REVIEW: The Flight of Gemma Hardy by Margot Livesey

Dear Ms. Livesey,

The cover song has always occupied a precarious position in the annals of music lovers. On the one hand, it is quite a safe thing to do—cover someone else's song. One already knows that it is beloved. One already knows what sort of person might like that song. It has a brand, a mark, a name already stamped upon it. You, as the musician, can rely on people's nostalgia to bring to the song you are playing emotions you might not be guaranteed to evoke through your own work. If y...