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quossie's review against another edition
4.0
Maestro was pressed insistently on me by a good friend, and although not something I would have picked up for myself, the promise of music winding through the plot alongside gorgeous prose was enough for me to give it a shot.
I'm very glad I did. This book is beautiful. It's confronting at times, and the main character's teenage coming-of-age trials can be grating. Yet something in it still spoke to me. Maybe it's the timeframe in which I read it; a little over a month after my husband's death, the themes of missed chances, what-ifs, and regret at what could have been were always going to ring especially true.
One worth rereading and savoring again for the writing alone.
I'm very glad I did. This book is beautiful. It's confronting at times, and the main character's teenage coming-of-age trials can be grating. Yet something in it still spoke to me. Maybe it's the timeframe in which I read it; a little over a month after my husband's death, the themes of missed chances, what-ifs, and regret at what could have been were always going to ring especially true.
One worth rereading and savoring again for the writing alone.
b1ta's review
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
h0llyc0pter's review against another edition
5.0
*pretentious-sounding review incoming, be warned!*
5 stars for how perfectly Goldsworthy captured the nostalgia and claustrophobic joy of childhood. Add in the pure potency of his descriptions of Darwin and the climate of the North, and you’ve got a masterpiece. On top of that, the vividness of every character seen through the eyes of an adolescent, a young adult, and finally a grown man — never static, always evolving alongside Paul, yet still somehow constant — is just captivating. I don’t even have the words to describe the genius that is the creation and narration of Herr Keller.
5 stars for how perfectly Goldsworthy captured the nostalgia and claustrophobic joy of childhood. Add in the pure potency of his descriptions of Darwin and the climate of the North, and you’ve got a masterpiece. On top of that, the vividness of every character seen through the eyes of an adolescent, a young adult, and finally a grown man — never static, always evolving alongside Paul, yet still somehow constant — is just captivating. I don’t even have the words to describe the genius that is the creation and narration of Herr Keller.
ashleighwalsh's review against another edition
3.0
First read: 11-17 July 2015
Second read: 5-6 July 2016
Second read: 5-6 July 2016
pingu12's review
challenging
inspiring
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
emhents's review against another edition
1.0
This novel was dry and drab, apart from instances where you could have developed the plot, it fell back into a boring bottomless pit. Why is it that school books are always the worst?
galixi's review
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0