jburns13's review
emotional
mysterious
fast-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
4.25
lize_barclay's review
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
I am reading all of Christie’s novels, plays and short stories. However, this was rather jarring. I am very sensitive and forgiving towards the zeitgeist of when then book was written, but even from that perspective this work is depressing, horrific and confusing. The main character is really horrible. I know the tortured genius composer thing would have to be taken into account, but still, his racism and treatment of his family and friends is absolutely unforgivable now and would have been 100 years ago as well. I wish Christie studied and described more of the music and art movements of the time as that would have added value to this work. The 3 young women in his life probably meant something symbolic, but are all tragic in their own way, but also very forgettable. Sebastian is a solid and sympathetic character at least. I really miss Christie’s crisp descriptions and understanding of the time and people. It doesn’t feel like it was only written under another name, it feels written by a completely different writer completely: maybe a moody cousin who wanted to publish something too. If you are a Christie fan, skip this and rather read her murder mysteries or spy novels again.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racial slurs and Antisemitism
mamiles's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
mazza57's review
1.0
I think I will stick to Agatha and give the pseudonymous books a miss. The whole thing was tedious and the narration did not help
bookspatreads's review
challenging
dark
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
hashtag_alison's review
5.0
This novel is an interesting take on the human condition. None of the characters are very realistic on paper, but the emotional turmoil is depicted with truth. Christie’s depiction of English life in the 30s and 40s is always fascinating to me. Things that sound completely foreign and nonsensical to me, like people with enormous ancestral homes but no money; things that are relics from another time, like a woman battling with herself over marrying a passionate lover or rich suitor because it’s literally the only way society will let her support herself; and of course a protagonist that’s so caught up in his pursuit of art and his own private world that he can’t even be bothered to tell his own story; these are all woven together with Christie’s trademark storytelling that has you chasing after each chapter.
a8bhatia's review
2.0
I felt like this tale dragged on, everything was built up slowly with no real purpose or point made.
vegetablemathematics's review
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
sharkybookshelf's review against another edition
2.0
Vernon Deyre, a brilliant musician shaped by his sheltered childhood, finds himself caught up in a love triangle, with devastating consequences…
When I started my #SharkyReadsChristie project, I wasn’t really planning to include Christie’s romance books, which she published under the name Mary Westmacott, but then I thought why not… Well, don’t let the pretty picture fool you, because this was a rather tedious read and I regret my decision. Christie is clearly a great observer of human nature (it’s one of things that make her murder mysteries so clever), she writes the upper classes and their preoccupations so very well and her characters felt realistic, but I just wasn’t particularly interested in them or their problems. I also didn’t care about the love triangle. Of course, this was published in 1930 and isn’t comparable to modern-day romances (and it’s not a genre I often pick up, so I have few points of reference anyway), but even so, it was quite dull and lengthy and I just wanted it to wrap up. I don’t really have much else to say about it, except to note that one of the principal characters is Jewish, and some of the descriptions reflect the prejudices of the time, which is not automatically a criticism (encountering language that’s offensive in a modern context is a risk of reading older books), but it didn’t exactly add to my already limited enjoyment of this book. Believable (mostly) and realistic characters, but ultimately a lacklustre, lengthy romance.