Junto al pianista

by David Leavitt, Juan Gabriel López Guix (Translator)

Paul Porterfield tiene dieciocho años y sueña con ser un gran pianista, ovacionado en los teatros del mundo. Entretanto, y mientras se prepara para ingresar en la prestigiosa academia Juilliard, es elegido para pasar las páginas de la partitura en un concierto de su ídolo, el célebre Richard Kennington. Pero un buen ayudante, como es sabido en el mundo de la música, debe ser transparente y hacer que las páginas se muevan como si nadie las tocara, siempre unos compases por delante del pianista. Y Paul es demasiado guapo, y sus dieciocho años demasiado radiantes, como para resultar invisible a la muy sensible mirada del atractivo y muy admirado Richard Kennington...

El siguiente encuentro será en Roma, adonde Paul ha ido de vacaciones con su madre, aún joven y que intenta olvidar las penas de un traumático divorcio. Paul ve un cartel anunciando un concierto de Richard y hace uso de toda su astucia para averiguar en qué hotel se aloja. Y así, mientras la posesiva señora Porterfield cree que su hijo se pasa las tardes descubriendo las maravillas de la ciudad, lo que el jovencito descubre, refugiado en el hotel de cinco estrellas de Kennington, es el esplendor de los cuerpos, las penas y las maravillas del sexo y el amor...

Genres: Fiction, LGBT, Gay, Gay Fiction, Queer, Music, Novels

232 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1998

About the author

Leavitt is a graduate of Yale University and a professor at the University of Florida, where he is the co-director of the creative writing program. He is also the editor of Subtropics magazine, The University of Florida's literary review.

Leavitt, who is openly gay, has frequently explored gay issues in his work. He divides his time between Florida and Tuscany, Italy.

Reviews

[Ana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Neste livro o autor conta-nos a história de Paul e de Richard. Paul é um jovem que ambiciona ser pianista profissional. Tem como ídolo Richard, um pianista de enorme sucesso. Um dia Paul tem a oportunidade de virar pautas para Richard num dos seus concertos. Estar perto e conhecer o seu ídolo, é para Paul, um sonho tornado realidade...

Apesar de se poder "catalogar" este livro como uma história de amor, eu diria antes tratar-se de uma história sobre pessoas e sobre as relações que estabelecem entre elas. Vai um pouco além de uma simples história de amor, o que é para mim algo positivo.

É no entanto um visão bastante negativa das pessoas, das relações e diria até do mundo em geral. Talvez seja até mais realista do que outras histórias que li e gostei mais, mas o facto é que no final da leitura subsistiu uma sensação desagradável. Recordo do livro a teia de expectativas, ilusões, abusos, manipulações, interesses.... Recordo personagens pouco agradáveis, com os quais não empatizei... Recordo uma história com algum interesse, mas que não me fascinou ou marcou particularmente...

Resumindo, é uma boa história, que se lê com facilidade e rapidez. Gostei, mas não o suficiente para vos recomendar esta leitura.

Post completo sobre este livro no blog Linked Books

[Beth · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars

The Page Turner is well-written. Leavitt's writing is sparse, cool and to the point -- it's poignant but not pretentious, to the point but not underwritten, and evocative and non-judgemental towards its characters. I read this one in less than a day; it was very engaging, well-paced and addictive. Still, it wasn't one of those books that would linger long in the memory. Also, the writing for the settings was totally weak -- I don't like pages upon pages of description, but given that this is set half in Italy and half in America (Kansas and New York), I would have liked to be immersed in the foreign settings a little more, to give a sense of shifting scenery. As it was, the solipsistic characters could have just been wandering around blank canvases for 250ish pages and I wouldn't have known it.

If I had to choose one word to describe The Page Turner, that word would be "elegant." This is a very elegant book. It - both characters and writing - are incredibly restrained. This is a very, very good thing, given how melodramatic the plot was! I can honestly say I didn't notice the overcooked melodramatic contrivances of the plot, such as the endlessly weeping stage mother forever making convenient discoveries and having convenient blind spots or the endless bed-hopping by characters that initially met in a totally foreign country but managed to live mere miles away when the plot suited them. The characters' flaws and charisma was well-documented, especially Pamela, Paul's pushy, unlucky mother; despite her habit of being incredibly embarrassing, I really felt her love for Paul and her desire to be a good mother and her total unawareness of how embarassing she was being felt totally believable.

