What a Novel Idea

I love finishing a book.  Sometimes at the end of a particularly engrossing novel, reading that last line is satisfying like a truly succulent meal.  I just finished Frank Conroy’s Body and Soul which is this month’s reading club selection.  I’d highly recommend it to anyone who prefers a little gravitas to their novels.  If you’re inclined at all toward the influence of music in the human experience, you would also enjoy it.

The novel centers on a young man named Claude.  Claude’s background is modest and almost Dickensian.  Despite that, he finds himself playing a piano.  Eventually, he meets someone who is willing to teach him because this adult recognizes Claude’s talent and potential.  The novel is divided into three parts almost like a piece of music itself.  I can’t believe that was not the intended comparison either since the standard for a concerto is three movements. 

An intriguing aspect is the historical setting connected to New York City and World War II.  Without allowing the setting to overpower the storyline, Conroy deftly gives the reader a sense of time and place.  The way the setting weaves into the story contributes to the understanding of the characters and to the development of the protagonist through his childhood and on into adulthood.  The last novel I recall that captured this same idea for me was The Great Gatsby. 

Devouring a book like Body and Soul simply feels exhilarating.  It saddens me when someone tells me that he or she doesn’t enjoy reading.  It baffles me frankly.  Reading is one remarkable way that helps me connect to the humanity of life.  It gives me new perspectives.  It repulses, confuses, devastates, and uplifts—sometimes all in one book!  I’m not sure what our next book club selection is, but this one truly delivered a compelling story.  It also offered the best insight into money:

                “It’s a nuisance.  Money is a nuisance.” Aaron Copland to Claude Rawlings page 406