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The Travelling Hornplayer
Stunning and difficult, Stella Goldman is programmed for maximum nuisance capacity, but when she discovers both her father's affair and her boyfriend's infidelity on the same day, she flees into the arms of kindly Pen, who speaks as though he's stepped out of Brief Encounter .
Meanwhile, her friend Ellen struggles to come to terms with the death of her sister, Lydia, whose ghost haunts not only her and her father Roland, but the beloved Goldmans (from Brother of the More Famous Jack ), too. Along with eccentric professors, wicked monks, and the titular travelling hornplayer, their lives collide in a breathtaking finale.
Meanwhile, her friend Ellen struggles to come to terms with the death of her sister, Lydia, whose ghost haunts not only her and her father Roland, but the beloved Goldmans (from Brother of the More Famous Jack ), too. Along with eccentric professors, wicked monks, and the titular travelling hornplayer, their lives collide in a breathtaking finale.
272 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1998
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 134 reviews
April 4, 2015
Trapido's such a brilliant and wonderful and readable writer that I could almost overlook the lackluster plot and its ten million unbelievable coincidences. Almost.
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March 13, 2017The Travelling Hornplayer is typical of Trapido’s style and approach. She is particularly good at showing how people’s lives are inextricably linked and the reverberations one character’s actions can have on so many disparate people. Here, we observe how the tragic death of 17-year-old Lydia Dent impacts on all those who have come into contact with her, however tangentially.
For me this isn’t one of her best books, as the plot is just a little too contrived, as is the set-piece ending. There are just too many characters, not all of them totally successful. But all Trapido’s hallmarks are in evidence here and it is, in spite of its faults, a good read.
For me this isn’t one of her best books, as the plot is just a little too contrived, as is the set-piece ending. There are just too many characters, not all of them totally successful. But all Trapido’s hallmarks are in evidence here and it is, in spite of its faults, a good read.
May 3, 2021
Hmm. Disappointing. Very much a product of it's time (late nineties).
This read very much like a Richard Curtis film, with multiple characters and storylines interweaving, propelling towards an inevitable finale. However, while in Love Actually the comedy allows you to overlook the unbelievable coincidences and the upper-middle-class pompousness of the characters, in this book it just didn't work. The mood of the book was too serious, making the coincidences feel contrived. I disliked almost all of the characters, despite there being evidence in the prose that we are meant to like some of them.
The book also felt rather dated/tone deaf on the subject of prominent current events at the time (which I won't reveal as it is a major spoiler).
There was also some intertextuality involving Wilhelm Müller which I felt was meant to be integral to our understanding of the story. Instead it felt only partially considered by the author and oftentimes irrelevant.
This read very much like a Richard Curtis film, with multiple characters and storylines interweaving, propelling towards an inevitable finale. However, while in Love Actually the comedy allows you to overlook the unbelievable coincidences and the upper-middle-class pompousness of the characters, in this book it just didn't work. The mood of the book was too serious, making the coincidences feel contrived. I disliked almost all of the characters, despite there being evidence in the prose that we are meant to like some of them.
The book also felt rather dated/tone deaf on the subject of prominent current events at the time (which I won't reveal as it is a major spoiler).
There was also some intertextuality involving Wilhelm Müller which I felt was meant to be integral to our understanding of the story. Instead it felt only partially considered by the author and oftentimes irrelevant.
April 3, 2021
I hadn't read any Barbara trapido but recently on podcasts had heard her praised very highly so came to thi book uncertain about whether it would live up to expectations however it ticked a lot of boxes for books I enjoy, that is middle class English family dramas where lives interconnect.
Here we open by meeting sisters Lydia and Ellen, who are separated by a year and appear to have a perfect life with their widowed father and later a lovely step mother, gigglers all of life is in front of them however events at the end of the chapter allow us to move into the life of Stella and her family and friends with dramatic twists and turns before a wonderfully crafted ending.
I was totally absorbed by the characters and I cannot resist a coincidence if it is well done but perhaps best of all is knowing there are other books in which some of the characters are portrayed so lots of great reading to find.
