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Bellweather Rhapsody
A high school music festival goes awry when a young prodigy disappears from a hotel room that was the site of a famous murder/suicide fifteen years earlier—in this “deliciously dark confection of a novel, and one of the most thoroughly enjoyable books I’ve read in years" (Celeste Ng).
Now hundreds of high school musicians, including quiet bassoonist Rabbit Hatmaker and his brassy diva twin, Alice, have gathered in its cavernous, crumbling halls for the annual statewide festival; the grown-up bridesmaid has returned to face her demons; and a snowstorm is forecast that will trap everyone on the grounds. Then one of the orchestra’s stars disappears—from room 712. Is it a prank, or has murder struck the Bellweather once again?
The search for answers entwines a hilariously eccentric cast of characters—conductors and caretakers, failures and stars, teenagers on the verge and adults trapped in memories. For everyone has come to the Bellweather with a secret, and everyone is haunted.
Full of knowing nods to the shivery pleasures of suspense and the transporting power of music, this is a wholly winning new novel from a writer lauded as “charming” ( Los Angeles Times ), “witty” ( O, The Oprah Magazine ), and “whimsical” ( People ).
Now hundreds of high school musicians, including quiet bassoonist Rabbit Hatmaker and his brassy diva twin, Alice, have gathered in its cavernous, crumbling halls for the annual statewide festival; the grown-up bridesmaid has returned to face her demons; and a snowstorm is forecast that will trap everyone on the grounds. Then one of the orchestra’s stars disappears—from room 712. Is it a prank, or has murder struck the Bellweather once again?
The search for answers entwines a hilariously eccentric cast of characters—conductors and caretakers, failures and stars, teenagers on the verge and adults trapped in memories. For everyone has come to the Bellweather with a secret, and everyone is haunted.
Full of knowing nods to the shivery pleasures of suspense and the transporting power of music, this is a wholly winning new novel from a writer lauded as “charming” ( Los Angeles Times ), “witty” ( O, The Oprah Magazine ), and “whimsical” ( People ).
352 pages, Paperback
First published May 13, 2014
489 people are currently reading
18115 people want to read
About the author
Kate Racculia
3 books875 followersKate is a novelist living in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. She is the author of the novels This Must Be the Place and Bellweather Rhapsody, winner of the American Library Association’s Alex Award. Her third novel, Tuesday Mooney Talks to Ghosts, will be published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt in 2019.
Kate was a teenage bassoonist, and studied illustration, design, Jane Austen, and Canada at the University of Buffalo. She moved to Boston to get her MFA from Emerson College, and stuck around for 11 years. She has been a cartoonist, a planetarium operator, a movie and music reviewer, a coffee jerk, a bookseller, a designer, a finance marketing proposal writer, and a fundraising prospect researcher. She teaches online for Grub Street, works at her local public library, and sings in the oldest Bach choir in America.
Kate was a teenage bassoonist, and studied illustration, design, Jane Austen, and Canada at the University of Buffalo. She moved to Boston to get her MFA from Emerson College, and stuck around for 11 years. She has been a cartoonist, a planetarium operator, a movie and music reviewer, a coffee jerk, a bookseller, a designer, a finance marketing proposal writer, and a fundraising prospect researcher. She teaches online for Grub Street, works at her local public library, and sings in the oldest Bach choir in America.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,652 reviews
December 6, 2024
**A quirky and oddly compelling tale.**
Bellweather Rhapsody is a breath of fresh air. It's 100% unique and reads very much like a Wes Anderson film.
The Setting: A large, dilapidated, possibly haunted hotel called the Bellweather.
The Cast: Vast, flawed, nerdy, dangerous and expressive.
The Plot: A weekend retreat for the most talented young musicians in NY state; dramatics ensue.
Two of our main characters are Alice and Rabbit Hatmaker, a brother and sister duo are basically the novel interpretation of what would happen if Rachel Berry and Kurt Hummel were siblings.
Trust me, it's just as good as you imagine it would be!
Aspirations and attitudes are running high and on full display. This was completely entertaining even though I can hardly put into words an accurate description of what I read.
There is a lot going on including, but not limited to: murder, hauntings (both external and internal), disappearances, shouting matches, a love affair, self discovery, robbery and so much more.
I am seriously glad I picked this up.
It was as random as this story line and I'm down for that. I would recommend this for any music geeks out there, you know who you are.
Be proud and read this book!
Bellweather Rhapsody is a breath of fresh air. It's 100% unique and reads very much like a Wes Anderson film.
The Setting: A large, dilapidated, possibly haunted hotel called the Bellweather.
The Cast: Vast, flawed, nerdy, dangerous and expressive.
The Plot: A weekend retreat for the most talented young musicians in NY state; dramatics ensue.
Two of our main characters are Alice and Rabbit Hatmaker, a brother and sister duo are basically the novel interpretation of what would happen if Rachel Berry and Kurt Hummel were siblings.
Trust me, it's just as good as you imagine it would be!
Aspirations and attitudes are running high and on full display. This was completely entertaining even though I can hardly put into words an accurate description of what I read.
There is a lot going on including, but not limited to: murder, hauntings (both external and internal), disappearances, shouting matches, a love affair, self discovery, robbery and so much more.
I am seriously glad I picked this up.
It was as random as this story line and I'm down for that. I would recommend this for any music geeks out there, you know who you are.
Be proud and read this book!
February 2, 2023
Every year the Bellweather Hotel in upstate New York hosts a musical event called "Statewide" where talented young students get the opportunity to show off their skills.
In 1997, twin high school seniors - Rabbit and Alice Hatmaker - have both qualified to attend. Rabbit plays the bassoon in the orchestra, and Alice, an aspiring singer/actress, is in the chorus.
This year the head of Statewide is Viola Fabian, a cruel, unpopular woman who delights in crushing the aspirations of young talent, and uses and abuses people to further her goals.
Coincidentally, Viola's daughter - flute prodigy Jill Facelli - is Alice's roommate in Room 712.
On the first evening of Statewide Alice discovers Jill's hanging body in their hotel room. When Alice rushes out to get help Jill's body disappears. This incident is eerily reminiscent of an occurrence 15 years before when a newlywed bride shot her husband and hanged herself in Room 712 of the Bellweather.
The crux of the story revolves around what happened to Jill. Viola insists that Jill, prone to acting out, faked this incident and is perfectly okay. Alice, however, fears that Jill is dead and is determined to investigate. Meanwhile Rabbit has his own issues to deal with: he develops his first heart-rending crush on a handsome acapella singer and debates telling Alice that he's gay.
There's plenty of additional drama going on in the story, which is populated by an array of intriguing characters: Natalie Wilson - the Hatmakers' chaperone - has no rapport with young people and was once Viola Fabian's student; Fisher Brodie - Rabbit's orchestra conductor - is an eccentric former pianist who purposely mangled his hand and has a romantic history with Viola Fabian; Minnie Graves - a troubled young woman - was a child when she was the first person to discover the Belllweather's hanged bride in 1982; Auggie - a cute, deaf dog - is Minnie's comfort pet; Harold Hastings - the elderly hotel concierge - is a kind-hearted, troubled man who can't stand Viola being in charge of Statewide.
Could one of these people have harmed Jill, perhaps to get back at Viola? Alice tries to find out while the characters and situations play out in various ways. There's a major snowstorm, lovely music, some romance, psychotic behavior, bad food, drunk teens, amateur detective work, and so on.
This is a face-paced, amusing, and entertaining mystery that's a little off the beaten track for this genre. I enjoyed it and recommend it.
You can follow my reviews at https://reviewsbybarbsaffer.blogspot....
July 9, 2017
"Bellweather Rhapsody" by Kate Racculia is fun, fun, fun! Part comedy, part murder mystery. There's a lot of characters in this novel but none of them are interchangeable or boring. I really liked Minnie and the Hatmaker twins, Alice and Rabbit. I loved how the storylines overlapped and connected to the other characters. No plot holes or repetition. Just a well written, beautifully crafted, and wildly entertaining novel. I wish I could give it 10 stars! AMAZING.
