Violin

Rating:
Summary: Bad Story, Good Book
Review: I have to express the oposite point of view here as Mr. Knight. :) (But for nearly the same reason...)

I love Anne Rice, and have for several years. There is simply something marvelous about the immersion in all the infinite details of life as if there were a magical, mystical, romantic quality to everything. And here it is music. Not just any music, but the great music of the great composers, especially Beethoven, the Maestro, who takes a key role in this novel (both in person and in spirit.)

But to say it is a "bad story", well, in my mind the plot not only lags a bit, it could very well be non-existent. (Is there a plot - the book is almost sheer poetry, and it is difficult at all to decipher a plot at times!) I say, "bad story" because really, there isn't much of a story here at all. Maybe there could have been but Anne didn't bring it to fruition. I say "good book", because the writing is melodic, even symphonic. It is a joy for any lover of poetry to read. But I couldn't really bring myself to say "Good novel" because a "novel" needs a plot. If you are looking for a good story, look again.

Rating:
Summary: Don't read it...
Review: This is the first Anne Rice book I've ever read, and I was so disappointed. I couldn't even manage to finish the whole book, but I skimmed and scanned some pages in the middle and in the end of the book. The beginning was good in the first few chapters, then out of the blue a million characters popped out, and as a reader I got so confused. There were more exclaimations than needed, which made the story/ persona sounded unrealistic and airy. Perhaps it was too abstract for me, or I didn't get to see the beauty of it, but honestly I won't recommend it.

Rating:
Summary: Crying forever
Review: When I started getting through the pages of "Violin", my first impression was that of being a dull and somewhat flat book. I first said to myself who was this woman complaining and whining all of the time?. Mourning and letting fly her thoughts and memories away. But then during my reading I began understanding Triana and her grief, and sorrow, and living death. She was supported only by her music, the music she so much loved. That same music that helped her to get through the day.And then Stefan came, the fiddler. No demon, no saint, but only a grievous soul as lonely as Triana was. Stefan, the ghost violinist, along with Triana shares a passion for music streaming out of the fiddle. Triana is not crazy, she's just someone who expresses her pain the way she knows best: grieving. Anne Rice tells Triana's story in such a very particular way. "Violin" is one of those books that has everything in it, romance, drama, horror,etc. Because of being such a different book regarding Rice's previous releases, this story is not recommended to those who are in love with Lestat or the witches Anne once created. Now, after reading it, I can deeply say that this is a great book, despite whatever lousy (and certainly mistaken) remarks have been made. To those who are fond of prose this is definitely your book. Look no further