Review: THE SONG OF HARTGROVE HALL
Publisher Synopsis:
It’s a terrible thing to covet your brother’s girl…
New Year’s Eve, Dorset, England, 1946. Candles flicker, a gramophone scratches out a tune as guests dance and sip champagne— for one night Hartgrove Hall relives better days. Harry Fox-Talbot and his brothers have returned from World War II determined to save their once grand home from ruin. But the arrival of beautiful Jewish wartime singer Edie Rose tangles the threads of love and duty, and leads to a devastating betrayal.
Fifty years later, now a celebrated composer, Fox reels from the death of his adored wife, Edie. Until his connection with his four-year old grandson – a music prodigy – propels him back into life, and ultimately to confront his past. An enthralling novel about love and treachery, joy after grief, and a man forced to ask: is it ever too late to seek forgiveness?
My Recommendation:
Rarely does one find such a wholly satisfying arrangement in a novel as author Natasha Solomons presents in THE SONG OF HARTGROVE HALL. The Downton Abbey-esque settings, the distinct and memorable characters, and the vivid and touching emotions work in matchless harmony. The following quotes reflect the themes of love, music, and grief, which the reader will experience in full and absorbing array on its pages.
Love:
“I want her to understand that I’ve written this part for her. I know what her voice can do, how best to release that sound. She’s been fastened into those silly patriotic songs like cheap costumes, and at last she’s dressed in silk. I see in her face that she knows it too, and as she sings, a pure iridescent sound that reverberates through me, I catch her eye, wide with surprise. Listen to what you can do, I tell her through the music. Listen. You are the nightingale but not the one they think.”
Music:
“[He] stood motionless in the middle of the room. He listened with his hands held out before him, fingers spread as though catching notes like snowflakes. The hall glowed with sound. It poured down upon us from the gallery in reds and gold and yellow.”
Grief:
“Sometimes for hours or even days I’d function perfectly well. Then, something would trigger it. The knowledge of an anniversary–‘Today a year ago was the last time we walked around the garden together’–…Then in the sudden silence, the grief would catch me and bear me off on grey tides. I was helpless until it receded once more and despair dwindled into ordinary unhappiness.”
For a chance to win a copy of one of the finest novels I’ve read this year, comment below about your favorite British set novel, television series, or movie by Saturday, December 26th, 1 PM ET, and please share on social media. (US residents only.)
