May book review: A Musical Affair

The Courier is partnering with Inkberry Books again, and I've got quite the story for you. The minute I realized that Carrie Jane Knowles was the author (she wrote another excellent book that I reviewed, The Inevitable Past), I was instantly excited to read A Musical Affair

It's excellent, engaging, exciting and definitely a page turner. Unless you just despise classical music or infidelities aren't particularly triggering to you, you're almost assured to like this book.

The book largely focuses on Celeste Anderson, ex-socialite and divorcee who's been coerced to be the new director of the failing Chamber Society in Raleigh, North Carolina. We first meet Celeste as she's exploring Tuscany, looking for a nice little quartet to play in the concert series this coming year. But when she hears the Tuscan Chamber Orchestra play, she falls in love with their music and decides to create a summer music festival completely around them.

Little does she know that some shady deals were made that led her to this Italian trip and this job; but she does know the odds are stacked against her. It is the first time she's ever directed a chamber society, let alone organized a music festival, and she'll need all the help she can get, even if that means relying on a little exploitation of people's secrets.

Before you think that Celeste is corrupt though, she's not the instigator of the drama; in Knowles' version of Raleigh, everyone's tangled in a web of secrets--sometimes people are aware of the secrets, other times they are merely affected by them.

This conflict--who has something to hide, and the lengths they're willing to go to protect themselves--is central to the book. "A Musical Affair'' is an apt name for the novel. After all, people are having affairs left and right, sometimes to the detriment of the music festival, and sometimes to its benefit. That's just some of what makes this book so interesting.

Upon first glance, it seems to be a simple story of an underdog who pulled off an event that everyone doubted would ever come to fruition. But underlying that, there are multiple subplots exploring trust, truth and expectations.

One plotline that is a particular favorite is that of Celeste's assistant, Emily. She's a high school drop-out who's angry at her parents for divorcing. At a loss, her mother pushes her at Celeste, hoping that she'll keep Emily out of her hair. But what Emily discovers is that she loves classical music and that there are people such as Celeste and Celeste's mother Millie who believe in, and trust her. Through this experience, Emily finds a passion in music and even makes amends with both her parents.

Emily's growth alone is impressive and a great read, but so is the development of the other characters. We see Celeste develop from a self-doubting divorcee, who's never had a job, into a confident festival organizer. We see both Emily's mother Binky and her friend Lou Ann go from confident, if somewhat shallow women, to become independent women who take back their lives.

Knowles is an expert at making characters readers either love or dislike. She's incredibly descriptive and her plots are well thought out. On that note, her subplots, such as Emily's growth, along with her numerous affairs, are woven together so well that while the book is complex, it is both easy to follow and fascinating to read.

Knowles isn't necessarily a master of suspense, but she is a master of timing, and she lets her characters discover bits of information at just the right time so that the overall story moves along smoothly while being engaging at the same time.

I loved the dialogue as well. Knowles has mastered the tricky skill of making conversations between characters flow naturally. There is a lot of dialogue in this book, from gloating about an "evil plan," to pondering over possible affairs, to lamenting over the lack of cash flow for the festival. The characters' interactions were expertly written, and it felt as though I was sitting there with them.

A Musical Affair is a realistic novel focusing on finding oneself, and defying the odds. It's a great recommendation for sure.

Happy reading.