Here we open by meeting sisters Lydia and Ellen, who are separated by a year and appear to have a perfect life with their widowed father and later a lovely step mother, gigglers all of life is in front of them however events at the end of the chapter allow us to move into the life of Stella and her family and friends with dramatic twists and turns before a wonderfully crafted ending.
I was totally absorbed by the characters and I cannot resist a coincidence if it is well done but perhaps best of all is knowing there are other books in which some of the characters are portrayed so lots of great reading to find.
February 25, 2023
I came late to the wonderful novels of Barbara Trapido, but I’m glad that I discovered them in the end. They are so full of life, exuberantly complex and multi stranded that they are the very exemplars of that hackneyed word ‘unputdownable’. The Travelling Hornplayer is a case in point. Featuring a large cast of brilliantly drawn characters (some of whom we’ve ready met in another of her books), a plot as intricate as a Chinese puzzle and a story told from multiple viewpoints (none of which sees the whole picture) and a final chapter in which all these disparate strands lock together to form a complete and satisfying resolution, it is a novel that leaves the reader in awe of the surprising possibilities of realist fiction. Combining tragedy, comedy and a sharply observant wit in equal measure, The Travelling Hornplayer is a richly entertaining and provocative novel.
September 14, 2024
Not entirely sure what to make of this one. Trapido’s prose is typically fantastic, her characters vivid as ever, but the whole picture is pretty inelegant. I feel like she's at her best writing wry familial repartee; the Goldman house was easily the highlight in Brother of The More Famous Jack, and here we see a glimpse of that same magic between Ellen and Lydia in the opening (“‘Godmother?’ Liddie said. ‘Will The Novelist mind floor scrapings in his carrot cake?’”) but scarcely anywhere else.
At times her writing is still just lightning. I consider page 140 to be basically perfect. Can't help feeling that this spaghetti plot isn't totally deserving of it, though. Kill Izzy with a hammer.
At times her writing is still just lightning. I consider page 140 to be basically perfect. Can't help feeling that this spaghetti plot isn't totally deserving of it, though. Kill Izzy with a hammer.
April 27, 2024
The Travelling Hornplayer is the last book in what I would call an unofficial series. It's a direct sequel to Brother of the More Famous Jack, revisiting Katherine and Jonathan after we left them in wedded bliss in Ireland, but also brings back some characters from Juggling, the unsuccessful sequel to Temples of Delight. Confused? You needn't be because their stories are told in such a way that you don't need any background knowledge.
The book opens with Ellen, preparing for an interview for graduate research at Oxford, seeing the ghost of her sister Lydia. Hers is the first authorial voice. Lydia was killed outside the London flat of Jonathan Goldman, the second narrator, who shows us what happens after the happy ending of BOTMFJ. Stella, our third narrator, is Jonathan and Katherine's daughter, whose life falls apart on the same day that Lydia is killed.
The Travelling Hornplayer revisits many of Trapido's favourite themes - running away from parents, unwanted pregnancy, mother-daughter relationships, large age differences in relationships, and coincidence and serendipity. It's a much more successful book than Juggling because it's not trying to do too much, so can really give its characters breathing space. Ellen's tale of grief is beautifully told and had me choking up on the train, even though I've read it several times before. The one bum note, for me, is Stella's relationship with Izzy, which seems at times to be quasi-abusive. Overall though it's a welcome return to form, and a satisfying - if somewhat open-ended - conclusion to the series.
The book opens with Ellen, preparing for an interview for graduate research at Oxford, seeing the ghost of her sister Lydia. Hers is the first authorial voice. Lydia was killed outside the London flat of Jonathan Goldman, the second narrator, who shows us what happens after the happy ending of BOTMFJ. Stella, our third narrator, is Jonathan and Katherine's daughter, whose life falls apart on the same day that Lydia is killed.