The problem with elegance is that, well, it's not suited to the entire book. While restraint worked for all the scenes in which the plot was building - such as Jacob's quiet breakdown over his dog's death - it leaves the entire book feeling a little nothingless. As with most suffering characters in melodrama, these players are extremely fucked-up, for want of a better phrase. Case in point: Richard, a former child prodigy struggling with the fact that he is approaching middle age. He's been in a romantic relationship with his much-older manager for twenty-five years, since he was...very young. (I'm not sure if this is an inconsistency because he tells Tushi, his friend, when they're having a heart-to-heart, that they've been sleeping together since he was fifteen, but he said much earlier that they "carefully didn't mention the first five years, when it was illegal" - is there any state where it's illegal to have sex with a twenty-year-old? I thought the maximum age was 18, which means that Richard would have been a grand total of 13 when he and Joseph started up. Ugh. Seriously dangerous implications there, especially given that Joseph has been the most sympathetic character so far. Nothing quite like some borderline paedophilia to darken a character.) So, yes, to sum up that rambling - Richard has had a fairly awful past, given that he hates fame, he hates being a trumped-up pianist (and he's a child prodigy who started travelling and performing since he was fourteen), his mother is out of the picture, he spends no time at 'home' and most of it in random hotel rooms, he picks up teenage boys for sex, he's perilously afraid of being used for his fame, he's had absolutely no father figure through his entire life - well, he seems to consider Joseph a father figure, and given all those previous ramblings about the sex...well, yeeeesh.

But The Page Turner is like a French film where everyone suffers oh so prettily. I didn't want it to turn into all the screaming and shouting and breaking things (all of the things I praised in the book earlier), but there's no dramatic arc whatsoever. The entire book builds and builds and builds -- and then just fizzles. I don't mind a somewhat open ending, but this ending was open to the point of being unfinished! Richard and Joseph argue - but that's all. The last conversation between Pamela and Paul is so forcefully symbolic that I found myself rolling my eyes. Good writing, but seriously faulty plotting. There's no real emotion here - for instance, when Paul thinks that he will never be a concert pianist because his old, senile, unfulfilled teacher told him so, I just didn't care. Leavitt has a lot of skill, but I felt that he failed in his attempt to show raw emotion -- it just didn't exist. The characters were just husks. The characters were compelling and well-drawn, but ultimatey empty.

[Robin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Juicy at times, outdated at others. I was a little disappointed that there was no real ending.

And that Pamela needs to calm the F down.

[Rita Monticelli · Rating 4 out of 5]

Scroll down for the English version.

Voltapagine di nome e di fatto

Una cosa che mi ha piacevolmente colpito di questo libro è l’estrema bellezza della prosa, che si trasferisce altrettanto bene nella traduzione italiana. Mi ci sono imbattuta per caso e sono rimasta folgorata dal meraviglioso suono che sembrava quasi provenire dalle parole scritte. Devo ammettere che questo aspetto, unito al fatto che nel particolare momento in cui l’ho letto ero proprio in cerca di una lettura del genere, è riuscito a sopperire a qualche altro che ho meno gradito, tra cui devo annoverare la trama che non era esattamente nelle mie corde, anche se poi, andando avanti con la lettura, l’ho trovata a tratti molto divertente.
Il personaggio della madre del protagonista è un tantinello stereotipato e sopra le righe, fino a tendere un po’ alla bidimensionalità, come tutti quelli femminili in questo romanzo, mentre quelli maschili funzionano decisamente meglio.
Forse un altro aspetto che mi ha lasciato perplessa è stata la sensazione di incompletezza che ho ricavato alla fine della lettura. C’è tanta carne sul fuoco per sviluppare una storia molto più lunga e complessa, ma, proprio quando le cose iniziano a prendere vita, la storia finisce, lasciando l’amaro in bocca. Mi sono chiesta cosa ne sarebbe stato del protagonista e degli altri personaggi principali. Mi sono domandata quale fosse la motivazione dietro il libro, cosa l’autore avesse voluto davvero raccontare. Ho avuto l’impressione che si sia limitato a offrirci uno sguardo in un mondo, quello della musica classica (e tutte le faccende umane che vi girano intorno), senza che avesse realmente l’intenzione di mostrarci un percorso che andasse verso una fine.
C’è anche da dire che talvolta è meglio chiudere una storia senza completarla che dare a essa una fine che scada nella banalità. Anche per questo motivo, il finale estremamente aperto, seppure da una parte sembrerebbe una mancanza, forse potrebbe trasformarsi in pregio.
Di certo il titolo è azzeccato: è un vero “page-turner” (letteralmente appunto voltapagine), cioè un libro da cui è difficile staccarsi e che si legge in un lampo, anche perché non lunghissimo.



