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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
"Something is going on when my back is turned. Someone is up to no good.",
By Luan Gaines "luansos" (Dana Point, CA USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER) (VINE VOICE) (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)
This review is from: Tenderwire (Paperback)
When first we meet classical violinist Eva Tyne, she is about to play in an important concert. Eva is as finely strung as her violin. Given to flashes of genius and despair, drinking too much, too often, emotionally battered by her own random choices. One night after a performance, she meets Daniel, an investment banker, in a bar, thinking never to see him again. But when she is introduced to an enigmatic Russian, Alexander, in another bar on another night, she learns of a lifetime opportunity to purchase what he believes is a Stradivarius violin for half the market price. Eva plunges into her destiny, enraptured by the pure notes of the violin. Cobbling together the required cash for the instrument, over half a million dollars, Eva asks Daniel to invest, assigning him one-quarter ownership of the violin. In her urgency to have this rare piece of history, the lack of provenance and certificate of ownership fails to deter Eva and soon she is caught up in dramatic events both of her own making and outside her control, wracked with doubts, yet set upon a path that can only include what she calls her "Magdalena". Once Eva makes the purchase with the suspicious dealer, her days acquire an eerie quality, her thoughts chased with paranoia, her career rising but threatened by a lack of provenance for the violin, her relationships rife with jealousy and self-doubt. In taking possession of this magnificent, if disputed, instrument, Eva has opened the door to chaos, adding more layers of complications to her already disordered life. Eva suffers for her art, her sense of self already damaged by her past in Ireland. In a rarified life of orchestras and genius performances, Eva is accomplished, her erratic increasing exponentially, tethered to a demanding career. Plagued by an inability to gauge appropriate behavior, many of Eva's choices are triggered by emotion and instinct; consequently, the constant drama, confusion and paranoia make it difficult to assess Eva's grasp of reality, lending a mysterious cast to the story. In the midst of fright and flight, Eva embraces her sudden insights into the foundations of her discontent, achieving a clarity that has previously eluded her; but it is a treacherous journey, one fraught with vague threats and the ill-intentions of others. The author cleverly saves the secrets for last, shocking revelations that shake this confusing puzzle into a recognizable shape, rearranging the events that were once so baffling, in a surprising and deft ending: "Such an ugly bite to it, the taste of my own medicine." Sorting through fact and fantasy, Eva acknowledges her mistakes, finally fending for herself, releasing the small comforts of the past to own the future. Luan Gaines/ 2006.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
No Ordinary Violin,
By Debbie Lee Wesselmann (the Lehigh Valley, PA) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER) (VINE VOICE) (2008 HOLIDAY TEAM) (REAL NAME)
This review is from: Tenderwire (Paperback)
Irish novelist Claire Kilroy makes her American debut with Tenderwire, a taut tale about music, desire, and possession. Concert violinist and narrator Eva suffers a mysterious collapse following her much celebrated soloist debut in New York. After her release, Eva cannot bring herself to return to the apartment she shares with longtime boyfriend Krystof, and so finds herself drinking alone in a bar, combining her powerful pain medication with alcohol. There, she meets Daniel, an investment banker with whom she spends a platonic night. Unable to tell Krysof the truth about that night, Eva precipitates a series of events that lands her the opportunity to buy a special violin that its seller, a coarse but charismatic Russian named Alexander, claims is a smuggled Stradivarius. Eva cannot resist the Magdalena's pure, resonant sound, and thus risks everything to possess it.
Although suspenseful, this novel cannot be rightly called a thriller since the psychological make-up of Eva, with her passion for music and her yearning for her presumed dead father, drives this novel toward its conclusion. Eva is a young woman who wants to possess and conquer, whether it be a Shostakovich concerto or a lover. Like the famous Paganini, whom she reveres and who himself played a violin not unlike the Magdalena, Eva plays like a woman possessed herself. As Kilroy writes, "There were rumors that Pagnini was in league with satanic forces. That's how he played the violin so well." Although it's a stretch for the reader to believe that Eva sold her soul to obtain -- and keep -- the Magdalena, her obsession with it is wholly believable. Kilroy's writing is neither provocative nor awkward, and instead it carries along her story without drawing attention to itself. This flatness of style keeps this novel from reaching its full potential, but, even so, Kilroy's storytelling ability entices one to continue reading, page by page, chapter by chapter. The author expertly weaves elements of Eva's past into the present, so that her willingness to break the rules of both her profession and her personal relationships becomes integral to who she is. A solid debut, this novel should gain some American fans for its Irish author.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fabulous book about a young violinist,
By Andy "your average reader" (Ashburn, Virginia) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Tenderwire (Paperback)
Tenderwire by Claire Kilroy is an enchanting and mesmerizing book about a young, Irish violinist in an orchestra in New York. To make a long story short, she mets a Russian guy in a bar and he convinces her to come to his apartment to see a great violin. There he shows her the magnificent "Magdelena Stradivarius" which in the long run actually turns out to be a Del Gesu, which is also a very old and exspensive violin. Eva tells of the hardships of her breakup and her fight for the "Magdelena," which a family believes was stolen from them by the Nazis. This novel was unbelievably great. I couldn't put it down and when I did I came back to it shortly. Claire Kilroy is definitely one of the best writers of our time. This story will not only be interesting to music lovers, but to anybody who reads it. This probably one of the best books I've read lately! Enjoy!
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