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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Maestro, June 3, 2005
Peter Goldsworthy makes an amazing debut to the novel platform. This has to be the best book written by an Australian ever.
Firstly, and most importantly - the characters. Keller, the Maestro, left me breathless and still does on re-readings. His seemingly drunken ramblings on the Nazi era and on the vulgarity of human nature ring with a startlingly frank and horrible truth - "It WOULD be funny, if so much did not depend on it" he says of a 'carrols by candle light riot' news headline.
Paul Crabbe, our aspiring pianist, is an excellent portralyal of the teenage years, and J.K. Rowling would do well to consider this (her 'teenage-angst' Harry is simple and sickeningly obvious - give teenagers the credit Goldsworthy does!). The arragance that comes with intellect, especially in the teenage years, is well conveyed in Maestro and Paul's relationship with Rosie treated perfectly by Goldsworthy (are you listening to this, JKR?!?!).
I enjoyed this book particularly because i'm an aspiring concert classical guitarist. Goldsworthy seems to command a perfect understanding of what its like to aspire to something so difficult. The book's final sentence is poetic and beautiful, and gets the issue in one. He even shows an impecable knowledge of classical music that makes this book much less irritating than say 'Asturias' or 'the Mozart Maulers'(which was very pretentious).
Keller's theories on music are brilliant and Goldsworthy deserves credit: "the best music is neither beautiful nor ugly. Like the world, it is infinitly complex. Full of nuance. Rich beyond any reduction"
I don't usually like to qoute texts for an amazon review, and the fact that i've done so twice for this says something about the beautiful writting. Goldsworthy writes poetically, witout the self-indulgence of a poet. The descriptions of Darwin, Adeleide, music, life, and- especially - Kellar's study, are amazing.
Writting of this quality alone would get a 5/5. But Goldsworthy goes the next step - he edits. One would expect a writer with such beauty at his fingertips to indulge in endless ramblings, descriptions of flowers, etc etc. Not so Goldsworthy. The book is trim and fast paced: at little more than 100 pages, it can easily be read in a sitting. This excellent structural craftsmenship and narrative flare make Maestro not just an excellent read, but a work of high art.
Bravo, Maestro.
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5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Tropical Virtuoso, June 11, 2000
When you open this book, you will smell the north of Australia. Through carefully constructed set pieces Peter Goldsworthy paints a picture of love and of coming of age. The language floats indistincly between prose and poetry, unfettered by either. " Can I know that mine was a foolish, innocent world, a world of delustion and feeling and ridiculous dreams - a world of music - and still love it? Endlessly, effortlessly." Maestro may not be a undying masterpiece... But it is a masterpiece.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The maestro writes a masterpiece, September 22, 1999
Prior to this excellent work, Peter Goldsworthy was most known in Australia as a poet. With his first novel, Maestro, he brings a poet's love of words, their economy, and what one can achieve by underplaying and sensitively using words, rather than serving up a stodgy porridge of a tome. Maestro is a short novel, (almost a novella), but it makes up for in excellence what some may feel it lacks in words, for Goldsworthy has a respect for words. He also tells a poignant coming-of-age story with both understanding and insight. The narrative voice is never so intrusive that we feel that our contempt for the young arrogant Paul is being orchestrated by the author. Similarly we are led to develop a respect for the Maestro Eduard Keller, after our initial suspicions that he may be merely an aging dipsomaniac in a town (Darwin, capital of Australia's Northern Territory), where alcohol consumption is higher than in any other Australian capital city. Goldsworthy paints his minor characters well, from Paul's parents who exist as partners in opposition, to the sexual predatory, DJ,Rick Whitely. Maestro is a rich novel, allowing the reader to continually revisit it, and never be disappointed. It is difficult to praise this work too highly and any review will inevitably be lacking. Quite simply, and as last words, buy it, read it, and love the pleasure in reading a finely crafted work of literature!
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