Writing about music is tricky, and I’m not sure how well I’m managing. Paste Magazine writes smart, dynamic reviews, using vibrant language that wants to be read aloud, but sometimes I don’t know what the fuck they’re talking about. Bright confusion in a paragraph can be fun, but in a novel, not so much. The effect of music is subjective, and rendering an appreciation without being self-conscious or circular or muddy is the task.
And then, writing about a performance of music—from the perspective of a 16 year old—is particularly challenging. It feels like there isn’t enough language for it. And I don’t want to overburden metaphor. And I don’t want to be redundant.
I like this part—the struggle of expression—the search for a description that captures the animal.
One of the best examples of writing about music that I’ve read is the novel “Maybe Next Time” by Karin Kallmaker, probably her best and most complex novel, about a child prodigy violinist. In Hawaii. You’d like this book.
Thanks Bett. I appreciate the recommendation. I’ll check it out.
I just read this book. I came across it on my own, but remembered this post and your recommendation, Bett. (Really fascinating synthesis of genres, I thought.) But, there was something in the writing, and the care taken with this character, that recalled Red Audrey to me.
Eh, of course maybe it was a little to do with Hawaii. Or maybe it was the resonance of broken things.