The Travelling Hornplayer revisits many of Trapido's favourite themes - running away from parents, unwanted pregnancy, mother-daughter relationships, large age differences in relationships, and coincidence and serendipity. It's a much more successful book than Juggling because it's not trying to do too much, so can really give its characters breathing space. Ellen's tale of grief is beautifully told and had me choking up on the train, even though I've read it several times before. The one bum note, for me, is Stella's relationship with Izzy, which seems at times to be quasi-abusive. Overall though it's a welcome return to form, and a satisfying - if somewhat open-ended - conclusion to the series.
July 20, 2009
This book was recommended highly by two friends so I suggested it to my book club for June's book. Turns out to have been a big winner as every single person who read it loved it! The novel's central vehicle is the death of a character who we never actually meet alive. Each of the other narrative voices is in some way connected to this character and/or her death. The novel is alternately funny and achingly sad and the different perspectives of the characters make for interesting reading. We get to see characters from multiple points of view and from their own. The best thing someone in my book group said was "Did anyone notice that she managed to write a 500 page novel in under 250 pages?" I plan to read all of Trapido's books.
January 3, 2024
4.5? I really loved this—at points, Trapido’s eccentric details and intense characterizations (my favorite things about her writing) grated on me because there was so much of both. This excess is also, paradoxically, my favorite thing about the book. Hornplayer’s detailed characters and coincidence-driven plot complement to make the work both tragi-comic Shakespearean and absolute and unapologetic Barbara Trapido CAMP. Here for it👯♀️
May 11, 2017
Barbara Trapido's writing is delicious and smart and this is a fine read that just utterly falls apart at the end. She gets a bit drunk on her admittedly VERY impressive ability to deftly sketch characters and masterfully intertwine their lives. Still read it though, just don't feel bad if you bail before the end because you might be better off imagining it winds up better than it does.
July 28, 2011
Just loved it. I am hooked on this author. How has it taken me so long to discover her?
December 18, 2021
Huge potential of this book with hilarious character-building and great style is dashed by an oddly handled HIV storyline, never-again mentioned child abuse and a confusing litany of characters whose names begin with ‘S’.
August 29, 2022
Very enjoyable. I am looking forward to reading more of Trapido’s novels.
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July 5, 2017This slender novel has sparkling prose, and what I am coming to see as Trapido's trademark wit. For me, the plot dilemma was that
Trapido introduces the utterly enchanting Lydia (whose death starts the novel) and Ellen, and the equally absorbing relationship between their father and stepmother-- only to switch gears to distinctly less interesting (and often irritating) character of Stella. I kept hoping to hear more about Ellen, and less about Stella.
Trapido introduces the utterly enchanting Lydia (whose death starts the novel) and Ellen, and the equally absorbing relationship between their father and stepmother-- only to switch gears to distinctly less interesting (and often irritating) character of Stella. I kept hoping to hear more about Ellen, and less about Stella.
March 30, 2012
I enjoyed this book at the start and thought that parts were well versed and well written. I had not quite finished reading when I went to book group and after the discussion there, and my utter and total disbelief surrounding the intersecting consequences which wrapped up the novel, I have to say, this is a very weak 3.Disappointing.
August 17, 2011
Easy reading, might be confusing at times as the story was narrated by different character in a chapter.....storyline is alright though not much character development along the way.. I was a little dissappointed with the ending of the book
July 7, 2014
An ok read......
May 27, 2019
Another perfect book from Barbara Trapido. The culmination of all the stories. I will sorely miss how dozens of lives intersect and affect each other - the good, the bad, the beautiful, the ugly.
