Play Book Tag discussion

The Ensemble by Aja Gabel - 3* -My Review

This is the story of a string quartet whose members stayed together over the course of fifteen years. We have ambitious Jana on first violin (and acting group lead), sensitive Brit on second violin, Henry “the prodigy” on viola, and caustic Daniel on cello. This is a character-driven story that delves deeply into the interior lives of the four musicians. The storyline relates their family histories, friendships, relationships, marriages, children, disagreements, and personal growth.

It is obvious that the author has a background in classical music. The commitment, drive, competition, rehearsals, performances, and difficulties in establishing a career in classical music are believable and nicely done. What did not work as well for me is all the melodrama. There are way too many sexual escapades for my taste. I am really not all that interested in stories of who is sleeping with whom – it gets tedious after a while. The story is constructed in the form of a piece of music, and I think the author is using it as an extended metaphor for life. It almost works.

“They were playing now, like they always had. It wasn’t easy. It never had been. It was something like a miracle, all this music, each note a discovery you’ve already made, but it was also maybe the most ordinary thing in the world, to assemble and compose and perform—night after night—a life.”