Page Turner in name and in fact

One thing which I was pleasantly surprised by in this book is the extreme beauty of the prose. I came across it by accident and I was struck by the wonderful sound that seemed to come from the written words. I must admit that this aspect, coupled with the fact that in the particular moment when I read it I was just looking for such a reading, could replace something else that I liked less, including the plot that was not exactly in my comfort zone, even if, going forward with the reading, I found it at times very funny.
The character of the mother of the protagonist is a wee bit stereotypical and over the top, to stretch a bit into becoming two-dimensional, like all women in this novel, while the male characters are much more credible.
Perhaps another aspect that left me puzzled was the feeling of incompleteness that I got at the end of the reading. There are many opportunities to take advantage of to develop a much longer and more complex story, but just when things start to come to life, the story ends, leaving a bitter taste in your mouth. I wondered what would happen to the protagonist and the other main characters. I wondered what was the motivation behind the book, what the author had really wanted to tell. I got the impression that he did nothing but offer us a glimpse into a world, that of classical music (and all human affairs that go around it), but he didn’t really intend to show us a path that would go towards an end.
There is also to say that sometimes it is better to end a story without completing it instead of giving it an ending running into banality. Also for this reason, the extremely open ending, although on the one hand it seems to be a lack, perhaps could become valuable.
Of course the title is very fitting: it is a real “page turner”, that is a book from which is difficult to break away and that you can read in a flash, because it isn’t very long.

[Alessandro Lorini · Rating 4 out of 5]

Non si può essere sempre i migliori. E non è vero che volere è potere, né che i sogni si avverano sempre se uno insiste e non demorde. Questo libro parla (anche) di questo , del volere e desiderare a tutti i costi di essere qualcosa, ma di non avere le possibilità oggettive per esserlo.
Leavitt ci porta ancora una volta in un mondo delicato dove raccontandoci una storia in realtà ci sta raccontando altro. Il lettore al solito non se ne accorge, e quando tutto finisce, finisce e basta. Senza ma, senza se… la realtà è questa: ogni giorno viviamo nuove storie all’interno di una storia più grande, che forse avrà un lieto fine, forse no, forse continuano a essere e basta.

dei suoi personaggi ci si innamora, ma con la facilità con cui ce li fa essere amici, allo stesso modo ce li toglie. senza se e senza ma. la vita è così

[Lelena · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bel libro di Leavitt, il suo secondo che leggo, amaro e disilluso. E' una storia di ambizioni che sfumano, di passioni che si spengono e di altre che reggono per abitudine.
In questo gioco delle parti (chi è l'amante e chi l'amato? Chi sfrutta chi? Chi ammira chi?) il tutto è ben equilibrato e anche il finale, una specie di ritorno alle origini del protagonista, assolutamente credibile

[Jose Manuel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Historia buena, sin más. Trata sobre homosexualidad, amores entre personas de diferente edad y la incredulidad de una madre ante la salida del armario de su hijo. ¿Identificado? Algunos aspectos sí, pero bueno, no es un libro que sea una obra maestra. Está bien. Un fin de semana de lectura entretenido.

[marumofu · Rating 4 out of 5]

por el culo

[Joost · Rating 4 out of 5]

Heerlijk boek. Mooie speelse compositie, virtuoos geschreven, een echte 'bladomslaander' ;)

[Giovanni · Rating 5 out of 5]

La storia è moto asciutta e scarna, incuriosisce e lascia anche tanto amaro in bocca. Ci si lega subito al personaggio di Paul, ragazzo di 18 anni che viene usato, viene deluso, ma che combatte interiormente, che è triste, che prova a venir fuori e a capire il mondo. Tutto questo non viene detto, viene mostrato attraverso il modo di agire del personaggio, attraverso i suoi dialoghi con gli altri personaggi. Lo stile dell'autore è ben definito, sembra quasi di leggere un classico, un classico scritto decisamente bene, con personaggi coerenti, che rincorrono tutti la felicità o una porzione della stessa, la soddisfazione personale, a volte anche il vuoto interiore. Sono stato male per Paul in ben precisi momenti della storia, povero ragazzo che si affaccia da ragazzetto a un modo strano e prepotente, che con tutte le sue regole e incoerenze, lo travolge, lo mette al tappeto, ma lui cerca in tutti i modi di non arrendersi, riuscendo a recuperare un rapporto con la madre, donna che si sente tanto turbata da non capire il suo figlio ancora adolescente, ma, al tempo stesso, uomo che sfugge, che non riesce a vedere più per bambino, ma che ancora lo è per certi aspetti e che fa tenerezza. Anche la madre ha bisogno di conforto e di aiuto e anche lei, come Paul, soffre, si circonda di frivolezza, pensa a venir fuori dai suoi problemi e rimane sconvolta quando scopre la verità su suo figlio.
Un libro che si divora pagina dopo pagina e che finisce forse troppo presto.

