Customer Reviews

Facing the Music: A Novel

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Mary Sheepshanks began with this charming effort. Having read and loved "A Price for Everything" and "Picking Up the Pieces," both superb, I can see the progression of Sheepshanks' talents. This is not a bad book, and it is certainly worth reading, but the characters are not as finely drawn as in her later novels. Our heroine, Flavia the Flautist, is not entirely a sympathetic character, as she flits mindlessly from one wrong situation to another to avoid facing reality. I found the juxtoposition of her brilliant musical career with her extreme naivete very hard to believe. Likewise, the hapless Gervaise, her schoolmaster husband, falls in love with her for no apparent reason, and is somewhat one-dimensional as well, so we really do not know what makes him tick. The "lover-from-hell," the famous conductor Antoine, is a swine for no particular reason, and the later love interest, Alistair, is a saint. Nevertheless, this is a fast, rather entertaining read, and we can see glimmers of the author's subtle and outrageous humor so evident in later works. "Facing the Music" is nowhere near the beautifully crafted novels that came after it, but I'm glad I read it; it makes me appreciate Sheepshanks' later books even more.

This first book By Sheepshanks is not nearly as good as "A Price for Everything." I find the adultery too much; tasteless, and does not seem to "fit" in the story. I would, however, highly recommend "A Price for Everything!" I laughed out loud so much while I read that. It's good for your spirit.

I really loved this book. All the characters were very real. Flavia is very interesting and keeps the story moving along. Her story is continued in Off Balance. (It has already been published in England.)Ms. Sheepshanks is a great author!!