June 27, 2014
This is a wonderful beach read: a madcap murder mystery with adorable characters along with delightfully wicked characters. I read it in 2 days. The Bellweather Hotel has a reputation of being haunted by a ghost of a bride who was found hanging in her hotel room on her wedding night. Dubbed the “Bellweather Bride,” guest claim that she haunts the hotel.
The only main venue that keeps the Bellweather hotel in business is an annual high school music festival, where musical prodigies from the state of New York accumulate for 3 days to perform. The First Chair Flutist, whose mother is the head of this year”s festival (and a bit crazy), goes missing. Add a jaded orchestra conductor, competing twin geniuses, and a wacky hotel staff, you got yourself a zany suspense novel.
It’s entertaining and smartly written. Loved it!
The only main venue that keeps the Bellweather hotel in business is an annual high school music festival, where musical prodigies from the state of New York accumulate for 3 days to perform. The First Chair Flutist, whose mother is the head of this year”s festival (and a bit crazy), goes missing. Add a jaded orchestra conductor, competing twin geniuses, and a wacky hotel staff, you got yourself a zany suspense novel.
It’s entertaining and smartly written. Loved it!
June 25, 2014
It’s probably not the best criticism to say that I found Bellweather Rhapsody, a book about a New York weekend music conference attended by hundreds of theatre kids, too theatrical, but there you go. A book about teens who specialize in drama was too dramatic for me.
Some people will love its dark and humorous tone (read Leanne's review for someone who was utterly charmed by its over the topness), but for me, author Kate Racculia tried to walk a line between funny and bleak, and she falls off this line a few too many times. The combination of these two disparate tones just doesn’t work because the characters don’t act reasonably. They Jekyll-and-Hyde their way through the story, oscillating from farcical to deadly solemn.
If the novel were a grim parody of high school arts programs and the desperate, star-seeking kids that populate them, I could accept this. But it takes itself too seriously at times, like it wants to be more than a silly pastiche of Glee and Agatha Christie. Again, that’s fine, but if it’s a serious book, I expect the characters to behave accordingly. And they don’t. Nobody’s actions make sense. A 14-year-old girl goes missing after being reported as having hanged herself, and her mother doesn’t care, the chaperones don’t care, the students don’t care, not even the police care! A 14-YEAR-OLD FLUTE PRODIGY IS MISSING. And I, the reader, am the only one who cares.
There’s also a whole romance sideplot that just fails on every level because the woman is completely unlikeable, yet she’s written as though we’re supposed to like her?
I understand that ending a sentence of criticism with a question mark isn’t exactly incisive opinion-sharing, but it’s difficult to say what didn’t work for me in Bellweather Rhapsody because it’s just so perplexing! It’s almost like the book wanted to be two books—either a lighthearted skewering of band geek culture and high schoolers jiving to be the Next Big Thing or a gloomy murder mystery/ghost story, where the ghosts are the characters’ secrets and haunted pasts. I would have liked both of these books if they were not bedmates in the confines of a single cover.
My somewhat confused conclusion? Bellweather Rhapsody is entertaining, though slightly whiplashy as well. More like 3.5 stars.
Some people will love its dark and humorous tone (read Leanne's review for someone who was utterly charmed by its over the topness), but for me, author Kate Racculia tried to walk a line between funny and bleak, and she falls off this line a few too many times. The combination of these two disparate tones just doesn’t work because the characters don’t act reasonably. They Jekyll-and-Hyde their way through the story, oscillating from farcical to deadly solemn.
If the novel were a grim parody of high school arts programs and the desperate, star-seeking kids that populate them, I could accept this. But it takes itself too seriously at times, like it wants to be more than a silly pastiche of Glee and Agatha Christie. Again, that’s fine, but if it’s a serious book, I expect the characters to behave accordingly. And they don’t. Nobody’s actions make sense. A 14-year-old girl goes missing after being reported as having hanged herself, and her mother doesn’t care, the chaperones don’t care, the students don’t care, not even the police care! A 14-YEAR-OLD FLUTE PRODIGY IS MISSING. And I, the reader, am the only one who cares.
There’s also a whole romance sideplot that just fails on every level because the woman is completely unlikeable, yet she’s written as though we’re supposed to like her?
I understand that ending a sentence of criticism with a question mark isn’t exactly incisive opinion-sharing, but it’s difficult to say what didn’t work for me in Bellweather Rhapsody because it’s just so perplexing! It’s almost like the book wanted to be two books—either a lighthearted skewering of band geek culture and high schoolers jiving to be the Next Big Thing or a gloomy murder mystery/ghost story, where the ghosts are the characters’ secrets and haunted pasts. I would have liked both of these books if they were not bedmates in the confines of a single cover.
My somewhat confused conclusion? Bellweather Rhapsody is entertaining, though slightly whiplashy as well. More like 3.5 stars.
Read
July 8, 2014This was one of the most fun books I've read in a long time. Sharp, witty, and full of flashbacks to the late 1990s--if, like me, you were an adolescent at that time, you'll be giggling in delight. But lest you think it's just fluff, there are weightier issues here as ballast, too: a teen struggling with his sexuality, a woman scarred by an abusive teacher who fears she's become a monster herself, a father devastated by a long-ago tragedy. Oh, and two murders. It races along at a breakneck pace--I finished it in days--and Racculia pulls it all together in a very satisfying way at the end. If you loved The Westing Game as a kid, you'll love this.
January 28, 2015
Take a grand but weathered old hotel a la The Shining or The Grand Budapest Hotel, a group of over-talented high school musicians gathered for an elite festival (Glee minus the convoluted mess the show has become), and don't forget the intriguing 1982 murder-suicide and the present-day disappearance of the most talented musician of the bunch...both of which take place in room 712 (dun, dun) - and there you have it - Bellweather Rhapsody.
It sounds a little macabre, but somehow it manages to be so, so fun! There's a heavy dose of quirk (if you absolutely despise everything Wes Anderson, beware), but it's not gimmicky - in fact, it's essentially a straightforward murder mystery with a little hint of ghosts and a very colourful cast of characters. There's so much human drama mixed in - Rabbit, coming to terms with his sexual inclinations (my personal favourite character), his twin sister Alice, who has to learn that she can't always be the center of attention, Natalie, a teacher mourning a great talent that never manifested into a true musical career, and Minnie, trying to overcome her childhood fears to be able to live a normal life. And then there's sociopathic Viola, missing-fingered conductor Fisher, old and steadfastly loyal Bellweather lifer Hastings... But even with this many storylines to keep track of, the book is never confusing or frustrating - each character is so unique that it's impossible to mix them up.
I was enjoying it so much the whole way through that I had a looming doubt in the back of my mind that the ending wouldn't manage to pull everything off and do the narrative justice. I was wrong (ish) - it's not exactly mind-blowing or perfect, but it's satisfying.
Overall, it was just a really, really delightful book. And you definitely don't need to be a band geek to appreciate it (I wasn't!)
It sounds a little macabre, but somehow it manages to be so, so fun! There's a heavy dose of quirk (if you absolutely despise everything Wes Anderson, beware), but it's not gimmicky - in fact, it's essentially a straightforward murder mystery with a little hint of ghosts and a very colourful cast of characters. There's so much human drama mixed in - Rabbit, coming to terms with his sexual inclinations (my personal favourite character), his twin sister Alice, who has to learn that she can't always be the center of attention, Natalie, a teacher mourning a great talent that never manifested into a true musical career, and Minnie, trying to overcome her childhood fears to be able to live a normal life. And then there's sociopathic Viola, missing-fingered conductor Fisher, old and steadfastly loyal Bellweather lifer Hastings... But even with this many storylines to keep track of, the book is never confusing or frustrating - each character is so unique that it's impossible to mix them up.