[Octavio Villalpando · Rating 2 out of 5]

El mejor modo de definir "Junto al Pianista" es como una oda a esos amores condenados siempre al fracaso. A esas relaciones que al final de cuentas terminan con alguien a quien no le importa y alguien siendo utilizado solo por el hecho de estar ahí, como tantas hay en la vida real. Nos habla de la historia de un joven aspirante a pianista que conoce a su máximo ídolo, y que entabla una relación meramente carnal con el, pero que de antemano sabe que no está destinada al final feliz de los cuentos de hadas, y que acaba terminando con la sombra de la decepción firmemente afincada en sus huesos, por siempre...

El estilo utilizado por Leavitt es bastante fluido, no utiliza ningún recurso que rete al lector a hacer un esfuerzo adicional por asimilar la lectura, pero ojo, esto no quiere decir que sea plano, para nada, el mayor énfasis está dado en el desarrollo de sus personajes, y un poco en mostrarnos como suele ser la vida ordinaria en las relaciones homosexuales. Y el tono no es en ningún momento una apología del homosexualismo ni nada, se trata de una historia de amor y dolor, como las reales, donde no importa el sexo de los partícipes, sino quien al final termina con el corazón más roto...

[Strother · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought this book sounded really good, so I bought it -- ages ago -- and left the spine unbroken on my shelf. And then moved it across the ocean with my other unread books, and finally opened the story last month. My mom described it as "early David Leavitt" from a different emotional place, and I know what she meant. Its portrayal of committed relationships nonetheless marked by betrayal and infidelity is sort of demoralizing. Not positively inspiring. These characters are needy and in some cases shallow and very hard to sympathize with. Do not appeal to a reader's "best self." They're also facing disillusionment, loss of beauty/youth/love. Kind of a downer, and not a thoroughly engaging one! But the worst thing, for me, was a pervading sense of déjà vu that worsened as the book wore on. I would reach a significant event and it read eerily familiar. This particular copy of the book may have been new to me, but the plot certainly wasn't. Thought it may have been worth turning pages once upon a time, when I first discovered and devoured David Leavitt, I was not in the right place to re-read it. DOH!

[Meaghan · Rating 3 out of 5]

In spite of the title, I didn't find this book to be very page-turning. I couldn't bring myself to care about the characters, because they were pretty flat. The story didn't have much of a plot either, and it ends right in the middle of things -- the kind of ending that can be wonderful at the pen of a great writer, but is often only just frustrating.

Most of the characters are gay and the novel centers around an affair the protagonist had with a famous pianist. I thought it was unrealistic that Paul, an 18-year-old with no sexual experience whatsoever, would simply accept his homosexuality without any kind of soul-searching or teeth-gnashing. I did think the part about his mother's discovery of this fact, and her reaction to it, was well done though.

I suppose I might recommend this to someone especially interested in gay literature. But otherwise, give it a pass.

[Bill · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had wanted to read this book for quite some time as I've enjoyed other works by the author. It didn't disappoint me; I found the characters and the plot totally believable. And then while breezing through the story once Paul met up with Joseph I thought the plot stumbled a bit, and at the ending, for me, the story just fizzle
d out.

[Rochelle Jewel Shapiro · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the title, Page Turner, which refers to both someone who turns pages for a performer and also describing the way you'll read this book. It's a lot like a play. Wicked scenes that will make you laugh and yet really feel for the characters. Gay romance.

[Djrmel · Rating 2 out of 5]

A coming of age story wrapped up inside the world of concert pianists. Characters come into the story when they have nothing to add, and go missing at points where you think they would be needed. The setting was interesting, but that's about all I can say for it.

[Robert Manners · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was enjoyable, the characters were interesting, the prose exceptional with a few flashes of brilliance here and there... but then it just sort of ended without any feeling of climax or resolution. I don't get it.

