Counterpoint: Dylan's Story in Queereaders

Aug 06, 2010 Kassa rated it it was amazing

Ruth Sims is a great author. I can say that unequivocally and as a huge fan. When I read The Phoenix, I was blown away by the beauty and sensuality of that book. Sims does it again with another stunning story that rides a wave of emotion from tears, laughter, beauty, frustration, and obsession. At one point I threw my ereader (gently onto the couch) in frustration then hurried to pick it up and continue reading. Although a wonderfully written historical, the themes and emotion transcend the time Ruth Sims is a great author. I can say that unequivocally and as a huge fan. When I read The Phoenix, I was blown away by the beauty and sensuality of that book. Sims does it again with another stunning story that rides a wave of emotion from tears, laughter, beauty, frustration, and obsession. At one point I threw my ereader (gently onto the couch) in frustration then hurried to pick it up and continue reading. Although a wonderfully written historical, the themes and emotion transcend the time period to something all readers can enjoy.

Dylan Rutledge is a composer. Even from a young age music has dominated the young man’s life and become a harsh taskmaster. His irrepressible personality and behavior do no favors as he struggles in the tightly controlled society of family, education, and hierarchy of England in the late 1800s. Although eventually graduating school with some difficulty, Dylan breaks from the support and comfort of family to pursue success and love in Paris. Unfortunately while finding love with ex-school master Laurence, Dylan’s road to musical fame is littered with obstacles. From London to Paris and back, Dylan’s life is an incredibly journey in love, loss, pain, hardship, and perseverance.

In many ways this tightly plotted, well written story reminds me of historical biographies of great artists. Tortured, obsessive, painful, and redeeming, Dylan Rutledge’s fictional existence fits well with such tales of hardship and genius. The third person narrative follows Dylan through his life as he meets the first and then second loves of his life, encounters great bigotry and frustration as a composer ahead of his time, and displays all the eccentricities expected of brilliance with a touch of insanity. There is a lot of action but it is very character dependant and the characterization is truly inspired.

Dylan is clearly the star, and loves to be so. His personality is complex, difficult, stubborn, antagonistic, brilliant, frustrating, heart breaking and beautiful all at once. He is a great example of a wonderfully flawed hero. His characterization is nuanced, subtle, bold, and engrossing. You simply can’t stop wondering and thinking about him long after the story ends. His journey however is touched by a cast of equally eye catching men and women with no throw away characters. Laurence is a beautiful foil for Dylan’s intensity and wildness but he is never empty and stands well on his own. Together it makes for a lovely romance but not to be denied are Ivy, Schonnie and Geoffrey. These characters make for a totally absorbing reading experience where the personalities feel honest, real, and important. You want to know more about them and how they survive and react.

The themes of friendship, love, loss, tragedy, and redemption are folded into the story alongside great world building. I’d be surprised if any readers found fault with the historical setting and the wealth of detail afforded. The time frame is never forgot, yet manages to produce a story with universal appeal and interest. It may be historical and steeped deeply in that time period but it feels contemporary with the themes and engrossing nature. There is no dry language, dull recitation of the time period that a lot of readers associate with historicals. Instead the setting comes alive in the details, folded in with skill and timing. There is so much emotion to the scenes that you simply can’t stop reading.

Some of the best scenes – and the most frustrating – revolve around Geoffrey. He’s undoubtedly a fabulous character, the strong willed Gypsy yearning for his lost family and culture. Yet at the same time I often wanted to crawl into the book and strangle him myself for his actions and refusal to protect himself. The negative repercussions are well telegraphed and yet the scenes remain vivid, stark, harsh, and unforgettable. That portion of the book made me want to cry and yell simultaneously. It’s wonderfully written with crisp, evocative prose and shows the real flaws of the characters. Similarly, the scenes halfway through the book dealing with Dylan’s depression (not to give spoilers, the reason will make you cry). These scenes delve into the dark areas of his life and heart without the story ever feeling depressing or heavy. Instead it’s a meaty read for those that want to sink their teeth into a great story with a roller coaster of emotions.

Another great aspect is the theme of music. Dylan as a composer with Schonnie and Geoffrey as violinists create an atmosphere where you can almost hear the music being discussed. Too often translating music through a story as an essential character is difficult and falls flat. Here it succeeds remarkably well and becomes a living, breathing detail woven into almost every scene. When the music stops for part of the story, its absence is stark and obvious. It’s almost as if the book and characters are missing something vital and important.

I could go on and on about the aspects I really enjoyed since this is a memorable and delightful read, but I won’t bore readers. I’ll simply urge everyone to give this a chance, even if you’re not a big historical fan. It doesn’t read like a historical even as numerous details are constantly offered to keep the time period alive and interesting. There are parts of the book and Geoffrey especially that I wanted to slap but it wouldn’t be the same story if they were changed. I think the story is exactly what was intended down to my own anger and frustration. Thankfully the pleasure in reading far outweighs the few book throwing moments.