I was enjoying it so much the whole way through that I had a looming doubt in the back of my mind that the ending wouldn't manage to pull everything off and do the narrative justice. I was wrong (ish) - it's not exactly mind-blowing or perfect, but it's satisfying.
Overall, it was just a really, really delightful book. And you definitely don't need to be a band geek to appreciate it (I wasn't!)
September 30, 2015
An extremely solid four stars for a book whose cover kept me away for months. (The intentional misspell of bellwether was driving me nuts, and the artwork: straight out of my daughter's doodle bin. These were both conveying a "Read me!, I'm so quirky and twee!" vibe. that belied the positive buzz from my GR friends.)
Kate Raccculia's Bellweather Rhapsody is certainly quirky, which is its greatest asset. If you were led to this from others comparing this to The Shining, you might be disappointed with this novel. Ms. Racculia's Bellweather Hotel is no Overlook. Tucked high in the hills of upstate New York, it's a hotel that's long since seen its heyday of elegant ballroom dancing, fine dining, and other begowned and besuited assignations. These days (well, 1997 anyway), about the only thing that keeps the Bellweather Hotel alive is its yearly hosting of "Statewide", a culling of the best NY State high school musicians and choristers, brought together for four days of musical excellence (or, really, geeky band-camp-ery).
Back in 1982, a tragic murder/suicide at the Bellweather brought about by a distraught bride just hours after the wedding provides grist for the rumor mill that the hotel (and, specifically, Room 712) is haunted by the Bride of Bellweather. Flash back to the present, and you can probably see where this is going. A large cast of memorable characters (with the 17 year-old Hatmaker twins, bassoonist Bertram {"Rabbit"} and alto Alice at center) are freaked out by a another suicide in Room 712, fifteen years to the day after the Bride of Bellweather unleashed her madness.
The book at this point turns into an Agatha Christie-esque "whodunnit" (a genre that I've never been particulary fond of, but for some reason--perhaps with the quirk quotient--it works nicely here). There's a neat little tug-o-war going on here between farcical and freak-kay; which kept me wondering where this was going all the way to the end. A few of my friends have aptly deemed that the story gets somewhat unhinged toward the end, but not enough to keep me from applauding Ms. Racculia's effort here. You can tell she's a band geek at heart, as her description of "Statewide" is effortless: she knows her music...and music education. Her enthusiasm for the subject (as well as love for pot-boiler mysteries) is infectious. Her blend of humor and quirk has me convinced she's got quite a career ahead of her.
Kate Raccculia's Bellweather Rhapsody is certainly quirky, which is its greatest asset. If you were led to this from others comparing this to The Shining, you might be disappointed with this novel. Ms. Racculia's Bellweather Hotel is no Overlook. Tucked high in the hills of upstate New York, it's a hotel that's long since seen its heyday of elegant ballroom dancing, fine dining, and other begowned and besuited assignations. These days (well, 1997 anyway), about the only thing that keeps the Bellweather Hotel alive is its yearly hosting of "Statewide", a culling of the best NY State high school musicians and choristers, brought together for four days of musical excellence (or, really, geeky band-camp-ery).
Back in 1982, a tragic murder/suicide at the Bellweather brought about by a distraught bride just hours after the wedding provides grist for the rumor mill that the hotel (and, specifically, Room 712) is haunted by the Bride of Bellweather. Flash back to the present, and you can probably see where this is going. A large cast of memorable characters (with the 17 year-old Hatmaker twins, bassoonist Bertram {"Rabbit"} and alto Alice at center) are freaked out by a another suicide in Room 712, fifteen years to the day after the Bride of Bellweather unleashed her madness.
The book at this point turns into an Agatha Christie-esque "whodunnit" (a genre that I've never been particulary fond of, but for some reason--perhaps with the quirk quotient--it works nicely here). There's a neat little tug-o-war going on here between farcical and freak-kay; which kept me wondering where this was going all the way to the end. A few of my friends have aptly deemed that the story gets somewhat unhinged toward the end, but not enough to keep me from applauding Ms. Racculia's effort here. You can tell she's a band geek at heart, as her description of "Statewide" is effortless: she knows her music...and music education. Her enthusiasm for the subject (as well as love for pot-boiler mysteries) is infectious. Her blend of humor and quirk has me convinced she's got quite a career ahead of her.
August 6, 2014
Imagine band geeks acting out a pulpy horror film and you’ll have some idea of the quirky black comedy that awaits you in Bellweather Rhapsody. November 1997: with a major blizzard on the way, the crumbling Bellweather hotel in upstate New York will soon play host to a statewide high school orchestral and choral festival. When a fourteen-year-old flute-playing phenom disappears from Room 712, the very room where, 15 years ago, a murder-suicide occurred, shy bassoon player Rabbit Hatmaker and his brash twin sister, Alice, get caught up in a plot that’s one part Clue and one part vintage horror.
Racculia pours all the guilty pleasures of Glee into this, her second novel. That said, the book is surprisingly dark, even gory at times. Everyone seems to have some violent trauma in their past. One character recalls plucking the gold teeth from a dead aunt’s mouth – which gives you some idea of the morbid sense of humor here. Racculia is especially good at shifting into each character’s perspective. There are some terrific characters here; my favorite is probably Fisher Brodie, the irascible Scottish conductor with seven fingers. It’s impressive how Racculia makes both Minnie and Natalie sympathetic characters despite some pretty disturbing behavior. I thought Viola was perhaps a step too far as a villain, though, in that she seems all bad, with no layers or nuance to her: “Viola Fabian is the kind of person who feels nothing at all.”
I was never a band geek (alas, I can’t play a single instrument), but I was a freshman in high school in 1997, the year in which most of the action is set, and this novel made me gently nostalgic for all the frustrations and possibilities of that time in life. Although the book dwells on the power of music – whether that’s Chopin and Debussy or Whitney Houston and the Smashing Pumpkins – it’s about so much more: the bumpy ride of growing up; accepting reality over delusions of grandeur; the crazy things people do because of grief; and the search for something like closure. As Minnie says, “I’m all twisted and weird inside and I’m sick of bad dreams and horror stories. What happened here doesn’t get to dictate how I spend the rest of my life.”
For those who cut their literary teeth on Harriet the Spy and The Westing Game (to which Racculia pays homage with the name of a music conservatory; she also mentions the author by name in her acknowledgments), this will be a sweet yet joltingly ghoulish piece of escapism. It might strike you as YA fiction, but really this is a book for anyone.
Racculia pours all the guilty pleasures of Glee into this, her second novel. That said, the book is surprisingly dark, even gory at times. Everyone seems to have some violent trauma in their past. One character recalls plucking the gold teeth from a dead aunt’s mouth – which gives you some idea of the morbid sense of humor here. Racculia is especially good at shifting into each character’s perspective. There are some terrific characters here; my favorite is probably Fisher Brodie, the irascible Scottish conductor with seven fingers. It’s impressive how Racculia makes both Minnie and Natalie sympathetic characters despite some pretty disturbing behavior. I thought Viola was perhaps a step too far as a villain, though, in that she seems all bad, with no layers or nuance to her: “Viola Fabian is the kind of person who feels nothing at all.”
I was never a band geek (alas, I can’t play a single instrument), but I was a freshman in high school in 1997, the year in which most of the action is set, and this novel made me gently nostalgic for all the frustrations and possibilities of that time in life. Although the book dwells on the power of music – whether that’s Chopin and Debussy or Whitney Houston and the Smashing Pumpkins – it’s about so much more: the bumpy ride of growing up; accepting reality over delusions of grandeur; the crazy things people do because of grief; and the search for something like closure. As Minnie says, “I’m all twisted and weird inside and I’m sick of bad dreams and horror stories. What happened here doesn’t get to dictate how I spend the rest of my life.”
