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Overture
A beautifully written, strikingly accomplished debut novel about love, music, and the complex relationship between mothers and daughters —at once a captivating glimpse into lives lived passionately and a subtle exploration of the nature of genius, it is the perfect book for fans of Bel Canto and Amy and Isabelle .
Natasha Darsky is "the most famous violinist since Paganini." Bow in hand, she lights an erotic fire under every piece of music she plays, telling each composer’s story in a singularly sensuous way. The daughter of a world-renowned art dealer in New York City, Natasha grows up in a world where artistic achievement is accorded the highest value, and her father’s opinion determines the rise and the fall of many an artist. Her prodigious musical talent, discovered when she is a little girl, blossoms at Harvard, where she begins to pursue composition as well as performing. She is soon involved in a passionate love affair with Jean Paul, a young composer whose innovative music is hailed as revolutionary. Under Jean Paul's shadow, Natasha abandons her dream of writing music of her own and turns toward performance. Channeling the frustration and muted fury of this choice into her playing, she creates a sexually charged sound that packs concert halls around the world year after year. Her young daughter, Alex, follows in her celebrated footsteps, but it is Alex’s talent as a composer that brings mother and daughter together—and tears them apart in ways Natasha could hardly have anticipated.
Overture draws readers into the glamorous and competitive world of classical music, capturing its harsh demands and its magical power to move performers and audiences alike. With a mastery rare in a first-time novelist, Yael Goldstein offers a fascinating meditation on the nature of creative brilliance and on the love that binds a mother and daughter even when their personal desires clash.
Natasha Darsky is "the most famous violinist since Paganini." Bow in hand, she lights an erotic fire under every piece of music she plays, telling each composer’s story in a singularly sensuous way. The daughter of a world-renowned art dealer in New York City, Natasha grows up in a world where artistic achievement is accorded the highest value, and her father’s opinion determines the rise and the fall of many an artist. Her prodigious musical talent, discovered when she is a little girl, blossoms at Harvard, where she begins to pursue composition as well as performing. She is soon involved in a passionate love affair with Jean Paul, a young composer whose innovative music is hailed as revolutionary. Under Jean Paul's shadow, Natasha abandons her dream of writing music of her own and turns toward performance. Channeling the frustration and muted fury of this choice into her playing, she creates a sexually charged sound that packs concert halls around the world year after year. Her young daughter, Alex, follows in her celebrated footsteps, but it is Alex’s talent as a composer that brings mother and daughter together—and tears them apart in ways Natasha could hardly have anticipated.
Overture draws readers into the glamorous and competitive world of classical music, capturing its harsh demands and its magical power to move performers and audiences alike. With a mastery rare in a first-time novelist, Yael Goldstein offers a fascinating meditation on the nature of creative brilliance and on the love that binds a mother and daughter even when their personal desires clash.
304 pages, Hardcover
First published January 16, 2007
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews
December 24, 2013
I found this book at a library used book sale. Yes, there are the ten copies of DaVinci Code or whatever the library is unloading there, but there are also the books that don't get checked out. The latter is where my interest lies. Call me a contrarian, but I usually am interested in what the masses are NOT reading. And this is where I found "Overture" in pristine condition (I'm going to give it back to them) and stamped markedly "Discarded by Itasca Community Library" on the flyleaf.
I will start off by saying that this book took me six months to read. It's not long. It's not overly deep. And I've read three books in a day (in the distant past when I was a bum and all I did was read all day). So this book was terrible, right?
Hold on. Hold on now. I didn't say that. Remember, it took me six months but I did finish it. So something kept drawing me back to it.
This writer worked hard to write this book. It is carefully written and she does indeed have a lot of talent. Why such a book is not rated higher is because of the ego of the writer. Who as some Ivy league student figures herself to be on a par with the likes of Paganini and Brahms. And the author doesn't stop there. She's also on the cover of "People" magazine as a 'sensuous art phenom' or some such nonsense.