July 21, 2023
Astonishing how this book was a solid 5 star read till around 30% in, and I thought it might even replace 'Brother of the more famous Jack'( to which it's a sequel), as my faovurite Trapido. The decline in quality is...nearly awe inspiring. We start with meeting the delightful Lydia and ELlen Dent, sisters who live with their indulgent widower father. The relationship is excellently drawn, and recognisable to all girls who share that sort of relationship with their fathers. I loved a bit where they describe school stories to him, with their rather baroque punishments for transgressing schoolgirls: I still want to laugh when I think about this excellent bit, as they describe a girl forever unable to sing because she was a bit vain about singing well, another who loses use of her legs because, again, she's a bit vain about her sporting prowess, all AMericans being loud and obsessed with makeup. THe best part was that I could literally recognise which book each of these is from (they're all actually from books. THat is how unwittingly Gothic 50s schoolgirl books were). Their story intersects with Katherine and Jonathan GOldman's, when Jonathan is Lydia's lecturer. In typical Trapido style, the story spirals out from there to include several other characters. Unfortunately, none of the others match up to the wit and sparkle of the opening section. To my complete disappointment, we get none of Katherine's narrative, or what she thinks of her life. Trapido has (rather cynically, in my opinion), given Katherine and Jonathan a rather cliched storyline where Katherine is a devoted mother to a very sickly daughter, and Jonathan looks for his entertainment elsewhere. Unfortunately, it's in keeping with both their personalities from the first book but I had hoped Jonathan would have matured from that! I would have liked to have known Katherine's opinion of this, and why she doesn't kick Jonathan out of the house! The narrative then shifts to Stella, and goes downhill. Stella is not just unlikable, she's also deeply boring. She's not well-written at all and too much of her perspective drags down the book.Trapido then proceeds to throw in the kitchen sink at the plot-she could (almost) pull it off once, she fails miserably in this. THere's sexual assault ( yes, again), paedophilia, an HIV positive diagnosis ( that seems included merely to show readers that Trapido knew where it's at. It merely serves to show that Trapido had no clue or sensitivity). Stella, who is described as an almost dying child, suddenly seems in the most rude health. MOre irritatingly, as she likes to do in her later books, Trapido includes an unexpected pregnancy with the woman being saved by a rich man marrying her. It's so regressive that I can't believe the same writer wrote "Brother of the more famous Jack". It ends on another completely ridiculous note, but by then I was so irritated I couldn't muster up any more irritation!
October 8, 2025
The wit, erudition, and sparkling dialogue we've come to admire in Barbara Trapido’s earlier work, Brother of the More Famous Jack, are immediately evident in The Travelling Hornplayer. From the first chapters, Trapido once again delights us through her deft prose and intricate characterisation. Her three main narrators: Ellen, Jonathan, and Stella - each take a turn steering the narrative, revealing their quirks, strengths, and vulnerabilities in turn.
We are swept through their university years with vivid, sensory detail. Jonathan’s razor-sharp humour is a constant pleasure, while Ellen’s recollections of her sister Lydia are deeply moving. Stella, meanwhile, draws us into her emotional world with a complexity that is both compelling and - at times, confounding.
Yet, for all the book's stylistic richness, I found myself ultimately unsatisfied with how its narrative threads come together. Ellen’s and Jonathan’s arcs feel satisfying and complete. Stella’s, however, remains puzzlingly unresolved. By the end, I was left with a sense of confusion and frustration. Her character - so rich in potential - is at times frustratingly opaque, even contradictory.
Why would someone raised in such a deeply loving environment be so taken in by the feckless Izzy? Can a five-month relationship with such a boy truly leave her emotionally adrift for the remainder of the novel? Why does she remain blind to the genuine care offered by Pen? She displays immediate tenderness toward the young and playful Agatha, yet seems oddly cold and distant with her own daughter.
Despite her evident resilience - having weathered a difficult childhood and the challenges of figures like Sheila, Dragon Lady, and Grania — Stella appears overwhelmed by her father’s and boyfriend’s betrayal, trapped in a cycle of victimhood that doesn’t quite ring true. Her mother, in particular, has offered her unwavering love, yet Stella remains stuck in what Trapido calls “some curious neverland of commitment and denial.” Why would contacting her family “end the illusion”? As the novel accelerates toward its close, I found myself struggling to understand her. Why, in the end, does someone so clearly gifted - even brilliant - fail to fully grasp or grow from the emotional lessons before her?
The Travelling Hornplayer is undoubtedly rich in style and infused with Trapido’s signature charm. Yet despite its many strengths, it left me wanting more - especially from one of its most fascinating, yet frustrating, characters.
We are swept through their university years with vivid, sensory detail. Jonathan’s razor-sharp humour is a constant pleasure, while Ellen’s recollections of her sister Lydia are deeply moving. Stella, meanwhile, draws us into her emotional world with a complexity that is both compelling and - at times, confounding.
