The Changing of Keys

by Carolyn Jack

With his father dead, a gifted, fourteen-year-old pianist finds himself sent away from his Caribbean home against his will, to study classical music in the U.S. with a family friend he' s never met. His first angry, frightened step away from the controlling mother he' s never been able to reach becomes a sharp break with her he leaps into the dramatic and cutthroat world of opera. In this high-stakes milieu, his fierce desire to be a star fires both his brilliance and the dark distrust of women and of love that is the legacy of his childhood, a legacy that threatens his career, his impulsive marriage, and the young daughter he never wanted.

259 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 17, 2024

Reviews

[Martha Anne Toll · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved reading this book, its character studies, its interrogation of difficult family life, of people shut down by trauma, fighting love, and living through music. Really a terrific book.

[Kurt Greenbaum · Rating 5 out of 5]

By turns heartbreaking and infuriating, Carolyn Jack's novel carries us on a generational journey through damaged lives, the towering genius of our primary narrator, toxic religiosity and ultimately, a version of redemption we may not have seen coming. All of this in an eminently readable package of colorful, effortless and expressive imagery.

[Morgan Howell · Rating 5 out of 5]

With a mesmerizing literary style, Carolyn Jack portrays the struggles of a brilliant prodigy haunted by the lifelong reverberations born of a withdrawn, anguished mother’s neglect. The Changing of Keys is a compelling, well-crafted peek into the hyper-competitive world of professional opera and the inevitable pain that comes when the healing powers of honest, heartfelt conversation and a mother’s love are never realized.

[Megan Schikora · Rating 5 out of 5]

With dexterity and grace, The Changing of Keys bounds between radically different landscapes, professional disciplines, and characters’ perspectives. It depicts a family familiar to so many, one in which damage passes from generation to generation, leaving the lifelong scars of withheld love. A diagram of a diseased family tree, wrenching and resonant.

[Monika Orumaa · Rating 3 out of 5]

The subject was interesting, but the writing was overly verbose to the point that I just wanted it to be over. It was hard to read. Author was trying too hard.

[Mary Wells · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a fascinating look at how trauma can persist through generations. I found myself both rooting for and hating the main character. Fabulous read.