If you're into music you may enjoy this. The writer does convey a sense of knowing what she's talking about when it comes to music. Otherwise, there's just too many good books out there to spend your time reading this one.
June 15, 2008
I went through alternating appraisals of Overture. At first I thought it was boring, then sweet, then sickeningly romantic (if I ever hear the words "torrid but virginal liaison" again, I will snap, I swear), and finally, musical.
I can't say I like the main character. She is one of those people who feels a constant, almost pathological, need to sabotage her own happiness. And I just can't accept that philosophy--even in the name of art. I couldn't help but yell at Tasha throughout the entire book, telling her what a fool she was being.
It wasn't a waste of time, though. As someone who enjoys classical music, I liked hearing Goldstein's descriptions of it through Tasha and her emotions. Some of those passages in which Tash explains how playing the music makes her feel ... those are the best parts of the book, the most real. I don't play an instrument (I took piano lessons, but lack the technical skill to ever be really good). But I appreciate music, and I enjoyed being able to understand music from the point of view of a musician.
As a novel, Overture isn't that good. As a character study, it is slightly better, if you can avoid the urge to hunt down this "Tasha Darsky" and try to talk some sense into her. But if you plan to read this, you must first have a stomach for plot-twisting romance and, of course, music.
I can't say I like the main character. She is one of those people who feels a constant, almost pathological, need to sabotage her own happiness. And I just can't accept that philosophy--even in the name of art. I couldn't help but yell at Tasha throughout the entire book, telling her what a fool she was being.
It wasn't a waste of time, though. As someone who enjoys classical music, I liked hearing Goldstein's descriptions of it through Tasha and her emotions. Some of those passages in which Tash explains how playing the music makes her feel ... those are the best parts of the book, the most real. I don't play an instrument (I took piano lessons, but lack the technical skill to ever be really good). But I appreciate music, and I enjoyed being able to understand music from the point of view of a musician.
As a novel, Overture isn't that good. As a character study, it is slightly better, if you can avoid the urge to hunt down this "Tasha Darsky" and try to talk some sense into her. But if you plan to read this, you must first have a stomach for plot-twisting romance and, of course, music.
September 1, 2008
Interesting if rather pompously written...I did not have a lot of sympathy for the self-centered, arrogant violin soloist of the title, but did have a lot for her illegitimate daughter, who surpasses her mother in composing music. It's a pretty good read, but ultimately awkward, with few insights into what makes a great musician great.
December 23, 2011
I am on the fence whether this is a 3 or 4 star read. It starts slow but once into it, I really could not put it down. A couple discrepancies bothered me, like the description of Bloomington, IN as "flat and green." Green -- yes. (not in the winter) Flat? Not really.
September 18, 2021
This book was actually well-written, but I didn't enjoy reading it that much. I think because the characters were pretentious - the father who claims to know everything about art and promoting artists but cycles through them, the main character and her artsy friends at Harvard, self-absorbed Jean Paul, and the daughter Alex was particularly obnoxious. It was hard to read about her treating her mother like she did.
I didn't understand why composing was so much greater than performing - performers definitely get more glory. Is any contemporary composer a household name?
Also - twice Natasha is said to be "marking up a score." What does that mean? Is that something only violinists do? Why wouldn't she mark it as she is practicing?
Also, reading about her practicing incessantly makes me feel better about my own underwhelming violin skills.
I didn't understand why composing was so much greater than performing - performers definitely get more glory. Is any contemporary composer a household name?
Also - twice Natasha is said to be "marking up a score." What does that mean? Is that something only violinists do? Why wouldn't she mark it as she is practicing?
Also, reading about her practicing incessantly makes me feel better about my own underwhelming violin skills.
November 19, 2018
Very intense book! I love the intensity and I very much love the musicality. The theme of mother-daughter relationship X2 (mother/grandmother-mother-daughter) is so very relevant.
