mazza57's review
3.0
This was a very easy listen on audio well narrated and a story line that was just a little bit different. It was at times rather predictable but certainly an author I would read again. Quite how it gets an MPG of Historical Fiction when it has no historical content is beyond me but there you go
titania86's review against another edition
2.0
Alexander Feldman is a virtuoso violinist and well regarded teacher who is sought after for his talents and revered by the music community. He is also volatile, passionate, and sometimes cruel. In the middle of his career, he bought the Silver Swan, a Stradivarius cello, to play for his career and pass on to his daughter, Mariana. She performs and teaches well herself, but abruptly quits her career after a failed concert and a scandal involving a years long affair with a married conductor. Now, she focuses on taking care of her father as a passes 90 years old. He passes away and leaves her a note, detailing his decades long affair with another woman. Then another bomb drops when he leaves the beloved and priceless Silver Swan to that woman's son, Claude Roselle, so the cello can continue to be heard in performance. These revelations turn Mariana's world upside down and she starts to come apart at the seams.
I am a musician and love music, so I have a hard time passing up books about music. The Silver Swan has a lot of enjoyable elements. Alexander's magnetic presence is all over the novel, even after he has died. He is wonderful and terrible all at once. His tremendous talent makes him justify his giant ego and his selfish, demanding nature. It was especially interesting to see all sides of him and how each character viewed him. Mariana sees the most of both. He wants her to succeed and become great, but he also doesn't want her to surpass him, so he puts her down whenever he can. Their relationship is complex and difficult. The musical elements are well described and actually accurate.
Unfortunately, all the characters are pretty awful. Mariana seems pretty reasonable and relatable at first, but rapidly becomes unlikable. She is so upset that her dad cheated for so long, but she had a years long affair with a married man as well. It doesn't really make sense. I'm more surprised that he didn't have more lovers and children out there. Claude is just a huge douchebag. He begins an affair with Mariana while he is in a committed relationship with someone else without disclosing it when Mariana specifically asked. He ignores his girlfriend when he's with Mariana and then Mariana when he's with his girlfriend. Then he wonders why everyone is mad at him and laments over wanting to be free from being tied down while also sleeping with any woman he wants. Claude is the whiniest, childish idiot and I kind wish he would just shut up. The whole book is like two children fighting over a toy.
Some of the plot developments got really weird and V.C. Andrews-esque. There's a really weird scene where Mariana's mom accuses her of incest and replacing her with Alexander. It was really off the wall and out of place. There was enough there to be interesting without venturing into this territory. The back cover touts it as being sensual and sexy, but it's really quite awkward and not very well written. Overall, The Silver Swan is an interesting read but has a lot of big flaws that makes it insufferable by the end.
I am a musician and love music, so I have a hard time passing up books about music. The Silver Swan has a lot of enjoyable elements. Alexander's magnetic presence is all over the novel, even after he has died. He is wonderful and terrible all at once. His tremendous talent makes him justify his giant ego and his selfish, demanding nature. It was especially interesting to see all sides of him and how each character viewed him. Mariana sees the most of both. He wants her to succeed and become great, but he also doesn't want her to surpass him, so he puts her down whenever he can. Their relationship is complex and difficult. The musical elements are well described and actually accurate.
Unfortunately, all the characters are pretty awful. Mariana seems pretty reasonable and relatable at first, but rapidly becomes unlikable. She is so upset that her dad cheated for so long, but she had a years long affair with a married man as well. It doesn't really make sense. I'm more surprised that he didn't have more lovers and children out there. Claude is just a huge douchebag. He begins an affair with Mariana while he is in a committed relationship with someone else without disclosing it when Mariana specifically asked. He ignores his girlfriend when he's with Mariana and then Mariana when he's with his girlfriend. Then he wonders why everyone is mad at him and laments over wanting to be free from being tied down while also sleeping with any woman he wants. Claude is the whiniest, childish idiot and I kind wish he would just shut up. The whole book is like two children fighting over a toy.
Some of the plot developments got really weird and V.C. Andrews-esque. There's a really weird scene where Mariana's mom accuses her of incest and replacing her with Alexander. It was really off the wall and out of place. There was enough there to be interesting without venturing into this territory. The back cover touts it as being sensual and sexy, but it's really quite awkward and not very well written. Overall, The Silver Swan is an interesting read but has a lot of big flaws that makes it insufferable by the end.
zzimring's review against another edition
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
nini23's review against another edition
2.0
2.5 stars
A bit disappointing, I went into this expecting a novel form of The Red Violin, one of my favourite movies. There wasn't even that much itself about classical music or the intricacies of cello performance! Resembled more a soap opera complete with birth secrets, pregnancy, daddy issues, tumultuous romance and of course the evil meddling mother. Rich beautiful characters traveling the world leading glamorous drama-filled lives. Protagonists naturally infused with musical talent yet Mariana gives up her performing career without a satisfactory explanation. Full of tropes and cliches with little character development.
A bit disappointing, I went into this expecting a novel form of The Red Violin, one of my favourite movies. There wasn't even that much itself about classical music or the intricacies of cello performance! Resembled more a soap opera complete with birth secrets, pregnancy, daddy issues, tumultuous romance and of course the evil meddling mother. Rich beautiful characters traveling the world leading glamorous drama-filled lives. Protagonists naturally infused with musical talent yet Mariana gives up her performing career without a satisfactory explanation. Full of tropes and cliches with little character development.
firstimpressionsreviews's review against another edition
3.0
The plot for The Silver Swan was a strange combination of the films Intermezzo and Serendipity. Being a staunch classic film admirer, I would never dream of pairing Kate Beckinsale and Leslie Howard together but in this case, with a crazed composer and the makings of a wrong place wrong time subplot I think it would work.
