.
If it were possible I'd give it an even higher rating and I'm not easy.
*Try several variants of a piece. For instance, the Bach Sonata for violin and harpsichort No. 5 in F minor; the version by David Oistrakh captures the mood of the chapter perfectly. Other version range from insipid to wildly different in affect. Of course it's the Oistrakh version....
August 14, 2018
This book tries to make up for its shortcomings with intensely descriptive passages about music, the setting, and the feelings of the characters. If you're into that sort of thing, then, this book is perfect. I was hoping for a bit more drama than I got. It was definitely slow paced, and some underdevelopment.
January 15, 2019
My two stars are mainly for effort. Too dark, too slow, too many musical references (and I have played clarinet in large concert bands for 66 years), too long sentences, and too lacking a plot in the first 33 pages when I finally gave up. I usually read at least 50 pages before giving up on a book, but 33 was all I could take. Be warned.
December 11, 2017
Jag är inte musikmänniska tillräckligt för att uppskatta och förstå detta musikaliska underbarn.
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