November 14, 2008
Is there anything more satisfying than picking up a novel based on scant information and a beautiful cover and finding that the author has provided a gift by doing near everything right? Reading Yael Goldstein Love's well-constructed "Passion of Tasha Darsky" one cannot help but be struck by the author's gift for sculpting complex characters in complicated relationships.
The Tasha Darsky of the title, who is also the narrator of this first person work, is "the most renowned violinist since Paganini," known for the passion she brings to her performance as well being "every thinking man's fantasy." Goldstein Love traces Darsky's life in flashbacks, from her New York childhood in New York to wealthy gallery-owning and taste-defining parents, to Harvard where she meets the talented composer who becomes the love of her life. She contrasts this long arc with Darsky's frantic search for her prodigiously brilliant, missing, erratic daughter.
As a work, Tasha Darsky succeeds on several levels, but most effectively in its exploration of the narrators relationships -- with her own parents, her daughter, her music, and her self image - all crafted with a prose that are at once clean yet graceful. Here in particular one must be impressed, for such theme, particularly in the hands of a first time novelist, can often descend into the most abysmal cliché, yet every time one shudders sensing that Goldstein Love might be taking her characters to the edge of that precipice, she instead deftly avoids the obvious route, opting instead for nuance and ambiguity.
As with every first novel, we have here a window into an author in progress; yet with this novel's depth, humor, and pathos, one can only say that I can't wait to see where Yael Goldstein Love next applies her considerable talents.
The Tasha Darsky of the title, who is also the narrator of this first person work, is "the most renowned violinist since Paganini," known for the passion she brings to her performance as well being "every thinking man's fantasy." Goldstein Love traces Darsky's life in flashbacks, from her New York childhood in New York to wealthy gallery-owning and taste-defining parents, to Harvard where she meets the talented composer who becomes the love of her life. She contrasts this long arc with Darsky's frantic search for her prodigiously brilliant, missing, erratic daughter.
As a work, Tasha Darsky succeeds on several levels, but most effectively in its exploration of the narrators relationships -- with her own parents, her daughter, her music, and her self image - all crafted with a prose that are at once clean yet graceful. Here in particular one must be impressed, for such theme, particularly in the hands of a first time novelist, can often descend into the most abysmal cliché, yet every time one shudders sensing that Goldstein Love might be taking her characters to the edge of that precipice, she instead deftly avoids the obvious route, opting instead for nuance and ambiguity.
As with every first novel, we have here a window into an author in progress; yet with this novel's depth, humor, and pathos, one can only say that I can't wait to see where Yael Goldstein Love next applies her considerable talents.
February 10, 2012
I loved this novel about a difficult, complicated virtuoso violinist and her daughter. The writing is incredibly smart, and Tasha Darsky is the kind of female character I love: intelligent and a little awkward, hiding her vulnerability under layers of wit and sarcasm. Goldstein Love is the daughter of novelist Rebecca Goldstein, whose novel 'The Mind-Body Problem' I read some years ago and remember as being extremely intellectual. 'Passion' has some Big Ideas too, but it wears them lightly and roots them in highly compelling characters. Goldstein Love's depiction of artistic ambition and sacrifice, of Tasha's charged/competitive relationship with her brilliant composer boyfriend, and her equally charged relationship with her daughter, rings painfully true. The plot got a little creaky toward the end, but even so this was one of those novels I hated to finish and even dragged out a little to avoid the inevitable moment of turning the last page. A quiet gem.
December 16, 2010
I tried...I honestly tried. I was intrigued by the summary of the plot, but the story itself wreaked of a disgustingly pretentious attitude. It focuses on the egocentric, holier than thou artistic crowd that I despise (and as an art student, I feel it ruins the reputation of any art in general) and quite frankly, it's hard to stomach. The author attempts to describe the passion the main character feels for her music, and her boyfriend, but it's very unbelievable and unconvincing. Especially since all her and her wimp of a boyfriend do is constantly have sex. Overall, if you like reading about pretentious a**holes who do nothing but have sex anywhere and everywhere, this book is definitely for you.