While the story may have started out predictable it soon took a different turn. Greed was a major theme in Delbanco's plot. Marianna, unable to cope with the loss of the priceless instrument devises a plan, turning what could have been the film Serendipity into a fast-paced heist story.
I found Francine and in turn her son Claude to be reminiscent of the Sackville-Baggins. In The Lord of the Rings, Lobelia awaits the day when she will inherit Bag End and bides her time counting the silver with her idiotic son Lotho following in her wake. While she loses out upon Bilbo's disappearance; the gloating she exhibits when acquiring it from Frodo before his perilous quest is enough to make one vomit. This is exactly how I felt whenever Francine and Claude entered the room.
Marianna did not fare much better in my book; I thought she was a spoiled brat and was also difficult to like. Truthfully, I don't have much to say about her and would liken her to the Hobbit Merry, while he is a smart Halfling will always play second fiddle to Pippen and his antics.
Alexander Feldman, of course, is the unseen Sauron. He is always present with continuous control over what is precious, only disappearing when wickedness is set ablaze.
Despite the numerous pop culture references, The Silver Swan was a novel all its own and was quickly enraptured by the music it produced.
While the story may have started out predictable it soon took a different turn. Greed was a major theme in Delbanco's plot. Marianna, unable to cope with the loss of the priceless instrument devises a plan, turning what could have been the film Serendipity into a fast-paced heist story.
I found Francine and in turn her son Claude to be reminiscent of the Sackville-Baggins. In The Lord of the Rings, Lobelia awaits the day when she will inherit Bag End and bides her time counting the silver with her idiotic son Lotho following in her wake. While she loses out upon Bilbo's disappearance; the gloating she exhibits when acquiring it from Frodo before his perilous quest is enough to make one vomit. This is exactly how I felt whenever Francine and Claude entered the room.
Marianna did not fare much better in my book; I thought she was a spoiled brat and was also difficult to like. Truthfully, I don't have much to say about her and would liken her to the Hobbit Merry, while he is a smart Halfling will always play second fiddle to Pippen and his antics.
Alexander Feldman, of course, is the unseen Sauron. He is always present with continuous control over what is precious, only disappearing when wickedness is set ablaze.
Despite the numerous pop culture references, The Silver Swan was a novel all its own and was quickly enraptured by the music it produced.
jj24's review against another edition
3.0
Want a little high-brow mixed with low-brow? Turn on your favorite symphony, grab this book, and head for your favorite reading spot. Alexander Feldmann is one of the world's best, if not the best, cellists (although as an individual he's a despicable excuse for a husband, father, or friend). His daughter, Mariana, is his protege. The most important "being" in his life, however, is The Silver Swan, his beloved Stradivarius cello.
Mariana puts her own career on hold to nurse her ailing and aging father through his death, only to learn of his secrets and betrayals.
The characters in "The Silver Swan" are a bit shallow, and it's hard for the reader to feel much engagement with them as they don't seem or behave like real people. This book would make a decent "beach read" for those interested in music and looking for something fairly light and predictable.
Thank you to NetGalley and Other Press for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Mariana puts her own career on hold to nurse her ailing and aging father through his death, only to learn of his secrets and betrayals.
The characters in "The Silver Swan" are a bit shallow, and it's hard for the reader to feel much engagement with them as they don't seem or behave like real people. This book would make a decent "beach read" for those interested in music and looking for something fairly light and predictable.
Thank you to NetGalley and Other Press for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
beccalostinbooks's review
2.0
I really wanted to like this book. I liked Marianna and Claude. I liked the musician aspect (I even listened to cello music while I read it), I liked the twisted daddy issues and her grappling with her father's larger-than-life legacy and her own past demons. But honestly? It got stale. Nothing was being said throughout the middle of the book, it was just filler. I think this would have been a much superior story had it been a novella instead.
bookishlyruby's review
4.0
NOTE: To read the full review, visit my post.
*Disclaimer: I received this e-galley from Netgalley and Other Press in exchange for an honest review.
The first thing that appealed to me about the book was that it had nothing to do with what I normally read. I haven't read many books about musicians so far. And when I read an excerpt of this book something about the tone of the story and the narrative appealed to me.
There's a cinematic feel to this book. The way the scenes are put together, with the past and present mingling gave me the feeling of not only reading, but also watching a movie. I thought the way the author wrote the flashback scenes was very well done. I did, however, get confused at some point. This was because, although I felt that they explained a lot about Mariana and Claude's personalities, some of the flashbacks were introduced with no warning whatsoever. So it took a while to realize I was reading a memory.
*Disclaimer: I received this e-galley from Netgalley and Other Press in exchange for an honest review.
The first thing that appealed to me about the book was that it had nothing to do with what I normally read. I haven't read many books about musicians so far. And when I read an excerpt of this book something about the tone of the story and the narrative appealed to me.
There's a cinematic feel to this book. The way the scenes are put together, with the past and present mingling gave me the feeling of not only reading, but also watching a movie. I thought the way the author wrote the flashback scenes was very well done. I did, however, get confused at some point. This was because, although I felt that they explained a lot about Mariana and Claude's personalities, some of the flashbacks were introduced with no warning whatsoever. So it took a while to realize I was reading a memory.
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