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Aug 16, 2010 Erastes rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: gay-historical

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I’ve always been of the opinion that books should be pretty. To (probably) misquote the Arts & Crafts Movement, “one should have nothing in one’s house, that is not useful and decorative.”

Counterpoint is beautifully laid out. From the gorgeous cover by Alex Beecroft (which clearly tells the story) to the wonderful art nouveau font on the headings, this book looks good.

But is it useful? I.e. It might look good, but is it well written?

In a word, yes. This won’t come as any surprise to those reader I’ve always been of the opinion that books should be pretty. To (probably) misquote the Arts & Crafts Movement, “one should have nothing in one’s house, that is not useful and decorative.”

Counterpoint is beautifully laid out. From the gorgeous cover by Alex Beecroft (which clearly tells the story) to the wonderful art nouveau font on the headings, this book looks good.

But is it useful? I.e. It might look good, but is it well written?

In a word, yes. This won’t come as any surprise to those readers who have already read Ms Sims’ first book “The Phoenix.” They–as have I–have been waiting a long time for this book, and the polite thing would be to say that the wait was worth it, but I’m greedy and wouldn’t complain if Ms Sims wrote a book a year. This shows progression from the Phoenix; there is a richer depth of emotion and characterisation, and the love affairs described are touching in a way that I never felt with the characters from the first novel.

This is, as the title suggests, Dylan’s story, and he stands firmly at the core of it all: young, passionate, arrogant with a very firm belief in his talent and entirely obsessed with music, and with little care for anything else, whether it be rules, or family. It’s only the attempts of his family and friends that save him from ruining himself entirely, because if he had been allowed he would have run off and studied music right from the beginning of the book.

It’s a real coming-of-age story, not in a clichéd way of “I’m homosexual and have to come to terms with it” but the way that life forces Dylan to get to grips with his pride, overcome it at times, and compromise with other people, other artists. At first he’s all “it’s my way or nothing” but gradually he learns to work with others, even if that sense of “no, I’m right, and they’ll realise it one day” never leaves him. He sees something, and in his brash young, privileged manner he thinks everything, including love, will fall into his lap, and it’s heartbreaking sometimes to see how he finds that life isn’t like that.

I think the blurb hints that there’s real tragedy in this book, and so readers who can’t bear anyone dying might need to check out whether they want to get invested in the story before starting. But I liked it because life’s like that, you don’t always get to live with the person you love–not forever, and this handles that very well. I have to say that the “forbidden love” tag in the blurb confused me – in that day and age, I couldn’t see why one homosexual relationship was any more forbidden than another.

There are themes here that are echoed from The Phoenix, and I think I would have preferred something altogether different rather than another artisan who works hard to get to the top of his profession. There’s a top-heavy amount of tragedy, too, which didn’t put me off, as I’m a lover of unremitting angst, but it would have been nice if we’d been shown some of the lighter, sweeter moments in Dylan’s life, especially with his relationship with Laurence Northcliff.

It might sound like I’m being super critical, but when a book is actually as good as this, there’s little point me telling who how damned good. But it is. Sims’ prose is never too layered or dense that you get lost in run-on sentences and too many adjectives; she seems to have an instinct of exactly how much description to add to create an atmosphere, and when to let well enough alone and let the imagination take flight.She never becomes over-technical, particularly when dealing with concepts such as the Gypsies or music, but neither does she dumb down–relying instead on context to make her meaning crystal clear.

As a rich and winding story of love, obsession, disappointment and talent it works beautifully, and anyone with an interest of the fin de siècle period of London and Paris will find it satisfying and intense. Don’t miss this one. ...more

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May 14, 2011 Bill rated it it was amazing

Shelves: fiction-literary, favorite-books-re-read, gay-fiction, period-fiction

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. 1st draft:

Counterpoint: Dylan's Story is a beautiful novel which I enjoyed in every manner, from cover to cover.

Superficially, a highly individualist teen lusts for his history teacher in a boys school in England, they eventually meet in Paris and become a couple. Teacher is killed in a manner reminiscent of Pierre Curie's death. Boy becomes despondent but eventually falls for a similar kid near his age and things work out, probably. All are of course gorgeous and lustiferous, reinforced by the ...more

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Feb 05, 2011 Mark Probst rated it it was amazing

Having been completely enthralled with Ruth Sims’ first novel, The Phoenix, I was naturally eager to delve into her latest novel, Counterpoint. I’m happy to say that Ms. Sims has succeeded in delivering yet another masterful story, this time set in the world of classical music. We follow the journey of a talented young musician, Dylan, who has dreams of bringing a new style of classical music to the world, but finds that except for a few advocates, the classical music world is just not ready for ...more

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