September 17, 2013
If I recall correctly, I discovered this novel after being impressed with some of the author's short stories and being intrigued by the general plot or theme of this: the intersections between music and life and the relationship between mother and daughter. Sadly, I finished the novel feeling ambivalent. Moments of beauty that can hold up a short story are here rendered overwrought. Moreover, beyond the carefully crafted writing I didn't find anything fresh or memorable. There is music that is complex and emotionally resonant, but plays to the ear as if it were created with the greatest of ease, or music that doesn't pleasure or inspire as much as highlight a technical competence. The music of this novel sticks in my mind as the latter, more craft than soul.
August 22, 2010
This was an amazingly well-written and engaging novel. It's not heavily plot-driven or a particularly quick read, but the prose were so carefully crafted--it felt like each word and sentence were meticulously chosen and formulated.
For the reader to truly enjoy this book to its fullest, it helps to know more than the average would about classical music. That said, even without this knowledge, the book's an enjoyable and compelling read.
I look forward to reading other, future works by this author.
For the reader to truly enjoy this book to its fullest, it helps to know more than the average would about classical music. That said, even without this knowledge, the book's an enjoyable and compelling read.
I look forward to reading other, future works by this author.
August 17, 2009
Natasha Darsky is a musical (violin) protégé – but an interesting one who leads an interesting and introspective life. I thought the book would be about an art snob but in fact the relationship between Natasha and her daughter was really very interesting – much more interesting than her relationships with men.
February 15, 2011
i seem to tear through books that are about musicians and their tortured/beautiful relationships with their gifts. her descriptions of music are practically audible, and i loved remembering the lines of some of the pieces that she plays. makes me even want to be more patient with contemporary classical music, which i usually just think is annoying noise.
December 19, 2007
Currently in the middle of reading this short tome. Funny to read, about Harvard composers, highly unedited, some parts rather simple and implausible. Second half of story more on the relationship between mother and daughter. But still fun and funny if at times overly melodramatic and over-written.
August 8, 2010
Overall a good first novel, although the narrator was not always a totally believable character. Something about her motivation was sometimes missing. And the present/past transitions were often surprisingly awkward. I enjoyed what she wrote about music, but I don't know much about music.
November 29, 2010
I did not buy the great love between Tasha and Jean-Paul. The mother-daughter relationship I thought was wonderful (not anything like mine with mother or daughter). Tasha seemed pretty cold about her relationships - maybe all her passion really went into her music. Loved the ending.
January 6, 2014
A friend recommended it to me years ago & just read it now. Is it stellar fiction? No. Did I enjoy every page i read? Absolutely. It's about classical music, art, the people involved with those worlds, family & the issues that go along with that. A great book to read on a vacation or plane.
March 31, 2007
The powers of symphony on a human soul. A show of strength from a mother to a daughter. This is one of those hit or miss books, and i really loved it.
January 8, 2008
B's college friend's first novel. Reminiscent of her mother's work. Entertaining, but not earth-shaking.
January 23, 2008
My boyfriend new this author while he was at Harvard. I think it was a good first novel for her. Well written, though hard to relate to the main character.
February 3, 2008
Lovely read. Insightful and loving portrayal of family relationships as well as creative process.
January 16, 2009
A guilty pleasure - read it straight through
February 1, 2011
I read it in about a day. Obviously enjoyed. A good read for summer beach (or in our case January beach). I liked it. 3.65 stars.
July 17, 2012
A nice quick read. I enjoyed it a first but the plot got old after a while.
May 3, 2013
Great work of fiction; while exploring the world of Classical Music. It is a story of passion and ambition.
July 5, 2013
Fantastic book
December 1, 2013
Delightful. Very insightful into the world of serious classical music.
February 12, 2016
4-5 stars for writing. No doubt, it was really lovely writing, and the exploration of music and character was masterfully done. I just didn't like it that much.
January 6, 2015
Too esoteric for me
June 7, 2014
Pleasant surprise!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews