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annecarts's review against another edition
3.0
Although this was predictable in places this was a sweet story of a cello maker and her friends. I loved the detail of the instrument making process and the musical themes of the book.
It was disappointing that the blurb for the book gives away half of the plot though and also the comparison to Elinor Oliphant I didn't think fit at all, the characters are completely different.
Thank you to Netgalley for a free copy in exchange for an honest review.
It was disappointing that the blurb for the book gives away half of the plot though and also the comparison to Elinor Oliphant I didn't think fit at all, the characters are completely different.
Thank you to Netgalley for a free copy in exchange for an honest review.
jager123's review against another edition
4.0
The Truths and Triumphs of Grace Atherton by Anstey Harris
This one is for anyone who has enjoyed the recent tales of awkward women finding true friendship and finding themselves. The music elements of the story are fascinating and I spent my morning commute listening to various versions of La Follia to try to understand Grace better. You’ll love Nadia and Maurice, they are the heart and soul of the story.
This one is for anyone who has enjoyed the recent tales of awkward women finding true friendship and finding themselves. The music elements of the story are fascinating and I spent my morning commute listening to various versions of La Follia to try to understand Grace better. You’ll love Nadia and Maurice, they are the heart and soul of the story.
essjay1's review against another edition
2.0
Nothing like Eleanor Oliphant as the review here suggests. The story was not my cup of tea but I did enjoy learning a bit about classical music and the author gives you a listening list at the end which I think is great.
thumbetina's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
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? Yes
4.0
bianca89279's review against another edition
4.0
The shy and somewhat recluse Grace Atherton is a luthier, who loves to make and repair string instruments. She herself is an accomplished cello player, not that anyone close to her has heard her play. Not even her lover of eight years, the charming David, who happens to have a wife and kids in Paris. Grace is always ready to drop whatever she's doing to meet with David whenever and wherever he's available. The crumbs he's offering are delicious. He was in many ways almost perfect - good-looking, generous, knew her very well and made her feel special. When David commits a bravery act, their lives turn upside down. It appears things were not as they seemed. Grace's devastated.
Luckily, she has two unlikely friends to help her through her heartbreak: an eighty-something year old gentleman, who comes by her shop for coffee and a chat and her spirited, angst-ridden teenage assistant, who's becoming a very good violin player herself.
While the story itself has been done before, what made it special, for me anyway, were all the details about playing music, instrument making, Cremona and its string instrument awards. (I looked it up, it's quite interesting).
This could be summed up as when life gives you broken string instruments, make a winning cello.
Many thanks to Simon & Schuster Australia for sending me a copy of this beautiful book. I love the cover.
Luckily, she has two unlikely friends to help her through her heartbreak: an eighty-something year old gentleman, who comes by her shop for coffee and a chat and her spirited, angst-ridden teenage assistant, who's becoming a very good violin player herself.
While the story itself has been done before, what made it special, for me anyway, were all the details about playing music, instrument making, Cremona and its string instrument awards. (I looked it up, it's quite interesting).
This could be summed up as when life gives you broken string instruments, make a winning cello.
Many thanks to Simon & Schuster Australia for sending me a copy of this beautiful book. I love the cover.
nina_reads_books's review against another edition
3.0
I picked up The Truths and Triumphs of Grace Atherton second-hand over a year ago. I’ve realised since that these type of books (I guess chick lit is the best description?) are not my most favourite of books. But I put this book on my #21in2021tbr to see what it was like and to get it off my TBR shelf.
Grace Atherton is a forty year old accomplished cellist who has not played in public since leaving her music school as a teenager believing herself a failure. Instead she has led a lonely life becoming a maker of violins and owning her own shop in England. But Grace has been seeing David for eight years and they regularly meet up in Paris when his schedule permits. Here’s the kicker though, David is married with children. Grace has hung on waiting for the magic day when David’s children are old enough for him to leave them and start a new life with Grace when an eventual night in Paris changes everything. Grace’s friends – 18 year old Nadia who is a violinist and works casually at Grace’s shop and Mr Williams a regular customer in his eighties band together to help Grace rebuild her life.
The pace of the first half of the book was slow and I wondered when Grace was ever going to reconsider her future with a married man but the pace picked up at the end and I quite enjoyed the unlikely trio and the way they bonded and came together for one another at the end. One aspect I found quite different to other books in this genre is that there was quite a lot of detail included around cellos and other string instruments as well as description of classical pieces of music. This was an interesting addition that definitely added another layer to the story.
Overall I found this to be a light feel good book which was an easy read when I was feeling unwell. It is however a book where a bunch of things go wrong for the main character and all the threads are tied neatly at the end. I think that suspending your disbelief at times is a requirement. Not a literary masterpiece but it was never trying to be one!
Grace Atherton is a forty year old accomplished cellist who has not played in public since leaving her music school as a teenager believing herself a failure. Instead she has led a lonely life becoming a maker of violins and owning her own shop in England. But Grace has been seeing David for eight years and they regularly meet up in Paris when his schedule permits. Here’s the kicker though, David is married with children. Grace has hung on waiting for the magic day when David’s children are old enough for him to leave them and start a new life with Grace when an eventual night in Paris changes everything. Grace’s friends – 18 year old Nadia who is a violinist and works casually at Grace’s shop and Mr Williams a regular customer in his eighties band together to help Grace rebuild her life.
