The Soloist in Life

The Soloist by Mark Salzman
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Mark Salzman is a good writer--this is my 3rd book by him, going way, way back to his first book recounting his days living in China in Iron & Silk (which was excellent). This novel was good, but not great, or, could have been better. Focused on a prodigy cello player who has sort of lost his way. He's teaching a young, up & coming Korean-American the cello and has also been called up for jury duty in a murder trial that includes a second phase to determine whether the accused was insane or not when he committed the crime. Some interesting characters and interactions, but the thread gets lost somewhere along the way. But, I did love it when the penny dropped and I realized why he titled the book The Soloist--ha, that was great and made the read all the more worth it! Go figure--or read the book to see when you get it. And what's that cat doing on the cover? Read aloud by my lovely wife from the paperback original. I do plan to read more Salzman--he's written a few other books more recently; another installment of his memoirs, I believe.


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