[looneybooks79 · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like this book! It was a loan from a dear friend, a mother who’s son is also a member of the lgbtqia+ community as am I, of course! She and I have a lot of the same interests and so she thought I would love this book. And I did, I really did! I’m sure I’ll read more of Leavitt’s stories.

[Ladyce West · Rating 1 out of 5]

Nas mãos de Guy de Maupassant esse romance teria sido exemplar. Levaria todas as cinco estrelas que tenho direito de dar. Digo isso porque há algo de Maupassant na leveza com que a narrativa se desenrola e na intenção sócio-realista. Infelizmente falta a David Leavitt o cuidado com a estrutura da trama e com os diálogos, características em que o escritor francês se esmerava. Assim como está, esse romance dá a impressão de uma obra feita às pressas, na coxa, sem finesse. Por vezes a narrativa muda de ponto de vista abruptamente e ênfase é dada a personagens secundários em detrimento de um aprofundamento nas emoções e nas razões dos que identificamos como principais. Por que certos detalhes são acentuados roubando o vigor à história? Toda a narrativa, da estrutura ao diálogo, do ritmo ao desfecho – e este é inconcluso -- poderia ter sido trabalhada e como resultado "O virador de páginas" seria uma obra de impacto. Falta de conteúdo psicológico e emocional.

David Leavitt é um desses nomes que aparecem em conversas literárias aqui e ali, um nome com peso social, amplamente divulgado nos círculos gays e literários. É possível que eu tenha escolhido para minha apresentação ao autor um de seus livros mais fracos. Pena, porque vou custar a abrir outra publicação dele.

Os temas, os assuntos, são de primeira linha. Todos são temas universais, tratando das dificuldades por que passam os seres humanos. Em primeiro plano: a difícil, frustrante, aniquiladora descoberta das nossas limitações. Saber que sonhos afagados por anos, por uma vida inteira, não poderão jamais se concretizar, porque sonhamos além das nossas habilidades. Em segundo: a apresentação, quando ainda se é muito jovem, aos desencontros amorosos, para os quais a vida parece ser terreno fértil -- o dar-se a quem não merece, a quem não dá valor; e o ser desejado por quem não temos atração; assunto explorado por muitos e tão sucintamente colocado no esplêndido poema "Quadrilha" de Carlos Drummond de Andrade. Esses dois temas recheiam o que há de melhor na produção literária há séculos e permanecem em pauta porque falam de condições inerentes ao ser humano. Falam da paixão.

As ideias em O virador de páginas são boas, mas pobremente executadas. Como está, o livro é medíocre. Sérgio Viotti que fez a tradução escreve na orelha: “Ouvido de uma precisão teatral, que suas cenas dialogadas podem facilmente ser diálogos para ver e escutar...” Infelizmente Viotti numa tentativa de exaltar o romance, se concentrou justamente no que achei de mais leviano na obra. Os diálogos são sim, como falamos. E nossa fala é repetitiva, muitas vezes vazia, sem qualquer intenção de criatividade. Obrigar o leitor a ler diálogos que não levam a nada é desmerecer a atenção que o leitor lhe dá. Não é estofo para uma obra literária. Vamos a um exemplo de muitos:

“-- Alô?
-- Alden?
-- Não, Paul.
-- Paul, aqui é Joseph Mansourian. Como vai?
-- Estou bem. – Sentando-se, Paul tirou o som da televisão, ajeitou o cabelo para trás, com a mão.” [p.156]

Sinto não poder recomendar "O virador de paginas". Sei que em breve o terei esquecido, porque ainda há obras literárias que merecem o cuidado da minha atenção.

[Steven Hoffman · Rating 4 out of 5]

LOVE UNREQUITED AND A DREAM SQUASHED

David Leavitt is a prolific writer with more than sixty books to his credit, probably best known for The Lost Language of Cranes. The Page Turner is an older novel published a quarter century ago. It is an unremarkable story in that there's no great mystery or crisis to be solved. Yet, this unrequited romance about a boy's journey into manhood, accepting his sexuality, and then falling for and losing his virginity to a much older man he idolizes, drew me into its reality. And that is the strength of this story. It is so highly relatable to real life.

Leavitt's prose is remarkably realistic. What I mean by that is his characters are fully three-dimensional, the situations they find themselves in are true to life, the dialog is totally authentic to the scene, and the outcomes are devoid of any overly dramatic "happy" resolutions. His ability to capture and describe mundane, routine events in our everyday lives really places you within the moments he's creating. You understand the choices his characters are making because at some point in your life you have made the same choice in a similar one.

