I do not quite have a handle on this author, and this is the fourth book I have read by him (Remains of the Day, When We Were Orphans and An Artist of the Floating World). There is so much variability in the story-telling, but he reminds me a bit of Ang Lee. He either tells stories that are bittersweet and western, or he tells tales that horrific and Asian. This is the former. It is five stories that are loosely connected to each other (along the lines of Jumpa Lahiri's 'Unaccustomed Earth'), and that are also loosely connected with music. The stories are best when they reveal something about the character, and do so in a poetic and unexpected way.
The stories are successful on their own, and perhaps they are successful as musical analogies--I do not feel qualified to hazard a guess on that level. They are not successful at imparting the passionate side of the musician. The book that does that best that I have read is Vikram Seth's 'Equal Music'. The concept of weaving music into a fictional novel is a good one, but it is hard to do and to make it transparent. I liked this more than any other book I have read by this very talented writer, and so the limitations I note should be viewed within that context--this is a thought-provoking collection that is well worth reading.
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