Yet, for all the book's stylistic richness, I found myself ultimately unsatisfied with how its narrative threads come together. Ellen’s and Jonathan’s arcs feel satisfying and complete. Stella’s, however, remains puzzlingly unresolved. By the end, I was left with a sense of confusion and frustration. Her character - so rich in potential - is at times frustratingly opaque, even contradictory.
Why would someone raised in such a deeply loving environment be so taken in by the feckless Izzy? Can a five-month relationship with such a boy truly leave her emotionally adrift for the remainder of the novel? Why does she remain blind to the genuine care offered by Pen? She displays immediate tenderness toward the young and playful Agatha, yet seems oddly cold and distant with her own daughter.
Despite her evident resilience - having weathered a difficult childhood and the challenges of figures like Sheila, Dragon Lady, and Grania — Stella appears overwhelmed by her father’s and boyfriend’s betrayal, trapped in a cycle of victimhood that doesn’t quite ring true. Her mother, in particular, has offered her unwavering love, yet Stella remains stuck in what Trapido calls “some curious neverland of commitment and denial.” Why would contacting her family “end the illusion”? As the novel accelerates toward its close, I found myself struggling to understand her. Why, in the end, does someone so clearly gifted - even brilliant - fail to fully grasp or grow from the emotional lessons before her?
The Travelling Hornplayer is undoubtedly rich in style and infused with Trapido’s signature charm. Yet despite its many strengths, it left me wanting more - especially from one of its most fascinating, yet frustrating, characters.
February 23, 2024
This was a 4-star read for me until one of my least favorite tropes happened (sex = death, boooooo!), but putting that aside, it was still very good. First off, I was thrilled when I realized that characters from Brother of the More Famous Jack were in this book, which is not at all clear from the jacket copy (sidenote: the book blurb is terrible and literally tells you nothing about the plot or tone of the book and should definitely be ignored) and also has me wondering if a) all of Trapido's books are interconnected and b) were the new-to-me characters in this book from other books? If so, I am strongly tempted to track down even more of Trapido's books...
On to the actual book: this is a book about relationships. Between sisters, husband and wife, mother an daughter, lovers and ex-lovers. Many of these shift and overlap and are messy and complicated. They also all whirl around a central figure and a death, even if they aren't fully aware of that themselves, which makes it a lovely and interesting story. Trapido is an excellent writer, balancing humor and tragedy in each character's story (particularly Jonathan's, though I admit to being partial to him in general because of his appearance in BotMFJ) and I liked the structure of the novel with shifting POVs from Ellen to Jonathan to Stella and then in reverse. It had a nice shape and made it feel like there was more closure than there actually was at the end.
Overall, I really enjoyed it and would have rated it higher except my personal distaste as a jaded reader of seeing women being punished for sex with either pregnancy or death. Take that out, and this was an excellent book.
On to the actual book: this is a book about relationships. Between sisters, husband and wife, mother an daughter, lovers and ex-lovers. Many of these shift and overlap and are messy and complicated. They also all whirl around a central figure and a death, even if they aren't fully aware of that themselves, which makes it a lovely and interesting story. Trapido is an excellent writer, balancing humor and tragedy in each character's story (particularly Jonathan's, though I admit to being partial to him in general because of his appearance in BotMFJ) and I liked the structure of the novel with shifting POVs from Ellen to Jonathan to Stella and then in reverse. It had a nice shape and made it feel like there was more closure than there actually was at the end.
Overall, I really enjoyed it and would have rated it higher except my personal distaste as a jaded reader of seeing women being punished for sex with either pregnancy or death. Take that out, and this was an excellent book.
