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The Silver Swan

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The Silver Swan

June 2015

I love when I pick up a book, and it takes me on a journey beyond its pages. That happened as I was reading THE SILVER SWAN by Elena Delbanco. It got on my radar as I heard that during Elena’s event at Politics & Prose in Washington, DC, they sold out of books! I had to see what people were excited about. It’s the story of a young woman, Mariana Feldmann, who is coping with the passing of her father, a famous cellist, when she learns a number of secrets about his life --- and the surprising plan for his Stradivarius cello. Elena writes about this subject with authority as her own father, Bernard Greenhouse, was a famous cellist from the Beaux Arts Trio. When he died, she sold his Stradivarius cello, specifically the Countess of Stainlein ex-Paganini Stradivarius violoncello of 1707.

Our offices are located a block away from Carnegie Hall, and in the blocks surrounding here, there are a number of piano showrooms, as well as buildings that house repair shops for various instruments and practice studios. Reading THE SILVER SWAN, I felt like I was peering into those spaces, albeit better educated on what happens there. And for my vocabulary word of the week, I have learned that the person who repairs cellos and other string instruments is called a luthier.

Set in New York City, the Berkshires (I would love to see Delbanco set an entire book here, with a backdrop of Tanglewood) and Europe, THE SILVER SWAN is brisk and smart. I rarely listen to music when I read, but an exception was made as I read this book. I wanted to hear music swelling and ebbing, as I imagined it would on the stage during a performance.

In a book group, there is much to discuss here, especially if your members enjoy classical music.

The Silver Swan
by Elena Delbanco

  • Publication Date: May 19, 2015
  • Genres: Fiction
  • Paperback: 240 pages
  • Publisher: Other Press
  • ISBN-10: 1590517164
  • ISBN-13: 9781590517161