Counterpoint: Dylan's Story in Q&A with Erastes

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: gay-fiction, fiction-literary, favorite-books-re-read, 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 07, 2011 Elisa Rolle added it · review of another edition

Counterpoint is at the same time a detailed, and wonderfully described, historical fiction and a love story; actually it is two love stories in one life, Dylan’s life, and as a perfect Salomon’s decision, Ruth Sims devoted the exact number of page to one love, Laurence, 160 pages, and another 160 pages to the second one, Geoffrey. And like in a perfect consecutio temporis, when the story starts Laurence is an adult who falls in love for a boy, Dylan, and when Laurence’s story is almost to the en Counterpoint is at the same time a detailed, and wonderfully described, historical fiction and a love story; actually it is two love stories in one life, Dylan’s life, and as a perfect Salomon’s decision, Ruth Sims devoted the exact number of page to one love, Laurence, 160 pages, and another 160 pages to the second one, Geoffrey. And like in a perfect consecutio temporis, when the story starts Laurence is an adult who falls in love for a boy, Dylan, and when Laurence’s story is almost to the end, Dylan’s next love, Geoffrey, enters the scene, and he is only a boy to whom Dylan will be protector and lover, like Laurence was for him.

Dylan’s love for Laurence is completely different from what he will feel for Geoffrey, different but not for this reason lesser. If fate was not to interfere in their relationship, I’m sure Dylan and Laurence would have aged together, indeed the more or less 15 years they have of age difference can be huge when Dylan is only a student and Laurence his ancient history professor, but they are nothing when Dylan is in his middle twenty and Laurence is an handsome man in his forty. And with time they would have been even lesser until the difference would have disappeared. For sure Dylan’s love for Laurence was born from his need to be accepted, where his family and other professors didn’t comprehend his love for music, Laurence helped him, tutored him to become the man who was able to really write good music. But Laurence was also the man Dylan pursued, and not the other way; if they are lovers it was since Dylan, impetuous and young Dylan pursued Laurence until the quiet man couldn’t avoid to completely falling for his young protégé. Dylan doesn’t see in Laurence an old man, he sees his future, his love and the fire that will feed his passion.

When that fire is taken away, Dylan is almost destroyed, in mind and heart. Geoffrey comes back in his life at the right moment, giving him another pursue. Geoffrey is not a substitute of Laurence, he is a completely different man; not only he is way younger; he is also someone who needs Dylan and not the other way. Loving Geoffrey Dylan is not forgetting Laurence; on the contrary, in a way he is doing what Laurence wanted for him, to live for music. Dylan is a composer; Geoffrey is the violinist who will give sound to Dylan music, but also passion.

Counterpoint can well being two novels in one and having them together will prove to the reader that is possible to love two times, with the same deepness, and the point is that when something tragic happens in your life, you have to let your heart be open to that second chance.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/1615815333/?... ...more

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Nov 27, 2010 Gerry Burnie rated it it was amazing

In March of this year I had the pleasure of reviewing The Phoenix by Ruth Sims, and described it as, “A masterful piece of writing, credible and enjoyable from start to finish.” At that time I thought that I had exhausted all the superlatives possible on a novel, but with Counterpoint: Dylan’s Story [Dream Spinner Press, July 2010] she had surpassed even these. Indeed, Counterpoint has been described as “A symphony of words.”

It begins with a tasteful cover design by Alex Beecroft that captures t In March of this year I had the pleasure of reviewing The Phoenix by Ruth Sims, and described it as, “A masterful piece of writing, credible and enjoyable from start to finish.” At that time I thought that I had exhausted all the superlatives possible on a novel, but with Counterpoint: Dylan’s Story [Dream Spinner Press, July 2010] she had surpassed even these. Indeed, Counterpoint has been described as “A symphony of words.”

It begins with a tasteful cover design by Alex Beecroft that captures the theme of the novel with just the right flare. Then the story opens like an insightful overture containing a glimpse of what is to come, but most of all it artfully introduces Dylan’s impetuous personality better than any descriptive narrative could do. Here we find Dylan playing one of his own composition illicitly on the main organ of the Bede College (for young gentlemen) chapel; an instrument that is almost the ‘proprietary’ province of the old-school, hide-bound choir master—ushering in one of nemesis in Dylan’s life; the first of many.

Chapter one also introduces us to Laurence Northcliff, a more liberal-minded teaching master—although, how ‘liberal’ remains to be seen in a later chapter.

