feel very divided about this book, When I read the blurb I thought it would be very interesting plot about someone's reminiscences about music more fool me.
The book has it's moments, but there is too much hinting and too little substance, Three and a half would be a fairer score, I don't think I did this justice as I read it at a bad time but I couldn't really work out what was going on some of the time, all the flashbacks and rain.
It was well written in places and the main story was interesting but it just meanders too much for me and perhaps I didn't quite care enough about the characters.
Kenneth Earl is losing his memory and employs Maggie to help him catalogue his large music collection and thereby create a record of his life.
Maggie has her own personal reasons for accepting the job at Earl House, She hopes to uncover her own troubled childhood spent on the estate and discover what really happened with Kenneths son William.
At its best this is a quietly compelling novel, which on the whole I enjoyed, The plot is unusual and intriguing, and the past is reeled slowly and cleverly enough to keep the readers interest right to the end.
But at times it all feels rather melodramatic, and the central relationship between Kenneth and Maggie develops too quickly to be convincing.
Kenneths incipient dementia also fails to convince, and his behaviour merely seems bizarre rather than indicative of serious underlying problems.
The relationship between him and his son is quite effectively depicted, although here, as on many occasions the dialogue is sometimes stilted and descends into cliché.
In general the characterisation is both interesting and realistic, although Azzopardi does less well with some of the minor characters, particularly the “locals” who becomes caricatures of countryfolk and jar somewhat.
Azzopardi was shortlisted for the Booker with her first book The Hiding Place, which I find a little surprising after reading this, her fourth novel, as her writing doesnt strike me as literary enough to win a prestigious prize.
In fact this book seems more like a first novel, where you see room for improvement, However, I can recommend it although perhaps not strongly! From BBC RadioExtraMinute Drama:
An adaptation of Trezza Azzopardi's new novel, a compelling psychological thriller involving a young woman with a secret in her past.
During a rainy summer Maggie arrives for a job interview at a large house in the country, The house is empty apart from Kenneth, an elderly man, who wants a secretary to do an unusual livein job.
He wants someone to listen to his music collection, and transcribe his impressions and memories connected to each piece of music.
Kenneth is odd, isolated, perhaps on the edge of dementia, slightly threatening, But Maggie is mysterious too and she has some hidden plan in taking this job, She knows this place, she's been here before, Piece by piece, as the rain intensifies and the river begins to flood, we learn about Maggie's shocking past.
Fabulous story with darkness, mystery, sadness, unrequited love and nostalgia This book meanders along just like the river which is so important in the story.
There is not much in the way of crossing of t s or dotting of i s and no real moment of revelation, but the writer gives plenty to provide a point for the story and to form your own allegiances.
The writing is natural and beautiful and thats really what makes this novel work for me.
Kenneth's memory is failing and on the whole it doesn't bother him greatly with the exception of his music.
He has a vast collection of records and wants to catalogue them all under the first memories that the music dregs up.
So he advertises for someone to help him and she arrives in the form of Maggie, Maggie grew up not far from the house and has her own collection of memories she is trying to tease into a picture of what happened to her one summer.
So Kenneth's story becomes Maggie's story with the background being played on a record player,
I could see where Azzopardi was going with this story but I don't think she reached her end goal.
I was left dissatisfied with both the plot and the characters and felt that the ending dribbled when I wanted a moment of clarity.
If you pick it up because you are in the mood for a thriller this is not it, its more like one of those books that you read for the pretty/ poetic writing than for the plot I read the book.
It was okay. It was soap opera like, Blame and guilt were silent characters, . I had been quite impressed with her two earlier novels, but this one just didn't make it as far as I was concerned.
The narrative was messy and sometimes bordering on incoherent and the character development and motivation was vague, Too much rain. Too much suggestion without enough solid information, This was such an unusual story, The title and cover just caught my eye and I couldn't put it down,minutes in to reading this and just couldnt stand the pretentiousness of the male main character When Kenneth Earl advertises for someone to help him catalogue his vast collection of music, Maggie the final candidate is his last hope.
What he doesn't know, however, is that this isn't the first time that Maggie has been to Earl House, and it's no coincidence that she applied for the job.
Not for me. Too lost in uninteresting subplots, too lost in mystery, I really loved this book, An interesting story, well written, Great cgaracter drawing as in all her books, A promising start with lots of interesting bits but the whole thing got a bit hard to follow towards the end.
I dont think it quite tells the full story, I thoroughly enjoyed this novel, It is thoughtful, engrossing and very well written in a distinctive but very readable style, One of the The Song House's great strengths is its pacing, as the story of a hidden childhood memory, the rediscovery of the truth and how both the events and their rediscovery affect those involved all gradually emerge, and I think the publisher's synopsis gives away more detail than I'd have wanted to know before I read the book, so if you've not already read it I'd advise you not to.
The style is somewhat unconventional, in that it's written in the present tense and speech has no quotation marks around it, leading to some slightly tricksy stuff with other punctuation and paragraph layout.
Normally, I don't like this sort of thing at all, but I got used to it very quickly and it gave the narrative an atmosphere which seemed to fit the story very well.
The use of music as a powerful stimulus to memory is excellently done, as is the contrast between the parched summer ofwhere the memories originate and the floodsodden recent summer of the main narrative.
Characters are extremely believable and welldrawn and Azzopardi also captures their emotions and transient feelings exceptionally well, As a tiny example, one character has become enchanted by and is at least half in love with a woman, and when she's absent Azzopardi writes, "She's still here, and in every room of the house.
Even the daylight has the look of her, " For me, those two brief, unflashy sentences capture the man's feelings perfectly, The book is full of such things and is worth reading for this alone, but I also found the emerging story really fascinating and kept having to read one more chapter.
In short, it's a really thoughtprovoking, involving and enjoyable book, Highly recommended. Slow and meditative with a mystery which slowly reveals itself and even reserves a surprise for the final denouement.
sitelinkBettie's Books Trezza Azzopardi is a British writer, She was born in Cardiff to a Maltese father and
a Welsh mother, She studied creative writing at the University of East Anglia, and currently works as a lecturer there, She also has an MA in Film and Television studies from the University of Derby, Her first novel, The Hiding Place, was shortlisted for the Booker Prize ina significant accomplishment, since first novels are not often shortlisted for the Booker.
Her novel also won the Geoffrey Faber Memorial Prize and was also shortlisted for the James Tait Black Memorial Prize.
Her second novel, Remember Me, was shortlisted for the Wales Book of the Year, Winterton Blue was longlisted for theWales Book of the Year, She also writes short st Trezza Azzopardi is a British writer, She was born in Cardiff to a Maltese father and a Welsh mother, She studied creative writing at the University of East Anglia, and currently works as a lecturer there, She also has an MA in Film and Television studies from the University of Derby, Her first novel, The Hiding Place, was shortlisted for the Booker Prize ina significant accomplishment, since first novels are not often shortlisted for the Booker.
Her novel also won the Geoffrey Faber Memorial Prize and was also shortlisted for the James Tait Black Memorial Prize.
Her second novel, "Remember Me", was shortlisted for the Wales Book of the Year, "Winterton Blue" was longlisted for theWales Book of the Year, She also writes short stories, and readings for BBC radio, Her books have been translated intolanguages, Azzopardi currently lives in Norwich, in the east of England, sitelink.