Customer Reviews

Body & Soul

5 star:		(38)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

My teacher, knowing I was a pianist, recommended that I read this book for my summer reading assignment. I'm not a realistic fiction type of person, but I fell in love with this book after reading the first chapter. Conroy's style of writing, neither dry and terse nor florid and gushing, makes reading the words a pleasure.

From a pianist's point of view, it is immediately obvious that Conroy did his homework on the technicalities of that instrument and of music as a whole. The thing that impressed me the most, however, was the intensity of his descriptions of Claude's feelings about the piano and about his music. Conroy's description of the "wall" that Claude faces was a wonderful insight as well. I have yet to come across another author whose descriptions harmonize with my own experiences. I understand (or at least think I understand) Claude's feelings and his dilemmas; that is due entirely to Conroy's writing. I seldom find books that draw me in like this one has. It's one of those rare books that have the ability to let the reader lose himself in the pages.

I read this book about 2 years ago and am preparing to read it again, something I almost never do. But I am a serious musician and this is the first fiction book I have read (people constantly give me books about "musicians" and I can never get past the first few innacurate,idealized pages), to portray the life of a classical musician accurately. (Try Hilary and Jackie for a non-fiction account, although now that's a very depressing story, Body and Soul is not.) For those who aren't musicians it may be hard to understand, that yes, people do "sponsor" and mentor young musicians with talent. No amount of money can instill this gift, it's a democratic talent. When musicians have this gift, and not just the ability, you can feel it radiating off of them, and it's intoxicating. I've been loaned gorgeous instruments I could never afford, been given ridiculously low prices for repair; once I had my instrument stolen and bought a cheap one to replace it,which I took to the repair shop. It was returned to me in an expensive case, completely outfitted and repaired--like Cinderella and the pumpkin. (And I'm nowhere near as talented as Conroy's hero.)So, the story rings true although it's not a common story. The hero's talent is massive, and there is only a handful of musicians it could pertain to in the entire world, but it's accurate as well as beautifully told and skillfully written. I was sad to come to the last pages, so I'm returning to this wonderful book.

Body and Soul was named best book of 1993 by Publisher's Weekly. There's a good-guy hero, and there's adversity for him to courageously overcome to reach his dream. Director of the Writer's Workshop at the Univ of Iowa, Frank Conroy avoided the easy-out of formula fiction in favor of crafting his novel with straightforward language and careful writing. We meet 6yo Claude, trapped in a NY apartment all day while his mother drives a taxi. He discovers an old piano in his basement apartment and learns to play. As his talent is recognized, interesting people come into his life and help him along the way toward recognition as a prodigy. As a bonus, the story is set in New York in the 30s thru the 60s, so weget a sociology lesson in inner city life of that era.
Also, read Conroy's engaging memoir, Stop-Time.

Body and Soul tracks the development of a young fellow named Claude Rawlings from the first intimations that this child has a unique musical talent through his childhood and young adulthood as he hones and develops that talent, finally to emerge as a full blown classical piano star.

It's an interesting twist on the conventional coming of age story. Many cite this as the classic "rags-to-riches" tale but, in truth, there is very little of either rags or riches involved. it's mostly about the sort of commitment and dedication--and the lucky breaks- on has to engage in to be a success of this type on this order.

I'm not sufficiently qualified to judge whether the actual "apprenticeship" aspects of the book are realistic--it's been criticized by some on that score--but it all seemed reasonable to me. If it's not truly realistic it's not ridiculously unrealistic either--and no basis for not enjoying the book on it's other merits.

Conroy has a clear, concise and engaging writing style and has the ability to effectively convey mood within the story. The result is a inspiring and entertaining tale that will, for many, open a window onto a world most of us don't know much about.

This is well worth a read.

Amazon has the wrong author listed for this book...the correct author is FRANK CONROY. This read this book years ago, when it first came out, and just reread it for the second time. It's as fresh and true as the first time. The story of Claude, his troubled mother, how he found his way to the piano and thus, the rest of his life has stayed with me as few have. I know nothing about playing the piano, but the way the author describes how a person like Claude hears sounds, the patterns they make and how they influence his music was fascinating. I ran out and bought an Art Tatum tape, thinking I would understand and better appreciate jazz after reading this book, but unfortunately, that was not the case. Any way, another reviewer has described some flaws in the book as far what a real concert musician would or wouldn't have done. I suppose that's the trouble with reading books that have to do with something you have some expertise in---little details get in the way of your enjoyment of it. More's the pity, because this book is a wondrous experience. It will pull you in from the first page and not let you go til you are finished.

After reading other reviews, I felt compelled to add my own. This is the best book I have ever read and as a musician, there are things about this book only musicians would understand. yes, you can be six and love to practice, you can turn out normal even if all you do is music, and music is a natural talent. One can develop the talent at a very young age without any guidance. Conroy displays all these traits with his character, Claude, and he does it beautifully. When I was a child, I'd sit at the piano for hours and I did somewhat teach myself how to read music. I didn't have a piano teacher yet but I still figured songs out and loved everything about the instrument. But I want to defend Conroy in that some children truly have a calling and will motivate themselves. Besides my argument, this book is extremely entertaining and when it was over I searched the back to make sure there were no hidden pages.

Frank Conroy, an accomplished pianist in his own right, certainly knows his subject in Body & Soul. Conroy's love and respect for music is skillfully conveyed through his fine writing. He infects the reader with his passion for music. Although I have never studied music, I found the passages on music theory, great composers, and the actual 'craft' of music to be fascinating. Music is the dominant motif in this novel that is Dickensian in spirit and execution (you can't help but think of 'Great Expectations'). The pacing of the book is excellent, as is the presentation of the characters. I have a few minor criticisms (some over-the-top saccharine descriptions of love making) but overall `Body & Soul' is satisfying, fun, and intelligent reading.

This wonderful book provides little known insight into the mind of a musician. I found that it had a generally interesting story, although it seemed a little melodramatic at times, especially toward the end. Frank Conroy knows a lot about the musical world, and ties all of the 'trivia' into relevant parts of the story. This book says a lot about the inner psychology of music, or any of the arts. One negative though: Conroy is WAY too hard on Schönberg!

As a musician of many years, and a concert pianist for some of those years, I picked up a copy of Body and Soul from a friend who had it lying around and had never read it. I opened the pages and my life was expanded. Conroy's breathtaking portrayal of young-to-older Claude Rawlings was a fascinating glimpse into the heart of a musician, with a rich interwoven tapestry of musical knowledge for good measure. While the 3rd section of the book was my least favorite (as it dealt more with Claude on a TV-drama level), it did not diminish my overall satisfaction with the story. I would recommend this to anyone who loves music, or just wants to meet a spell-binding young man who plays the piano.

This is a lovely, lovely coming-of-age book, beautifully written. A gifted young boy, poorer than poor, is graced with mentors who help him learn to play the piano. Not your usual rags-to-riches, though: more an affirmation of life and the unexpected gifts of being human.