In fact, the character development in this story is one of the very strong points of Ruth Sims’ writing; for they are all true to the period in their attitudes and way of thinking, credible for who and what they are, and consistent throughout. For example, Dylan retains his artless idealism throughout; Northcliff his maturity and understanding; Dylan’s father his ultra-conservative, middleclass standards; etc. I also thought it very true-to-life that his father would blame Northcliff for Dylan’s ‘downfall,’ referring to his homosexuality, because it couldn’t have come from his genes—plus ca change.

The setting, both in England and in Paris, deserve a special mention as well; for I find it quite remarkable that a gal who “has lived her entire life in conservative, Republican, tiny-town Midwest USA,” can create 19th-century, European settings that are so credible in detail and ambiance that they rival travel brochures.

Indeed ‘ambiance’ is another aspect of her writing that is worthy of praise. It creates that period “feeling” that so many of her readers have commented on, including myself regarding The Phoenix:
“Not to be overlooked is the amount of research required to reproduce Victorian England to a credible degree is quite considerable—especially for a gal who, according to her biography, has never seen a moor! Well, the test of the ‘credibility factor’ is that I as a reader certainly believed it.”

Counterpoint: Dylan’s Story reads like silk rippling across naked skin, and the overall experience of it—the heights and depths of love, the highs and lows of life, the counterpoints of success and failure, and the triumph of the human spirit has left me with the afterglow of having read a great story!
...more

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Jul 17, 2010 Mickie Ashling rated it it was amazing

I have been a fan of Ms. Sims since I read The Phoenix several years ago. I can't say enough about this new book. Counterpoint: Dylan's Story is a beautiful love story from start to finish. There's nothing I would improve and her characters will linger in my head for days. I inhaled this first read, tearing throught it like glutton. I plan to read it again, but this time, savoring every passage. Her mastery of time and location, her word choices, the attention to detail, and the fierce love betw ...more

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Aug 21, 2010 Julie Hayes rated it it was amazing

Counterpoint: In music, counterpoint is the relationship between two or more voices that are independent in contour and rhythm and are harmonically interdependent.*

Dylan Rutledge is a wild colt - brash, bold, and unbroken to bit and bridle. But he's also very talented. His trouble is making others see that. He is his own worst enemy because of his refusal to conform or to follow the rules at the Bede School for Young Gentlemen. But he knows what he wants - to be the best composer he can be, to p Counterpoint: In music, counterpoint is the relationship between two or more voices that are independent in contour and rhythm and are harmonically interdependent.*

Dylan Rutledge is a wild colt - brash, bold, and unbroken to bit and bridle. But he's also very talented. His trouble is making others see that. He is his own worst enemy because of his refusal to conform or to follow the rules at the Bede School for Young Gentlemen. But he knows what he wants - to be the best composer he can be, to play his own music and to have others play it. For that he is willing to risk everything, including almost sure expulsion, when he steals the key to the school organ, just to have a decent instrument to play his music on. Master Laurence Northcliff agrees with him - he sees something in Dylan, something that resonates inside of himself. But it's more than the boy's music, God help him.

*Wikipedia

Dylan's father is incensed when his son is expelled - again - and sent home. He wants him to get this musical nonsense out of his head, to follow in his brother Marion's sensible footsteps. To that end, he has procured a position for Dyl as a clerk with his brother's firm. Dylan is outraged and utterly refuses. All he wants to do is compose music, that's all. It is his life! His die seems hopelessly cast, though, until divine intervention, in the form of a tumble by the choirmaster, leaves Bede short one director/organist just before the visit of the bishop to the school! Laurence convinces the school to bring Dylan back for that purpose. The young whippersnapper, rejoicing at this turn of events, assumes that due to the time required for the preparation of the bishop's visit, he will be excused from classes, but such is not the case. He is to have a tutor - he requests that it be Laurence Northcliff. The more that Dylan and Laurence are together, the greater their attraction to one another grows - an attraction which Laurence fights, but Dylan does not. He fantasizes about being in Laurence's arms, and Laurence has similar dreams. When Dylan kisses the master, just before the Christmas break, Laurence realizes he cannot stay - he leaves the school, and heads to Paris to work on his writing - and to stay away from the beautiful boy that tempts him so. He doesn't take into account the headstrong nature of this talented young colt - Dylan bides his time until he graduates from Bede, receiving the Grand Tour, which is the staple gift for young wealthy schoolboys upon their leaving their places of matriculation. He is determined to have both his composing career, and Laurence!

Read my complete review at Yaoi Radius! ...more

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Jul 15, 2010 Anna rated it it was amazing

This was a wonderful book to read, it had everything you are looking for when it comes to two people falling in love. I would recommend this book to anyone and everyone to read.

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