RATING: 5
Stars
‘The Blue Guitar’ is a warm and charming contemporary love story,
built in a very original fashion on the foundation of the
Orpheus/Eurydice myth. You don’t have to be overly familiar with that
legend to enjoy this story, but knowing the myth does give you an
wonderful subplot to wonder about throughout the romance.
The story begins by introducing you to Orrin, a janitor working in a
building that houses a law firm. He is falling very much in love with
Emily, a personal assistant in that firm, and is trying to persuade
himself to approach her, despite the differences between their
backgrounds, education, and probably lifestyle. He has one special gift
that he knows Emily would love him for: he is a talented guitarist –
but how can he let her get her to listen to it?
From this sympathetic opening, which can really grab your heart, the
story then moves backwards, explaining Orrin’s often painful childhood,
and then introduces both Orrin and reader to a very special guitar, an
instrument the twelve-year-old boy sees in the window of a music store.
It draws him into the store, where he meets the man who made, and who
agrees to teach him how to play classical guitar. He gets more than an
excellent musical education in this store, he gains a solid father
figure, who gives him the strength and confidence he might never have
developed otherwise. Then, when Orrin has to leave town, and this store
that is so important to his life, ‘Paul’, his Greek-born teacher whose
real name is Apollo, gives him the blue guitar, saying it obviously
belongs with him.
The story moves forward again, back to present time, when on one
special night, Emily comes to the café where Orrin regularly performs,
and his talent pulls them together. Just as his dream is becoming real,
Emily is struck by a drunken driver, and is hospitalized, in a coma.
Orrin tries to use his music to bring her back, but it creates
difficulties in the hospital, he has to leave, and very soon, she dies.
At first, broken-hearted, he is falling completely apart, believing he
has lost everything. Then, somehow, he understands that his music isn’t
lost, that it will always be with him. He once again starts to compose
and to perform. Is it possible that this will bring love back into his
world?
I truly enjoyed ‘The Blue Guitar’, and I believe that anyone who
loves to read real romance, where the characters are nicely drawn and
where plot and emotion are far more important than sex alone, will also
be grabbed by it. Yes, there is pain, sorrow, loss – but there is also
love, and hope. The background drawn in the music store, with Orrin and
his teacher, functions beautifully, painting the development of both
his talent and his personality, and you can enjoy it in this way alone.
However, there is the feel of another subplot underneath that, and it
adds very much to the overall story.
I had no trouble at all deciding to rate this book worthy of 5 stars,
and I am very grateful for the free reviewer’s copy I was sent.
