The Black Violin: A Novel by Maxence Fermine
From the very start this book has
been full of surprises. First I came
across it by accident on my library’s website as I searched for something
else. Then when I picked the book up
from the library, I was startled to see how small it was. After that, the shortness of the chapters
struck my attention. Every encounter I
have had with this book has brought me something unexpected, with the most
important being the absolute beauty of the story.
Johannes
Karelsky is a violin prodigy. Growing up
in 18th century Europe, Johannes travels all around playing his
violin. He amazes audiences with his
talent, but after he performs, Johannes lives a very lonely life. Without any friends, his mother is Johannes’s
only companion. When she dies, Johannes
doesn’t know what to do with himself. No
longer a child prodigy, the attention that was once showered on him has
waned. In order to support himself,
Johannes resorts to teaching the violin to others. It is not the most ideal of situations, but
it does leave Johannes time to follow his dream. That dream is to write an opera.
Unfortunately
Johannes can only teach lessons and work on his opera for so long. The threat of war has been in the air for a
long time, and one day it lands at Johannes’s door. He is told he must join Napoleon’s army. Forced to fight, Johannes leaves home, but
within a matter of weeks he becomes injured.
The injury is so severe, everyone suspects Johannes will die.
Somehow,
despite all the predictions, Johannes manages to survive. Once healed, Johannes is sent to Venice where
he lodges with an old man. The old man
accepts Johannes into his home, and they quickly discover they have something
in common. Johannes, the violin player,
is living with Erasmus, the violin-maker.
This connection instantly bonds the two men and they spend their nights
together playing chess. They talk, but
never about the thing Johannes truly wants to know about: Erasmus’s black
violin. It is a violin that Erasmus says
Johannes must never touch. Johannes
respects Erasmus’s wish, but it does not keep him from wondering about it. Then one day something strange happens to
Johannes, and Erasmus finally tells him the story of the black violin.
The
story Erasmus tells to Johannes is so sad!
It’s beautiful too. The whole
book is beautiful, despite all the sadness that is involved. I’m so glad I came across this book. It took very little time to read and there
weren’t many pages, but I didn’t feel shorted about anything. The story I was given felt just right. Everything I needed to know was told to me,
and done so in such a wonderful way.
After reading this book I’m curious to read other works by Maxence
Fermine. I hope they’re not as sad as
this one, but if they are, based upon how I feel about this book, the sadness
will be worth it.
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