For those who cut their literary teeth on Harriet the Spy and The Westing Game (to which Racculia pays homage with the name of a music conservatory; she also mentions the author by name in her acknowledgments), this will be a sweet yet joltingly ghoulish piece of escapism. It might strike you as YA fiction, but really this is a book for anyone.
November 30, 2014
Just a little too "cartoon-y" for my tastes. It struck me as a literary "Murder She Wrote" episode - flat, mostly one dimensional characters, an over-the-top villainess and multiple unlikely scenarios wrapped up nice and neat at the end.
I liked Rabbit and his story-line very much; also liked his plucky and obnoxious twin sister Alice.
A solid 3. Good but not great.
I liked Rabbit and his story-line very much; also liked his plucky and obnoxious twin sister Alice.
A solid 3. Good but not great.
September 19, 2024
Kicking myself for not reading this when I first put it on my TBR almost a decade ago. I think my tastes back then, which ran more towards general fiction with quirky characters than it does now, would really have meshed super well with this. As it is, this was a fun time and I'm really glad I read it. I don't really have any criticisms! It just didn't hit as well as I wanted it to. (I suppose in another mood, like two weeks from now, or three months ago, I might have liked it more as well.)
I actually think this would make for a really, really fun movie. I wish someone with musical chops and a dark sense of humor would adapt it.
[3.5 stars, rounded up]
I actually think this would make for a really, really fun movie. I wish someone with musical chops and a dark sense of humor would adapt it.
[3.5 stars, rounded up]
January 12, 2019
I really enjoyed reading this book and couldn’t put it down. A wonderfully bizarre blend of Glee, The Shining, Agatha Christie’s works, and The Grand Budapest Hotel. It’s full of music and heart and fun characters. AND A CORGI IS IN IT. So, yeah, I recommend it.
RTC
RTC
July 30, 2014
Kate Racculia's Bellweather Rhapsody is a sweet, slightly goofy, rollicking romp of a book that may be a tiny bit overly ambitious, but it's tremendously infectious, and I can't get the characters out of my mind.
It's the winter of 1997. In upstate New York, high school musicians from across the state are gathering for the annual Statewide festival at the Bellweather Hotel, a once-grand place which has become a little rundown in recent years, and reminds many of The Overlook Hotel in The Shining. (There's more than a few references to The Shining in the book.) Fifteen years ago, the Bellweather was the site of a tragedy, a murder-suicide of a couple that had just gotten married in the hotel. Since then, the hotel has had a bit of a reputation for being haunted.
Coming to Statewide are twin siblings Alice and Rabbit Hatmaker. Alice is a bit of a diva, a singer/actress who is in her second year at Statewide, and she expects to be treated like the celebrity she thinks she is. Rabbit, a bassoonist, has always been a bit quieter, as he has lived in Alice's shadow, but he is desperate to be himself for the first time, to live his own life, and find love. When they first arrive at the festival, a chance encounter with the conductor of the orchestra turns Rabbit into a bit of a celebrity, and Alice bristles that suddenly she is being left behind.
Things go from bad to worse for Alice, as the first night, after she does a tarot reading for her roommate, Jill, a young musical prodigy and the daughter of the ruthless acting director of the festival, she finds that Jill has hanged herself. When Alice returns after summoning help, Jill's body is gone, the cord has been cut down, and a note reading, "NOW SHE IS MINE," is the only evidence left. And it turns out this all happened in the same room where the murder-suicide happened years before.
Jill's mother insists this is a prank designed to embarrass her, but Alice knows what she saw, and she has an unusual ally. As a young girl, Minnie Graves witnessed the tragic murder-suicide at the Bellweather, and it has haunted her ever since. She returned to the hotel to try and get her life back on track, but when she hears another crime has been perpetrated in the same room, she is determined to uncover the truth about both incidents. But amidst the investigation into Jill's disappearance, rehearsals are still going on, rumors are being spread, relationships are blossoming and ending, and lives are changing, as the Bellweather readies for what appears to be the snowstorm of the century.
What I loved about this book is that despite the craziness happening at the festival (and I've only scratched the surface in my description), this is at its heart a story about having the courage to be your own person, standing up for what you believe in (as well as yourself), the importance of love and friendship, and the thrills that come from performing. It's also a book about how one person's behavior towards another can have a truly damaging or truly uplifting effect.
There are a lot of characters in this book, and the chapters switch perspectives among many of them. That mostly works, but at times it's a little more confusing, so I had to go back and re-read a few things to make sure I understood who was talking or what was happening. But by and large, I loved these characters, and was glad that more of the plot was spent on character development and story rather than more of a whodunnit about what happened to Jill. As a former choir student who once made it to All-Shore Choir (there weren't a lot of tenors back then so I lucked my way in), this book brought back some great memories. Really fun.
It's the winter of 1997. In upstate New York, high school musicians from across the state are gathering for the annual Statewide festival at the Bellweather Hotel, a once-grand place which has become a little rundown in recent years, and reminds many of The Overlook Hotel in The Shining. (There's more than a few references to The Shining in the book.) Fifteen years ago, the Bellweather was the site of a tragedy, a murder-suicide of a couple that had just gotten married in the hotel. Since then, the hotel has had a bit of a reputation for being haunted.
Coming to Statewide are twin siblings Alice and Rabbit Hatmaker. Alice is a bit of a diva, a singer/actress who is in her second year at Statewide, and she expects to be treated like the celebrity she thinks she is. Rabbit, a bassoonist, has always been a bit quieter, as he has lived in Alice's shadow, but he is desperate to be himself for the first time, to live his own life, and find love. When they first arrive at the festival, a chance encounter with the conductor of the orchestra turns Rabbit into a bit of a celebrity, and Alice bristles that suddenly she is being left behind.
Things go from bad to worse for Alice, as the first night, after she does a tarot reading for her roommate, Jill, a young musical prodigy and the daughter of the ruthless acting director of the festival, she finds that Jill has hanged herself. When Alice returns after summoning help, Jill's body is gone, the cord has been cut down, and a note reading, "NOW SHE IS MINE," is the only evidence left. And it turns out this all happened in the same room where the murder-suicide happened years before.
Jill's mother insists this is a prank designed to embarrass her, but Alice knows what she saw, and she has an unusual ally. As a young girl, Minnie Graves witnessed the tragic murder-suicide at the Bellweather, and it has haunted her ever since. She returned to the hotel to try and get her life back on track, but when she hears another crime has been perpetrated in the same room, she is determined to uncover the truth about both incidents. But amidst the investigation into Jill's disappearance, rehearsals are still going on, rumors are being spread, relationships are blossoming and ending, and lives are changing, as the Bellweather readies for what appears to be the snowstorm of the century.
What I loved about this book is that despite the craziness happening at the festival (and I've only scratched the surface in my description), this is at its heart a story about having the courage to be your own person, standing up for what you believe in (as well as yourself), the importance of love and friendship, and the thrills that come from performing. It's also a book about how one person's behavior towards another can have a truly damaging or truly uplifting effect.
There are a lot of characters in this book, and the chapters switch perspectives among many of them. That mostly works, but at times it's a little more confusing, so I had to go back and re-read a few things to make sure I understood who was talking or what was happening. But by and large, I loved these characters, and was glad that more of the plot was spent on character development and story rather than more of a whodunnit about what happened to Jill. As a former choir student who once made it to All-Shore Choir (there weren't a lot of tenors back then so I lucked my way in), this book brought back some great memories. Really fun.
May 6, 2014
this review will go live on the blog 05/13
Let's take another look at that summary, shall we? In just a single sentence I was hooked and needed to read Bellweather Rhapsody. Not only did the plot sound delightful (or as delightful as a murder/suicide can be), but then to be thrown references to The Shining and Agatha Christie! Unfortunately, when all was said and done, I felt this novel relied too much on those references and lacked its own spark. Take away Jack Nicholson and all that's left is a book with many, many (too many!) characters and far-reaching aspirations it can't quite attain.
