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An Unfinished Score (2010)

by Elise Blackwell(Favorite Author)

3.64 of 5 Votes: 2

ISBN

1936071665 (ISBN13: 9781936071661)

languge

English

genre

Romance

publisher

Unbridled Books

review 1: This brand new novel is best read in one day. The narrative arc and the emotional depth had a sumptuous impact. I never wanted to stop reading it. Suzanne is a classical violist with a non-attentive husband (also a musician as well as a composer) and a lover who conducts orchestras. On the first page Suzanne is cooking dinner when she hears on the radio that her lover has died in a plane crash. Also living with Suzanne and her husband are Petra, a violinist, Suzanne's best friend and single parent to Adele, who is deaf. The ghost of Suzanne's lost child takes up additional space in this household. None of these other characters knew about Suzanne's affair though it had been going on for several years. The sheer volume of unspoken and unheard communication amongst these p... moreeople would be enough to sink such an odd "family," but Suzanne is a strong and complex person who can care for them all including herself. When the vengeful widow of the dead lover enters the story there is just no telling how it will all turn out. The world of classical music, which has become an anachronism in our modern times, is a world I know. I studied violin, played in orchestras and sang in choirs for a couple decades. Suzanne's home is in Princeton, NJ, the town where I grew up. So many elements like this made the story itself feel familiar, but in the end it was the writing that gradually seduced me and then captured my imagination. One of the best books I have read this year.
review 2: When Suzanne Sullivan learns of her lover Alex's death over the radio, it takes every ounce of willpower to continue making dinner for her family without letting on that something is out of the ordinary. Within a couple of weeks, she is contacted by Alex's wife Olivia, who demands she finish the musical composition her late husband was writing when he was having his affair with her. This proves to be a difficult task, one Suzanne has to complete while simultaneously tending to both her unhappy marriage and her best friend's sensitive needs. And what she discovers along the way may pose more questions than answer them.AN UNFINISHED SCORE is rich with musical history and theories (including how you can read a person through the music they write). Blackwell writes with flowing, poetic prose that will grab you and drop you smack in the middle of Suzanne's sad emotions. The story is one of heavy burden- the reader will have their own strong opinion of what is right and wrong and yet will still find themselves rooting for Suzanne throughout her decisions. The last 60 pages in particular kept me up into the wee hours of the morning! less

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