A stunning, sweeping novel about the power of art and music to shape lives and nations, set in early 20th century Spain, told through the eyes of cellist Feliu Delargo. For readers of The Shadow of the Wind .
Born in 1970 in Chicago, Illinois, Andromeda Romano-Lax worked as a freelance journalist and travel writer before turning to fiction. Among her nonfiction works are several guidebooks to Alaska and Mexico, as well as a travel narrative, Searching for Steinbeck's Sea of Cortez. Her hobbies include playing the cello. She lives in Anchorage, Alaska with her husband and two children, and is at work on a second novel about Victorian-era archaeology, set in the Middle East.
Impressive... The epic story of Feliu Delargo, an underprivileged
child prodigy whose musical ability brings him into contact with
world leaders, first-class artists and a life filled with loss and
triumph... For sheer scope and ambition, this is a tough debut to
beat.
*Publishers Weekly*
The book is almost dizzyingly episodic, but bound together by
Feliu's lifelong struggle with the question of the proper
relationship between music and politics, a subject Romano-Lax
handles with finesse. ... A deft, inventive debut.
*Kirkus Reviews*
This riveting historical page-turner moves inexorably toward a
heartrending crescendo.
*Booklist*
An impressive and richly atmospheric debut.
*New York Times Book Review*
In her impressive debut, Romano-Lax creates the epic story of Feliu Delargo, an underprivileged child prodigy whose musical ability brings him into contact with world leaders, first-class artists and a life filled with loss and triumph. Their father killed in Cuba just before the Spanish-American War, Feliu, his three brothers and one sister manage a meager life in Campo Seco, a small Catalan town, while their strong-willed mother fends off suitors. At 14, Feliu and his mother travel to Barcelona, where a cello tutor agrees to take on Feliu as a student. Over the years, as Feliu establishes himself, he crosses path with Justo Al-Cerra, an egotistical, manipulative pianist, and their touring leads to an intertwining of lives that becomes more complicated when they encounter Aviva, a violinist with her own emotional damage. As the trio tour and Europe careens toward WWII, Romano-Lax weaves into the narrative historical figures from Spanish royalty to Franco and Hitler, giving Feliu the opportunity to ponder the roles of morality in art and art in politics. Though the story has much heart and depth, Feliu's proximity to so many watershed moments of the 20th century can make him feel more like an instructive icon than a person. But for sheer scope and ambition, this is a tough debut to beat. (Sept.) Copyright 2007 Reed Business Information.
Impressive... The epic story of Feliu Delargo, an underprivileged
child prodigy whose musical ability brings him into contact with
world leaders, first-class artists and a life filled with loss and
triumph... For sheer scope and ambition, this is a tough debut to
beat. * Publishers Weekly *
The book is almost dizzyingly episodic, but bound together by
Feliu's lifelong struggle with the question of the proper
relationship between music and politics, a subject Romano-Lax
handles with finesse. ... A deft, inventive debut. * Kirkus Reviews
*
This riveting historical page-turner moves inexorably toward a
heartrending crescendo. * Booklist *
An impressive and richly atmospheric debut. * New York Times Book
Review *
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