In its heyday, the Bellweather hotel was THE place to be. Its rooms were constantly rotating with girlfriends and wives - never at the same time! - and every day was a party. Fifteen years ago, however, a bride shot her husband and then hung herself. Since then the hotel has been in a slow state of decline, the only time its rooms are mostly full is once a year for Statewide, a high school music festival. Careers can be made at Statewide and the best musicians from across the country show up to put their talents on full display. This year, however, a girl goes missing - and no one's quite certain whether or not she's dead - and the events from fifteen years ago seem to be replaying once more.
I wasn't joking when I mentioned the sheer number of characters. Usually I follow a 'the more the merrier' adage when it comes to characters and storylines. Here, however, I had a hard time keeping them straight and in one case didn't figure out two characters were completely different people until 100 pages from the end. While I'm not entirely blameless, I do think the novel suffered for not having clear-cut characters: readers shouldn't be confused as to who's who. In my case, I was thoroughly convinced Minnie's sister/brother-in-law was the couple from fifteen years ago; they were all at the Bellweather for the wedding and it was Minnie who discovered the bodies. Imagine my surprise then when Minnie's reintroduced over one hundred pages later with her family alive and well. There was simply too much to keep straight; characters and storylines that were mentioned in the beginning of the novel were completely forgotten about by the time the ending rolled around.
I felt Bellweather Rhapsody tried too hard to be too many things and tackle too many topics: Rabbit's sexuality was the focus of his chapters from the get-go - he's decided to come out to his sister - and by the time the climax rolls around, it's SO anti-climatic that I wasn't sure what the point was the begin with. In a single throw-away remark April mentions she knows he's gay and that's that. The entire book was spent waxing poetic about the boys he's crushed on in the past, the moment he realized he was different, what will his parents say!, there's a cute boy at Statewide and Rabbit's ready for a new beginning...it all culminated into one whispered question and then never brought up again.
There's a Scottish conductor who was once a prodigy until he lost three fingers in a barfight, a former prodigy who grew up to be evil incarnate and has groomed her prodigy of a daughter to be the best, a chaperone who had once loved music and carries a world of guilt on her shoulders, the hotel concierge who's slowly losing touch with reality - the list goes on. I honestly enjoyed these characters and their stories - I especially liked Fisher and Rabbit - but the focus quickly blurred toward the end to the point where I truly have no idea if certain characters even existed or if certain scenes ever happened. Perhaps that was the point of the novel and I missed it entirely. That said, when it comes to mysteries I like - and expect! - clear-cut answers and, sadly, Bellweather Rhapsody failed to deliver.
I don't want to give the impression that the novel was all bad - it certainly wasn't! When it was good it was great and I was thoroughly ensnared. Unfortunately, those moments of brilliance were dampened by the multitude of narratives and plot points and readers should never be confused. I'm positive Bellweather Rhapsody will find its audience - I wanted so badly to love it! - but it just wasn't for me. This year I took a long look at publishers and which imprints work for me. When it comes to Houghton Mifflin, I tend to enjoy their Young Adult novels far more than Adult, and Bellweather Rhapsody further proves my findings.
Let's take another look at that summary, shall we? In just a single sentence I was hooked and needed to read Bellweather Rhapsody. Not only did the plot sound delightful (or as delightful as a murder/suicide can be), but then to be thrown references to The Shining and Agatha Christie! Unfortunately, when all was said and done, I felt this novel relied too much on those references and lacked its own spark. Take away Jack Nicholson and all that's left is a book with many, many (too many!) characters and far-reaching aspirations it can't quite attain.
In its heyday, the Bellweather hotel was THE place to be. Its rooms were constantly rotating with girlfriends and wives - never at the same time! - and every day was a party. Fifteen years ago, however, a bride shot her husband and then hung herself. Since then the hotel has been in a slow state of decline, the only time its rooms are mostly full is once a year for Statewide, a high school music festival. Careers can be made at Statewide and the best musicians from across the country show up to put their talents on full display. This year, however, a girl goes missing - and no one's quite certain whether or not she's dead - and the events from fifteen years ago seem to be replaying once more.
I wasn't joking when I mentioned the sheer number of characters. Usually I follow a 'the more the merrier' adage when it comes to characters and storylines. Here, however, I had a hard time keeping them straight and in one case didn't figure out two characters were completely different people until 100 pages from the end. While I'm not entirely blameless, I do think the novel suffered for not having clear-cut characters: readers shouldn't be confused as to who's who. In my case, I was thoroughly convinced Minnie's sister/brother-in-law was the couple from fifteen years ago; they were all at the Bellweather for the wedding and it was Minnie who discovered the bodies. Imagine my surprise then when Minnie's reintroduced over one hundred pages later with her family alive and well. There was simply too much to keep straight; characters and storylines that were mentioned in the beginning of the novel were completely forgotten about by the time the ending rolled around.
I felt Bellweather Rhapsody tried too hard to be too many things and tackle too many topics: Rabbit's sexuality was the focus of his chapters from the get-go - he's decided to come out to his sister - and by the time the climax rolls around, it's SO anti-climatic that I wasn't sure what the point was the begin with. In a single throw-away remark April mentions she knows he's gay and that's that. The entire book was spent waxing poetic about the boys he's crushed on in the past, the moment he realized he was different, what will his parents say!, there's a cute boy at Statewide and Rabbit's ready for a new beginning...it all culminated into one whispered question and then never brought up again.
There's a Scottish conductor who was once a prodigy until he lost three fingers in a barfight, a former prodigy who grew up to be evil incarnate and has groomed her prodigy of a daughter to be the best, a chaperone who had once loved music and carries a world of guilt on her shoulders, the hotel concierge who's slowly losing touch with reality - the list goes on. I honestly enjoyed these characters and their stories - I especially liked Fisher and Rabbit - but the focus quickly blurred toward the end to the point where I truly have no idea if certain characters even existed or if certain scenes ever happened. Perhaps that was the point of the novel and I missed it entirely. That said, when it comes to mysteries I like - and expect! - clear-cut answers and, sadly, Bellweather Rhapsody failed to deliver.
I don't want to give the impression that the novel was all bad - it certainly wasn't! When it was good it was great and I was thoroughly ensnared. Unfortunately, those moments of brilliance were dampened by the multitude of narratives and plot points and readers should never be confused. I'm positive Bellweather Rhapsody will find its audience - I wanted so badly to love it! - but it just wasn't for me. This year I took a long look at publishers and which imprints work for me. When it comes to Houghton Mifflin, I tend to enjoy their Young Adult novels far more than Adult, and Bellweather Rhapsody further proves my findings.
October 20, 2020
3.5 stars. I feel very silly saying this, but why did this book have to go and get a plot? I was enjoying myself so very much for the first hundred pages or so, even though they are all setup. Because it was nice spending time with these characters when stressful things are not constantly happening. The plot here just didn't do much for me, except to distract from the other things that I liked, and yes I know how strange it is for me, a plot person, to be saying this.
If you, like me, went to a region- or state-wide music thing where you were put up in a hotel with other teens and made the best music of your life, there is some very hard nostalgia here. (I went more than twice as only the most obnoxious people do, as the book extremely correctly notes, so clearly this hit me right in the gut.) Before the plot starts barging in, there is so much here that I related to and fell for about the way music can be such a huge part of your life as a teen in a way that it's extremely unlikely it will be as an adult. I feel those feels. The book is extremely shameless about it, even if it spends a bit too much time focusing on the "prodigies" instead of the above average music lovers like Alice and Rabbit.
I, a person who enjoys mysteries and horror, could have done entirely without the murder and missing people stuff. I would have been even happier if the book had been just the two very wholesome teen twins, and had no sociopathic evil mother/administrator at all. Some villains are just too villain-y to really work and this was one of them.
If it had just had less plot I would have liked it more than TUESDAY MOONEY, where I did not mind the plot nearly so much, though it still had a bit too much of it. I would love to see Racculia just living in her characters more because I am just so charmed by them and by her voice that that is the real feature.
