Rating: 
Summary: Almost...
Review: I *just* turned the last page. Whew. Fabulous. What a fairy tale! Right out of Portrait of the Artist as A Young Man. Does anybody know if this was modelled after a real musician? Claude Bolling, perhaps? The story was well-woven...the plot got a tad predictible sometimes though. His relations with people are not very concrete, because their characters are not extremely fleshed out. That was frustrating, because it took some of the life out of the story. But as a pianist, I was inspired by the passion, swept up in the story. As long as I didn't take it too seriously, it was really enjoyable.
Rating: 
Summary: Fantastic!
Review: I am an aspiring musician, and this book really spoke to me. My high school band director recommended it to me 6 years ago, and I've given away about 12 copies to various friends and family members since then. Everyone loves it. Conroy is truly an artist; his book is so beautifully crafted, it was a pure joy to read. A few things about the plot do bother me (the fact that Claude LIKES practicing for hours and hours a day - I've never met a kid who did, the impossible coincidences, etc.), but I have read and reread this book dozens of times now, and I never get tired of it. It's definitely one of my favorite books!
Rating:
Summary: incredible read
Review: I am not a musician, but I am an author and I know the amount of effort Frank Conroy put into the research for this book. Music becomes a character. And for a lonely boy out of touch with the world, and often in awe of the the doors that are opened to him, music is his soul. The writing is poetry--pure, simple, beautiful. Bravo, Frank!
Rating:
Summary: Great Book About A Child Prodigy
Review: I breezed through this a few years ago & came across it in a carton of books I'd put away & forgotten about. I couldn't resist writing a quick review. When I finished it I noted how well written it was and how touching the story of Claude Rawlings was. If you're really into music you'll identify with this book, though as another reviewer mentioned it is hard to believe a 6 yr. old would practice for hours and hours on end. This would make a great movie! It's too bad Frank Conroy only wrote a small handful of novels, his writing is first-rate. Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: A page-turner about music!
Review: I could not put this book down, which usually happens when you are reading some suspenseful or romantic drugstore book, but not when you are reading a book as meaningful and beautifully written as this. So it was a delightful find. I agree with the other reviewer who said this isn't a book where life lessons are overtly communicated; but it still speaks subtly to the relationship between the body and soul. I tried to find patience with the long descriptions of musical technique but quite honestly didn't understand much of that. So I focused on the underlying points he was trying to make with the descriptions. All in all, I would recommend this book highly!
Rating:
Summary: Heaven
Review: I loved this story, and everyone I have given it to has loved it too.
Rating:
Summary: Great story and writing!
Review: I read this, then all my teenage children read it, one after the other. Just wonderful. More please from Mr. Conroy. Bravo!
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Summary: A excellent foray into the life of more-than-just-a pianist:
Review: I saw the cover. Pretty nice. Didn't bother to read the back (I was hoping it would be a 'find'). I was not disappointed. I did not stop reading this book from the moment I picked it up. Frank Conroy is an amazing and artful writer. We are immediately drawn into the life of this young boy, soon to be man. We become this young virtuoso and eagerly read on to see what the future holds for us. This story is the story of a boy who found music and went on to embody it. Like music, he evolves and changes with age, discovering new passions while holding on to older ones. Like music, we discover varying degrees of complexity among his simple overtones. Any one with any sort of passion for music will easily identify with this book. And those who do not may actually find one.
Rating:
Summary: A walk through my past as I would have liked it to be.
Review: I spent my boyhood in New York City and had no trouble visualizing what occurred in the book. I played the piano but never had the teachers Claude Rawlings had. The book was a joy from beginning to end - I can tell by how anxious I felt to continue reading it each day. A musical background will enhance your passage through the book but it is not absolutely necessary. The author brings the main character to a final mature adult's moment of success while sliding past a bit of life's secrets honestly desired by the pianist
Rating:
Summary: Good Beginning, Disappointing Ending
Review: I thoroughly enjoyed the beginnings of Body and Soul - its descriptions of New York, Claude's relationship to his mother, Weisfeld, and Al; the education of a musical prodigy. But the more I read it, the more letdown I felt. The plot got too cliched, too unrealistic, too predictable. Claude seemed to jump from being a rather inwardly focused person to a more social person without much knowledge of how it happened. His relationship to Weisfeld and Lady were well drawn, but not his relationships with others. He seemed a little too perfect in some ways as well. Yet I liked the mood the book created of the music world, and especially enjoyed the jazz performance scenes.
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