The pace of the first half of the book was slow and I wondered when Grace was ever going to reconsider her future with a married man but the pace picked up at the end and I quite enjoyed the unlikely trio and the way they bonded and came together for one another at the end. One aspect I found quite different to other books in this genre is that there was quite a lot of detail included around cellos and other string instruments as well as description of classical pieces of music. This was an interesting addition that definitely added another layer to the story.
Overall I found this to be a light feel good book which was an easy read when I was feeling unwell. It is however a book where a bunch of things go wrong for the main character and all the threads are tied neatly at the end. I think that suspending your disbelief at times is a requirement. Not a literary masterpiece but it was never trying to be one!
owls_rainbow's review against another edition
4.0
Ebook provided by NetGalley for review. Thank you.
I can't remember why I initially chose this book because it is not my usual style/genre but I'm glad I did because it was a beautiful story of human emotion and connection against a musical backdrop.
Grace is a cellist running a shop making and repairing cellos, violins and violas, all whilst running back and forth to Paris to see her married lover, David. Eventually it transpires that David isn't who she thought he was, a revelation that leads to her damaging her own work on the cusp of a prestigious competition. The incident leads to a new closeness with longtime client Mr. Williams, and her prickly teenage shop assistant, Nadia, both of whom are violinists.
The cast was small in this book, yet effective. I did find David's excessive swearing a little jarring and senseless. Otherwise though I thought the author's writing was beautiful and very lyrical and descriptive. I did want more though, it just ended quite abruptly, I wanted a certain point to be carried to fruition and another point kind of got abandoned.
I can't remember why I initially chose this book because it is not my usual style/genre but I'm glad I did because it was a beautiful story of human emotion and connection against a musical backdrop.
Grace is a cellist running a shop making and repairing cellos, violins and violas, all whilst running back and forth to Paris to see her married lover, David. Eventually it transpires that David isn't who she thought he was, a revelation that leads to her damaging her own work on the cusp of a prestigious competition. The incident leads to a new closeness with longtime client Mr. Williams, and her prickly teenage shop assistant, Nadia, both of whom are violinists.
The cast was small in this book, yet effective. I did find David's excessive swearing a little jarring and senseless. Otherwise though I thought the author's writing was beautiful and very lyrical and descriptive. I did want more though, it just ended quite abruptly, I wanted a certain point to be carried to fruition and another point kind of got abandoned.
tonyriver's review against another edition
5.0
An absolute delight. Such a lovingly written story and so completely immersive. I felt as though I was seeing of the luthier, from her point of view. Graces obsessions, love and loss all engaged me fully.
Her love, loss and amazing friendships make a compelling story. The music throughout was amazing. I felt the need to listen to the music as I read to better understand the mood. (The music is discussed and listed in the appendix)
Highly recommended.
Her love, loss and amazing friendships make a compelling story. The music throughout was amazing. I felt the need to listen to the music as I read to better understand the mood. (The music is discussed and listed in the appendix)
Highly recommended.
llbel123's review against another edition
3.0
This book was very readable but ultimately it fell a little flat for me. I started off from behind as my ARC didnt show the cello illustration very well, so the different parts which were referenced continuously throughout the book flew over my head. The first chapter was very slow but thankfully it got better quickly from there. I did feel like some of the subplots were unnecessary, and her reaction to David's revelation in her shop could have been dealt with differently with similar impact. The ending was altogether too well wrapped up, i feel like some subtlety would have worked better.
Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.
Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.
bookishtrina's review against another edition
4.0
The Truths and Triumphs of Grace Atherton is a heartbreakingly, beautiful tale about relationships, the resilience of love, and the acceptance of loss all set to the backdrop of romantic cities and the arts.
Grace, a former musician with a traumatic musical schooling experience, enjoys a quiet life repairing instruments in a small English town. After a chance meeting a man named David, Grace and David are mad for each other and enjoy a long-distance relationship. One casual day while waiting for the Paris Metro, David performs a heroic act that catapults him to social media hero status which then turns the spotlight on his life. This turn of events showcased to Grace that things are other than what they seem. Leaning on unlikely acquaintances who become close friends, Grace attempts to unravel the truth while also attempting to live her life the best she can.
I enjoyed reading The Truths and Triumphs of Grace Atherton. It was very well-written with well-developed characters. It wasn’t a typical love story but instead lent itself more to love, joy and happiness being partaken in many different forms. I’d really like to see what Grace does next; crossing my fingers that there will be a book two.
I received an advanced review copy (ARC) of this book from the publisher through NetGalley for my honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Grace, a former musician with a traumatic musical schooling experience, enjoys a quiet life repairing instruments in a small English town. After a chance meeting a man named David, Grace and David are mad for each other and enjoy a long-distance relationship. One casual day while waiting for the Paris Metro, David performs a heroic act that catapults him to social media hero status which then turns the spotlight on his life. This turn of events showcased to Grace that things are other than what they seem. Leaning on unlikely acquaintances who become close friends, Grace attempts to unravel the truth while also attempting to live her life the best she can.
I enjoyed reading The Truths and Triumphs of Grace Atherton. It was very well-written with well-developed characters. It wasn’t a typical love story but instead lent itself more to love, joy and happiness being partaken in many different forms. I’d really like to see what Grace does next; crossing my fingers that there will be a book two.
I received an advanced review copy (ARC) of this book from the publisher through NetGalley for my honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.