If you, like me, went to a region- or state-wide music thing where you were put up in a hotel with other teens and made the best music of your life, there is some very hard nostalgia here. (I went more than twice as only the most obnoxious people do, as the book extremely correctly notes, so clearly this hit me right in the gut.) Before the plot starts barging in, there is so much here that I related to and fell for about the way music can be such a huge part of your life as a teen in a way that it's extremely unlikely it will be as an adult. I feel those feels. The book is extremely shameless about it, even if it spends a bit too much time focusing on the "prodigies" instead of the above average music lovers like Alice and Rabbit.
I, a person who enjoys mysteries and horror, could have done entirely without the murder and missing people stuff. I would have been even happier if the book had been just the two very wholesome teen twins, and had no sociopathic evil mother/administrator at all. Some villains are just too villain-y to really work and this was one of them.
If it had just had less plot I would have liked it more than TUESDAY MOONEY, where I did not mind the plot nearly so much, though it still had a bit too much of it. I would love to see Racculia just living in her characters more because I am just so charmed by them and by her voice that that is the real feature.
November 24, 2023
What a strange, beautiful, complicated little book.
I'm not sure how to summarize this book, since it had such a complex storyline. The POVs shifted constantly and at times I felt like I needed a diagram of the hotel and little pieces to represent the characters, so that I could move them around the board as the story played out. So often we'd switch back to one POV and I'd be like, "Oh shit, I totally forgot about them!"
It was like...a Wes Anderson setting mashed together with "Clue" or Agatha Christie and some 80s/90s nostalgia. Also: band geeks.
I want to leave my future self a little spoilery note to summarize the ending so I'd remember how it went....but there's too many moving pieces. I'll just say that near the very end, I realized something that made me go, "Wuh?" out loud followed by several other wordless exclamations of mind essplodedness as I finally made the connection. This made my husband yell, "What?" from another room and I had to shush him as I squinted my eyes shut in an effort to keep track of the revelations.
And that was just ONE of the intertwining threads of this story. There were many more. I think I might have to reread this someday in order to really appreciate the symphony of character connections that the author created here.
Anyway, this book was quite the trip. Generally recommended.
I'm not sure how to summarize this book, since it had such a complex storyline. The POVs shifted constantly and at times I felt like I needed a diagram of the hotel and little pieces to represent the characters, so that I could move them around the board as the story played out. So often we'd switch back to one POV and I'd be like, "Oh shit, I totally forgot about them!"
It was like...a Wes Anderson setting mashed together with "Clue" or Agatha Christie and some 80s/90s nostalgia. Also: band geeks.
I want to leave my future self a little spoilery note to summarize the ending so I'd remember how it went....but there's too many moving pieces. I'll just say that near the very end, I realized something that made me go, "Wuh?" out loud followed by several other wordless exclamations of mind essplodedness as I finally made the connection. This made my husband yell, "What?" from another room and I had to shush him as I squinted my eyes shut in an effort to keep track of the revelations.
And that was just ONE of the intertwining threads of this story. There were many more. I think I might have to reread this someday in order to really appreciate the symphony of character connections that the author created here.
Anyway, this book was quite the trip. Generally recommended.
May 15, 2014
This is a literary mystery for music lovers: right up my alley. Set at a New York state music festival in a haunted hotel, the plot twists like a crooked river through murder, grief, and longing. The characters are rich and multidimensional, the language exquisite, and some of the scenes are sublime: Natalie, one of my favorite characters, appears in most of them. I don't want to give it away, but see if you care for her as much as I did. My other favorite character, of course, is shy bassoonist Rabbit Hatmaker, who guards his secrets but allows himself to speak through his instrument. (For those who didn't know, I am also a bassoonist.)
Kate Racculia is a delight. She wrote one of my favorite books, This Must Be The Place, and when I realized I had a contact at her publisher, I asked to interview her on my podcast. At the time, I wished I had been able to finish the book (a toddler and exhaustion got in the way). But now, I'm glad I hadn't quite gotten there. She dropped some hints that foreshadowed the ending, not enough to give it away, but just enough to make it feel like I was a sleuth myself, piecing the puzzle together.
If you're interested, the podcast link is here: http://www.abcbookreview.com/an-inter...
Kate Racculia is a delight. She wrote one of my favorite books, This Must Be The Place, and when I realized I had a contact at her publisher, I asked to interview her on my podcast. At the time, I wished I had been able to finish the book (a toddler and exhaustion got in the way). But now, I'm glad I hadn't quite gotten there. She dropped some hints that foreshadowed the ending, not enough to give it away, but just enough to make it feel like I was a sleuth myself, piecing the puzzle together.
If you're interested, the podcast link is here: http://www.abcbookreview.com/an-inter...
May 22, 2014
What a delightful book.
In the spirit of Kate Atkinson, another Kate--Kate Racculia, this time -- has disguised her rich buoyant drama as a mystery. But what it really is is an intricate (and life affirming) analysis of broken people scrabbling to make themselves whole again...mixed with a few dead bodies.
Whoa. That doesn't sound very fun...
But man, it is. It's also very funny, tragic, creepy, exhilarating, and ultimately radiant. I mean, I really dug Racculia's story.
The backdrop is a high school music festival taking place in a spooky hotel. The characters include: a pair of precocious twins, their music teacher chaperone who is hiding demons from her past, a disfigured orchestra conductor, a mentally fragile woman who witnessed a horrible murder/suicide when she was young, and more. Each character carries heavy baggage and for a while I was worried that the story would collapse under all these back stories. Everyone is damaged and on occasion I would think--isn't there a single person in here that is somewhat well-adjusted?
But Racculia is able to juggle all the different story lines--she is not just keeping these balls in the air, but weaving the stories, connecting the characters, and springing twisty surprises.
This is a quick read, very fun but holding surprising depths. The mystery, while taking a back seat to the wonderful characters, keeps the story driving and ultimately ends in a satisfying (and emotional) conclusion.
In the spirit of Kate Atkinson, another Kate--Kate Racculia, this time -- has disguised her rich buoyant drama as a mystery. But what it really is is an intricate (and life affirming) analysis of broken people scrabbling to make themselves whole again...mixed with a few dead bodies.
Whoa. That doesn't sound very fun...
But man, it is. It's also very funny, tragic, creepy, exhilarating, and ultimately radiant. I mean, I really dug Racculia's story.
The backdrop is a high school music festival taking place in a spooky hotel. The characters include: a pair of precocious twins, their music teacher chaperone who is hiding demons from her past, a disfigured orchestra conductor, a mentally fragile woman who witnessed a horrible murder/suicide when she was young, and more. Each character carries heavy baggage and for a while I was worried that the story would collapse under all these back stories. Everyone is damaged and on occasion I would think--isn't there a single person in here that is somewhat well-adjusted?
But Racculia is able to juggle all the different story lines--she is not just keeping these balls in the air, but weaving the stories, connecting the characters, and springing twisty surprises.
This is a quick read, very fun but holding surprising depths. The mystery, while taking a back seat to the wonderful characters, keeps the story driving and ultimately ends in a satisfying (and emotional) conclusion.
January 24, 2016
Beatrice the Bassoon, Bonnie the Badass Motorbike, Auggie the Corgi Dog. These are some of the beloved transitional objects that help some of the main players in this dramedy endure some kind of personal trial or tragedy. I mention these up front because, if nothing else, I want to make sure to point out that this book really has heart. There is a warmth, emotion, and passion in this unusual novel that, though it was not my usual cup of tea, won me over, led me to care about the characters (and their transitional objects/tragedies/trials), left me moved in the end, and led me to bump it up to a 4 from a 3.5 rating.
