Customer Reviews

The Grace Note

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The Grace Note, by Brian Doe, explores the themes of love and loss from a man's perspective. Alex Brogan, a gifted violinist with the New York Philharmonic, has found happiness in his life's calling as a composer and musician and in his relationship with his fiancée, Charlotte. But, like the butterfly that flits through this novel, happiness is fragile and a tragedy soon shatters the happiness in Alex's heart.

Mimicking the form of a musical composition, Doe creates variations on his motif of life-love-loss-love-life through interesting and well-developed characters. Contrasting the glittering culture of professional musicians in Manhattan against the atmosphere of a small town in upstate New York, Doe sets the stage for a wide range of emotions to be played out.

A ten year old child, Kelly, comes into his life at time when he needs the challenge she presents to him: "I need a new teacher," she said frankly. "You can teach me. It'll be easy; I'm a prodigy." Despite his vow to never teach violin again, Alex is drawn to the opportunity and this becomes the center point of the next phase of his life. Kelly comes with family, of course, and each character contributes to the texture of the story.

Doe accommodates the non-musically trained reader by including appropriate detail to give credibility to the tone of the book. Readers who are just in it for the relationships and the angst the main character works through as he processes the life changes he experiences will find a satisfying story without being distracted by the musical references.

I did have a little trouble accepting the Stradivarius. Somehow, I just couldn't picture this rare instrument in the context of this novel and would have preferred a modern-day instrument to reference the quality of the instrument compared to the person playing it. "Across the room, the clock read time for the lesson to be over, but steeped in their collaboration, neither noticed the hour." This I understood, knowing what it is like to be lost in the making of music. When the making of the music was on the Strad, however, subtle doubt took me out of the reading moment.

The novel did keep my interest throughout and it was refreshing to see intense emotions from a man's perspective. It is a love story told in an unusual context that is well-supported by good writing and a satisfactory ending.

[...]

This book has the ability to touch your heart. If ever I have read a love story that doesn't have a corny twist-this is it. It takes your heart where it hasn't been before. If you are lucky enough to have the culture of the violin, it will only take you one step further. What a beautiful story. When all is thought to be gone, there is so much more ahead of you. It is called life. This is a great opportunity to see the true meaning of that.

I just finished the book today. It was excellent! I bought it off Amazon and it came about 4 days ago. If I hadn't had been so busy this weekend I would have finished it in two days!! I couldn't wait to get home today to read the ending....

The Grace Note has been one of the most fantastic reading experiences I have ever been a part of. So rarely does a story come along that shines such a revealing light on the depths of the human soul. Starting with the most horrible kind of loss that all of us hope never to experience, Brian Doe weaves a masterful tale of painful rebirth and reminds us just how intertwined we all are on our never ending journey towards hope and happiness. The Grace Note will pluck at your heartstrings in a way that will leave you realizing just how many things we all have to be thankful for. This book is a must read!

What a wonderful love story, the balance between the love of music and love of his life, it tugs at your heartstrings. Brian has done a wonderful job putting you in the moment and making you feel the emotion. You must read this book, I highly recommend it!