January 3, 2018
The Traveling Hornplayer, Barbara Trapido
Another witty and captivating novel from Barbara Trapido. Here she intertwines biting satire and comedy and tragedy, to treat us to a charming, intelligent and moving story. The novel revolves around the death of teenager Lydia Dent. The story is told through the experiences of Lydia's elder sister Ellen, Jonathan, the writer Lydia sought help from on a paper she was writing, and Jonathan's college student daughter Stella. All of them are living through dramas of their own, unaware of how the death of Lydia has intertwined their lives or will connect their lives in totally unexpected ways. All tell this engaging, constantly funny and offbeat story from their own points of view, but serve to bring us to understand our shared experiences about love, bereavement, awakening sexuality, passion, marriage, friendship and making choices.
Thrown into the mix are British gentry foibles, intellectual snottiness, ineptitude, bad marriages, learning disabilities, helicopter parenting, and teen angst and we can't but help to admire the talent and power of this marvelous writer. Ordering the next one now.
Another witty and captivating novel from Barbara Trapido. Here she intertwines biting satire and comedy and tragedy, to treat us to a charming, intelligent and moving story. The novel revolves around the death of teenager Lydia Dent. The story is told through the experiences of Lydia's elder sister Ellen, Jonathan, the writer Lydia sought help from on a paper she was writing, and Jonathan's college student daughter Stella. All of them are living through dramas of their own, unaware of how the death of Lydia has intertwined their lives or will connect their lives in totally unexpected ways. All tell this engaging, constantly funny and offbeat story from their own points of view, but serve to bring us to understand our shared experiences about love, bereavement, awakening sexuality, passion, marriage, friendship and making choices.
Thrown into the mix are British gentry foibles, intellectual snottiness, ineptitude, bad marriages, learning disabilities, helicopter parenting, and teen angst and we can't but help to admire the talent and power of this marvelous writer. Ordering the next one now.
August 15, 2025
I enjoyed this book, but it is confusing because of its use of three different narrators and then an omniscient narrator to wrap things up. Set in 20th century London, Oxford, and Edinburgh, it features a large cast of characters whose lives all become interwoven. Perhaps in an effort to be 'realistic,' the author has made her characters intensely flawed--sometimes providing amusement, sometimes dislike. These are the three narrators: college student Ellen Dent has lost her beloved sister in a car accident, and has become grim and common-sensical as a result; Stella Goldman, also a college student, has multiple learning disabilities and is socially awkward, but she is an etherial beauty and an amazing cellist; Jonathan Goldman, her father, is an emotionally distant writer who is also an unfaithful husband. It is hard to like anyone here, but there are still moments that are gripping (or funny) because of their unexpectedness. The ending brings all the characters together at a climactic college dinner, which seems ridiculously theatrical, but offers some closure.
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March 9, 2022Babs Traps 5ever! Really trying to ration out Trapido's bibliography, but it's hard when a paper + a midterm turned my brain to pulp and made me incapable of reading anything besides her lovely, gentle, witty prose.
This is technically a sequel to Brother of the More Famous Jack, although I didn't realize that when I first picked it up. It's not as good as the BotMFJ (nor as good as the unparalleled Frankie & Stankie), but still pretty damn good with lots of food for thought re: how lives intertwine and affect each other. As other reviewers have noted, the novel's ending is abrupt and somewhat unsatisfactory, but I can't help but feel this was intentional and necessary -- if there had been a happy ending with all the loose ends neatly tied up into bows, the narrative would have ceased to be gentle but compelling and occasionally challenging and instead become saccharine and convenient.
This is technically a sequel to Brother of the More Famous Jack, although I didn't realize that when I first picked it up. It's not as good as the BotMFJ (nor as good as the unparalleled Frankie & Stankie), but still pretty damn good with lots of food for thought re: how lives intertwine and affect each other. As other reviewers have noted, the novel's ending is abrupt and somewhat unsatisfactory, but I can't help but feel this was intentional and necessary -- if there had been a happy ending with all the loose ends neatly tied up into bows, the narrative would have ceased to be gentle but compelling and occasionally challenging and instead become saccharine and convenient.