What other reviews indicate is correct: if the three witches in Macbeth were brewing up this book in their kettle, they'd be adding ingredients like DVD of The Shining, VHS of 101 Dalmations, Collected Works of Agatha Christie, and DVR containing the entire run of Glee. This isn't a bad thing; the book, um, "gleefully" nods to all its pop culture sources and synthesizes them into something pretty new. I compare some books to Wes Anderson films sometimes - for me, this is always a compliment - and I'd make that comparison here too. There are exotic mouldering old sets (lots of retro 80s and 90s goodness) and eccentric characters. There are themes of being an orphan, a prodigy, a conspirator, an heir or protégée, a young old soul, of sexual awakening and adolescence, of curses and fortune telling, of parent/child (or sibling) separation and reunion.
Another success of this book is that several of its intricate plot threads lead to an authentic surprise (at least for me). There were some little twists and turns and character-related revelations that I truly didn't expect, and this was fun. I also appreciated this book for being a totally different type of novel about adolescent characters than the kind of crap we often see lately.
All those positive words being said - the book IS pretty wacky, an acquired taste for sure. Reading this book for me was akin to the experience of going to see a ballet for the first time - say, a trippier ballet, like The Nutcracker - as an adult, and as an adult who doesn't like ballet. But it happens to be, like, the top, Top performance of The Nutcracker, and despite the weirdness and unfamiliarity, you are still able to discern that. So at the end, you're like, "OK. That was kind of effed up, and perhaps not really to my liking, but nonetheless: Bravo."
Or - Put another way - I'm not a fan of classical music, but I put it on for my own dog during thunderstorms, and although I often find it annoying to listen to, I still often think, "Wow. Respect." This book was not annoying to me, but it was more like a feat of unique skill that I respected rather than something I exactly enjoyed. (If you do enjoy classical music, you may truly love this book; music is central and there are many powerful descriptions of the passion involved in hearing, playing, and conducting music.)
So why not a higher rating? Well, for me, one of the primary flaws was a particularly Cruella de Ville caricature of a villain who is pretty important to the plot. This villain is supposed to be a total sociopath, and this novel is not exactly a work of realism, but nonetheless, this character was still too simultaneously flat and exaggerated and just didn't work for me. Also, as I said, the book is a little heavily plotted for my taste (although well and impressively executed) and dragged on for a touch too long at the end, with a finale that gets pretty histrionic (again, think of classical music, perhaps at its more over the top moments - like Bugs Bunny singing opera in drag).
But despite its lack of subtlety, the book was heartwarming, vivid, creative, well written, and an overall entertaining diversion from the typical. Kate Racculia can write, and I'm not sorry at all that I read this!
What other reviews indicate is correct: if the three witches in Macbeth were brewing up this book in their kettle, they'd be adding ingredients like DVD of The Shining, VHS of 101 Dalmations, Collected Works of Agatha Christie, and DVR containing the entire run of Glee. This isn't a bad thing; the book, um, "gleefully" nods to all its pop culture sources and synthesizes them into something pretty new. I compare some books to Wes Anderson films sometimes - for me, this is always a compliment - and I'd make that comparison here too. There are exotic mouldering old sets (lots of retro 80s and 90s goodness) and eccentric characters. There are themes of being an orphan, a prodigy, a conspirator, an heir or protégée, a young old soul, of sexual awakening and adolescence, of curses and fortune telling, of parent/child (or sibling) separation and reunion.
Another success of this book is that several of its intricate plot threads lead to an authentic surprise (at least for me). There were some little twists and turns and character-related revelations that I truly didn't expect, and this was fun. I also appreciated this book for being a totally different type of novel about adolescent characters than the kind of crap we often see lately.
All those positive words being said - the book IS pretty wacky, an acquired taste for sure. Reading this book for me was akin to the experience of going to see a ballet for the first time - say, a trippier ballet, like The Nutcracker - as an adult, and as an adult who doesn't like ballet. But it happens to be, like, the top, Top performance of The Nutcracker, and despite the weirdness and unfamiliarity, you are still able to discern that. So at the end, you're like, "OK. That was kind of effed up, and perhaps not really to my liking, but nonetheless: Bravo."
Or - Put another way - I'm not a fan of classical music, but I put it on for my own dog during thunderstorms, and although I often find it annoying to listen to, I still often think, "Wow. Respect." This book was not annoying to me, but it was more like a feat of unique skill that I respected rather than something I exactly enjoyed. (If you do enjoy classical music, you may truly love this book; music is central and there are many powerful descriptions of the passion involved in hearing, playing, and conducting music.)
So why not a higher rating? Well, for me, one of the primary flaws was a particularly Cruella de Ville caricature of a villain who is pretty important to the plot. This villain is supposed to be a total sociopath, and this novel is not exactly a work of realism, but nonetheless, this character was still too simultaneously flat and exaggerated and just didn't work for me. Also, as I said, the book is a little heavily plotted for my taste (although well and impressively executed) and dragged on for a touch too long at the end, with a finale that gets pretty histrionic (again, think of classical music, perhaps at its more over the top moments - like Bugs Bunny singing opera in drag).
But despite its lack of subtlety, the book was heartwarming, vivid, creative, well written, and an overall entertaining diversion from the typical. Kate Racculia can write, and I'm not sorry at all that I read this!
January 8, 2015
The only reason why this book is deserving of a two was because of the initial pages. I enjoyed reading through a twelve year old perspective over her older sister getting married,sadly that was the only thing interesting about this novel. It quickly went downhill with the sloppy consistency, resulting in me not caring one way or the other, how the book ended up. My problem with books like this is an author would start off really great, then somehow they go off course, describing something that is completely irrelevant to the plot or even subplot. I really wanted to keep reading but after the third pointless character without any development, I gave up all together.
Note to authors: Please develop the current characters and have a good story before adding in unnecessary stories that fails to catch my interest.
NEXT!
Note to authors: Please develop the current characters and have a good story before adding in unnecessary stories that fails to catch my interest.
NEXT!
June 28, 2014
I never quite knew where this book was going or what it was trying to be. But somehow, in the end, I liked it a lot and gave it a 4. It opened the world of music prodigies to me, with a murder and a scary hotel thrown in. The characters were very engaging, if not a little over the top; and although, at times it seemed to go in a variety of directions, it kept my interest. Not all good books are perfect. This was one of them. We meet the twin prodigies, Rabbit and Alice, chaperone Natalie, conductor Fisher Brodie, crazy Minnie, evil Viola and last but not least, Mr. Hastings, the concierge. They all come together on a few snowy evenings at the Bellweather hotel in upstate NY to entertain us in this dark comedy that some will not like, but many others will.
December 30, 2022
A quirky read, that had me hooked from the start.
I loved it's insider references, it's sly movie jokes and music puns and think Rabbit Hatmaker is my new favourite book character.
A snow storm, a high school music event taking place in an old hotel that's seen better days and murder what more could I ask for?
I loved it's insider references, it's sly movie jokes and music puns and think Rabbit Hatmaker is my new favourite book character.
A snow storm, a high school music event taking place in an old hotel that's seen better days and murder what more could I ask for?
September 12, 2014
This was really more like a 3.8, rounded up.
Ever read a book that sounds like it's JUST for you, plus you love the voice of the author, but the story itself was a little disappointing? I expected to lovelovelove Bellweather Rhapsody and instead I just liked it a lot (maybe a case of expectations elevated too high?), though I would definitely read more by Racculia and nearly swooned with this line in the Acknowledgments section, "And last, but not least: thank you, Ellen Ermingard Raskin for showing a weird little girl who loved to read that other people were full of such strange and beautiful mysteries" (and she names a character after Raskin. Forget the above, this alone was totally worth the fourth star).
