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Maestro

Peter Goldsworthy

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Apr 17, 2017 Andrea rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: australian-author, challenge

What a great read! And I see in some reviews that this has been on the Australian school syllabus, at least in the past, if not presently. Not in my day - because it hadn't been written - but if I had read this as a teenager I think it would have easily got 5 stars from me.

I read Maestro for its Darwin location, and for me, the setting is one of two things about this book that absolutely shone. Having lived in Darwin for a few years myself, albeit much later than this story is set, I was instant What a great read! And I see in some reviews that this has been on the Australian school syllabus, at least in the past, if not presently. Not in my day - because it hadn't been written - but if I had read this as a teenager I think it would have easily got 5 stars from me.

I read Maestro for its Darwin location, and for me, the setting is one of two things about this book that absolutely shone. Having lived in Darwin for a few years myself, albeit much later than this story is set, I was instantly transported there. “Even our garden lawn—most domesticated of foliage—needed mowing again almost as soon as it was done … like some lush, green five o’clock shadow.” I can almost feel the midges nipping at my bare ankles. There are one or two other quotes I really liked that pinpointed the tropical location so accurately for me (should be visible below).

EDIT: Forgot to mention - a book set in Darwin with not one mention, not even an allusion to, crocodiles! What?!

The other thing of course, was the wonderful relationship between gruff piano teacher, Eduard Keller - the Maestro - and Paul Crabbe, teenage would-be prodigy. At the start, Paul is the type of kid who is 100% confident in his talent, because it's always been nurtured by his musical parents and he's probably never really received the kind of constructive criticism needed to grow and excel. Keller changes all that. He won't even let Paul play for him for the first few weeks of lessons, or consultations, as he calls them. Keller is so sparing with praise that Paul eventually learns that the rare words of approval are worth every moment of his frustration with being taken back to endless scales and practising the childrens' version of concert pieces. Movie equivalents might be Dead Poets Society, or To Sir With Love, or Goodbye Mr Chips - you get the picture.

It's a short book, but underneath all this there is still room for a sad sub-story about Keller's wartime experiences in Europe. Is he a war criminal, as Paul initially only half-jokingly suspects? Could he in fact actually be Jewish? And why do people from his past think he is dead?

This is one that I will probably re-read in the future. ...more

14 likes · Like · see review

Sep 01, 2009 Lucia rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Dec 12, 2012 Sally marked it as to-read · review of another edition

Mar 28, 2013 Lynne rated it liked it · review of another edition

Dec 08, 2022 Linda marked it as to-read · review of another edition

Shelves: australian

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