February 17, 2020
Book 9
The Travelling Hornplayer
Barbara Trapido
1998
4/5
This was fun, a bit confusing at times because there's a lot going on and there's a few characters whose names begin with S -Stella, Sonia, Sally-, but fun. It reminded me of those American novels that just zig zag all over the place, except that this one is set in England with short excursions into Edinburgh and rural Ireland. It's my first Barbara Trapido. She's good. This book tackles half a dozen lives, does drama and comedy, the young and the old, very well and is also rather subtle. It's about people trying to do the best they can with their lives, but life can be a bit strange and some things work and some don't, despite our hard work, our sacrifices, our mistakes, our good luck, bad luck, even our plain stupidity. Good fun.
The Travelling Hornplayer
Barbara Trapido
1998
4/5
This was fun, a bit confusing at times because there's a lot going on and there's a few characters whose names begin with S -Stella, Sonia, Sally-, but fun. It reminded me of those American novels that just zig zag all over the place, except that this one is set in England with short excursions into Edinburgh and rural Ireland. It's my first Barbara Trapido. She's good. This book tackles half a dozen lives, does drama and comedy, the young and the old, very well and is also rather subtle. It's about people trying to do the best they can with their lives, but life can be a bit strange and some things work and some don't, despite our hard work, our sacrifices, our mistakes, our good luck, bad luck, even our plain stupidity. Good fun.
October 27, 2021
Hard to know how to rate this book as I spent most of the time confusing the characters. Didn't help that 3 of them were called Stella, Sally and Sonia! It also had a very highbrow and somewhat confusing theme around the poems of Müller and Schiller. Add in to the mix that most characters (I think!) seemed to be related via a sort of God-mother's friend's type link, I ended up unable to work out who was supposed to know each other, who had upset each other, and why.... But I was intrigued and stuck with it. Great style of writing, just for me not one of Trapido's best.
May 24, 2022
3.5 stars
I read this straight after ‘brother Jack’ and was curious to see how Katherine and the Goldman family progressed. This book is 23 years old and that shows over sensitivity issues although not as much as the previous one. The language is less crude and the plot moves along at quite a pace. Lecherous men, motherhood, an unwanted pregnancy, HIV, academic life and a fair amount of sex all make for a decent read. I enjoyed it more than ‘brother Jack’ but the coincidences were a bit ridiculous.
I read this straight after ‘brother Jack’ and was curious to see how Katherine and the Goldman family progressed. This book is 23 years old and that shows over sensitivity issues although not as much as the previous one. The language is less crude and the plot moves along at quite a pace. Lecherous men, motherhood, an unwanted pregnancy, HIV, academic life and a fair amount of sex all make for a decent read. I enjoyed it more than ‘brother Jack’ but the coincidences were a bit ridiculous.
May 21, 2025
I thought I’d like this much more than I did. It was just chock-full of convenient coincidences, wholly contrived and unrealistic.
The chapters were written from the point of view of the primary characters, and mostly told in the first person, although in some cases they would switch from first- to third-person towards the end of the chapter which jarred a bit. None of the characters were even remotely likeable so it was difficult to have sympathy for any of them.
It was in the end horribly claustrophobic and unpleasant. Not one I’d recommend to a friend.
The chapters were written from the point of view of the primary characters, and mostly told in the first person, although in some cases they would switch from first- to third-person towards the end of the chapter which jarred a bit. None of the characters were even remotely likeable so it was difficult to have sympathy for any of them.
It was in the end horribly claustrophobic and unpleasant. Not one I’d recommend to a friend.
July 13, 2025
Barbara Trapido is criminally unknown and some of her books are very hard to find. This book is a sequel to the superior ‘Brother of the More Famous Jack’. ‘The Travelling Hornplayer’ has many of the qualities of its predecessor- believable dialogue and engaging characters. However, the plot loses credibility due to the sheer number of implausible coincidences. It’s very much a case of less would have been more. Nevertheless, Trapido’s style means the book is readable and it is enjoyable if you just accept the coincidences.
February 15, 2021
I was a bit lost in this book. Too many characters with the same first letter...S. Is this supposed to mean something. I enjoyed it, yes and no. At times it was just too busy with nonsensical things happening and I felt the story was all over the show. Maybe my frame of mind but yes, not the best book I've ever read. It was however my first of this author. I have another one waiting on the shelves so will give her another try.
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