There are a number of main characters, so I won't try to describe them all, but the story centers around brother/sister twins, a teenage flute prodigy and her horrific mother, a shadowy figure from the hotel's past (and her dog), the twins' chaperone for the weekend, the orchestra conductor and the hotel's concierge - they are all snowed in at the Bellweather (think a downmarket Overbrook hotel, moved to the Catskills) and there's a murder mystery. Or more than one. Or none. There are some truly lovely passages about music and musical prodigies, "Alice wonders if anyone has ever tended Jill, in any way, and if her intelligent ferocity is what happens when a girl has had to teach herself to be human" as well as perfect encapsulations of our time, "Rabbit's parents, lapsed Protestants had managed to pass along the big-ticket ideas of Christianity, but, practically speaking, Rabbit had learned Judeo-Christian history from the school of Indiana Jones. Bambi's mother taught him about loss, and he was too in love with dinosaurs to entertain the idea of a literal seven-day Creation schedule. Charlie Brown (or, rather, Linus) told him the Christmas story; Jesus Christ Superstar covered the crucifixion. He did not regret his secular education. He may have been baptized Presbyterian, but music was his true religion." LOVE.
Like Ellen Raskin and nearly cozy-mysteries with a little bit more heft? Love stories where music is the religion and with great characters? Definitely worth your time.
Ever read a book that sounds like it's JUST for you, plus you love the voice of the author, but the story itself was a little disappointing? I expected to lovelovelove Bellweather Rhapsody and instead I just liked it a lot (maybe a case of expectations elevated too high?), though I would definitely read more by Racculia and nearly swooned with this line in the Acknowledgments section, "And last, but not least: thank you, Ellen Ermingard Raskin for showing a weird little girl who loved to read that other people were full of such strange and beautiful mysteries" (and she names a character after Raskin. Forget the above, this alone was totally worth the fourth star).
There are a number of main characters, so I won't try to describe them all, but the story centers around brother/sister twins, a teenage flute prodigy and her horrific mother, a shadowy figure from the hotel's past (and her dog), the twins' chaperone for the weekend, the orchestra conductor and the hotel's concierge - they are all snowed in at the Bellweather (think a downmarket Overbrook hotel, moved to the Catskills) and there's a murder mystery. Or more than one. Or none. There are some truly lovely passages about music and musical prodigies, "Alice wonders if anyone has ever tended Jill, in any way, and if her intelligent ferocity is what happens when a girl has had to teach herself to be human" as well as perfect encapsulations of our time, "Rabbit's parents, lapsed Protestants had managed to pass along the big-ticket ideas of Christianity, but, practically speaking, Rabbit had learned Judeo-Christian history from the school of Indiana Jones. Bambi's mother taught him about loss, and he was too in love with dinosaurs to entertain the idea of a literal seven-day Creation schedule. Charlie Brown (or, rather, Linus) told him the Christmas story; Jesus Christ Superstar covered the crucifixion. He did not regret his secular education. He may have been baptized Presbyterian, but music was his true religion." LOVE.
Like Ellen Raskin and nearly cozy-mysteries with a little bit more heft? Love stories where music is the religion and with great characters? Definitely worth your time.
December 31, 2014
There's a lot I didn't like about this book, but I will use this review to request that authors STOP USING SONG LYRICS in the place of actual characterization and development of setting or mood. Your book is not a mixtape.
August 30, 2014
I read this book based on very favorable reviews. It seems to have a lot of fans. I'm not one of them.
February 4, 2024
"𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐚𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐨𝐨𝐧, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐭 𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬. 𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐚𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐨𝐨𝐧 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐬𝐨 𝐦𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐛𝐞𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐨 𝐦𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞."
Roman koji se čita kao da je u pitanju comfort movie iz devedesetih ili kao film koji bi snimio Wes Anderson uz soundtrack koji čine David Bowie i The Smashing Pumpkins. 🥞
Upoznajemo se sa dosta quirky likova čiji životi se prepliću u hotelu tokom muzičkog događaja na kome nastupaju najtalentovaniji srednjoškolci iz cele države. 🏤🎻
Prošlost hotela je obeležena jednim tragičnim događajem, a petnaest godina kasnije se dešava nešto slično i to u istoj sobi. 🛎
Misterija nije zapravo ono glavno, mnogo više pažnje je posvećeno životima likova koji će nas opčiniti i dotaći. Zaista osvežavajuće štivo koje se ne nalazi često. 🧁
Roman koji se čita kao da je u pitanju comfort movie iz devedesetih ili kao film koji bi snimio Wes Anderson uz soundtrack koji čine David Bowie i The Smashing Pumpkins. 🥞
Upoznajemo se sa dosta quirky likova čiji životi se prepliću u hotelu tokom muzičkog događaja na kome nastupaju najtalentovaniji srednjoškolci iz cele države. 🏤🎻
Prošlost hotela je obeležena jednim tragičnim događajem, a petnaest godina kasnije se dešava nešto slično i to u istoj sobi. 🛎
Misterija nije zapravo ono glavno, mnogo više pažnje je posvećeno životima likova koji će nas opčiniti i dotaći. Zaista osvežavajuće štivo koje se ne nalazi često. 🧁
July 31, 2019
This is the type of book I wish I’d written.
December 31, 2023
3.5⭐️ rounding up!! last read of 2023 <3
April 24, 2017
The writing in this was crazy good, really beautiful and magical with a great story behind it. The characters all felt very genuine, and I enjoyed the resolution of the mystery. I finished reading it before bed, and this morning, I still feel a lovely bittersweet ache from it.
May 24, 2017
Twin brother and sister, Alice and Rabbit Hatmaker, are two of the chosen few who have proven themselves worthy to attend the annual Association for School Music festival. The event is held at the Bellweather Hotel, in upstate New York, also the site of a tragic murder-suicide fifteen years ago.
I wasn't sure what to expect from this novel, it starts out a little different from most books. The story is a little dark and creepy but it's also very nuanced and realistic. The author has assembled a rich and multifaceted cast of characters with interesting connections to one another.
I savored reading this, enjoying the way the story unfolded with the past layered upon the present. I was always a little worried that the author would take the story too far to continue to appeal to my limited ability to suspend disbelief. But I was pleasantly surprised and so pleased she never did.
I also enjoyed the many upstate references and the humorous little play on names, the Eastman School of Music being renamed to 'Westing', Fredonia being vaguely referred to as Freedom...something. I wondered if the Bellweather was supposed to be Bellhurst but the geography wasn't right. Maybe it's silly but I do like reading books that are set in my neck of the woods and refer to places I know. I think it creates a familiarity that lends itself to fondness for the setting.
I'm so glad I picked this up at my local friends of the library book sale this fall. I had it on my (nearly endless) list of books to read and didn't really remember being especially enthusiastic when I added it to the list. This is one of those books...the ones I would have snatched up right away if I only had my special bibliophile Geiger counter to tell me which books I will love. This is going on my keeper shelf. If you like ghosty, dark and twisty you might want to add it to your list and give it a try.
read December 6 - December 12, 2016
listened to audio book May 19 - May 24, 2017
I wasn't sure what to expect from this novel, it starts out a little different from most books. The story is a little dark and creepy but it's also very nuanced and realistic. The author has assembled a rich and multifaceted cast of characters with interesting connections to one another.
I savored reading this, enjoying the way the story unfolded with the past layered upon the present. I was always a little worried that the author would take the story too far to continue to appeal to my limited ability to suspend disbelief. But I was pleasantly surprised and so pleased she never did.
I also enjoyed the many upstate references and the humorous little play on names, the Eastman School of Music being renamed to 'Westing', Fredonia being vaguely referred to as Freedom...something. I wondered if the Bellweather was supposed to be Bellhurst but the geography wasn't right. Maybe it's silly but I do like reading books that are set in my neck of the woods and refer to places I know. I think it creates a familiarity that lends itself to fondness for the setting.
I'm so glad I picked this up at my local friends of the library book sale this fall. I had it on my (nearly endless) list of books to read and didn't really remember being especially enthusiastic when I added it to the list. This is one of those books...the ones I would have snatched up right away if I only had my special bibliophile Geiger counter to tell me which books I will love. This is going on my keeper shelf. If you like ghosty, dark and twisty you might want to add it to your list and give it a try.
read December 6 - December 12, 2016
listened to audio book May 19 - May 24, 2017
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