As example, there is one scene where a principal character has to euthanize his fifteen-year-old dachshund. Leavitt, in excruciating detail, describes him coming home to doggie bowls with water and kibble still in them, an empty dog bed, and pet toys whose "squeakers" now lay silent. The man can't bear it and has his housekeeper remove these painful reminders of his lost love while he is away. Anyone who has lost a dog in this way (over my lifetime, I have lost three) keenly feels this pain.

My one criticism is his ending. I didn't understand it. We're left with our protagonist lying across his bed, his overbearing mother beside him, pondering what is next in his young life. Then, in a few brief paragraphs, we are taken to a scene on a Ferris Wheel where his college roommate and boyfriend, both minor characters in the story, profess that they are in love with each other. That's how the book ends. What's the point of this seemingly scene coming out of nowhere? Is Leavitt suggesting that our protagonist too, will eventually find a long-term romance? Seemed like Leavitt was wanting to somehow give his narrative a soft landing.

[Kris Van Mierlo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Paul Portersfield is een veelbelovende pianist die droomt van een solocarriere. Op een avond valt hem d eer te beurt bladomslaander te zijn voor de gevierde concertpianist Richard Kennington, een voormalig wonderkind. Tijdens een vakantie in Rome met zijn moeder, Pamela, loopt Paul zijn idool Kennington opnieuw tegen het lijf. Ze krijgen een verhouding, die echter bemoeilijkt wordt door het feit dat Pamela niet weet dat haar zoon homoseksueel is en bovendien zelf in Kennington geinteresseerd is. Tenslotte ontvlucht Kennington Rome en keert terug naar New York, naar zijn manager en vriend Joseph mansourian. Maar de korte affaire zal op onvoorspelbare wijze een keerpunt betekenen in de levens van alle betrokkenen.
-------------------------------------------
De knappe, ambitieuze pianostudent Paul Porterfield (18) wordt gevraagd als bladomslaander voor de beroemde concertpianist Richard Kennington (40). Als Kennington aanstuurt op een nadere 'kennismaking' na het concert, gaat Paul toch liever met zijn moeder mee. Mrs. Porterfield is een typische homomoeder, zoals we die wel meer in Leavitts werk aantreffen: zeer verbonden en betuttelend. Als Paul met haar naar Italië reist, ontdekt hij dat Kennington daar concerteert en zoekt hem op. Nu weet de pianist hem wel te verleiden. Zowel moeder als zoon Porterfield raken nu verliefd op K. Een ingewikkelde klucht vol misverstanden is het gevolg. Opvallend is dat Leavitts boek geen enkel identificatiepersonage voor de lezer oplevert. Paul wordt 'in sexualibus' van naïef knulletje steeds meer een ijdele scrupuleloze opportunist, de moeder is een hysterische gans, Kennington is een wereldvreemde cynicus met een onhandig sociaal leven, en Mansourian, K's vriend, is een truttige labiele nicht. Uiteindelijk krijgt niemand wat hij of zij najaagt en voelt de lezer zich buitengesloten. Geen vrolijk boek, maar het onweerstaanbare laconieke vertel- en observatietalent van Leavitt maken veel goed. Kleine druk.
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[Andy Quan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decades ago, as a young gay man and an aspiring writer, I read 'Family Dancing', Leavitt's collection of short stories, and then 'Lost Language of Cranes'. I remember (even now) mixed emotions. I generally liked his writing, but not as much as some others (like Edmund White) and I was fascinated with how he seemed to be crowned as a successful gay writer, with his career launched after two books. I lost track of him after that, though I knew he kept writing, and recently picked up this book. As an interesting contrast, I'd been struggling through a lauded but heavy and long Norwegian novel, the Half Brother, and after reading 'The Page Turner', I decided that if Leavitt can write a pretty good story that I can finish in a day (I was travelling interstate, as they say here in Australia, and had some free time), that the amount of time and effort that I had put into the Norwegian novel, to only reach halfway without loving it, was not proportionate. I gave up. But that's another review.

As I remember, Leavitt is a beautiful writer. I like the voice. I like the sentences. It is very, very readable, yet in a literary way. I also found the key theme interesting, in light of what I've said above: how does one choose a career? What if our talent doesn't match our ambition? What is 'genius'? It felt a deeply personal question, a way for Leavitt to ask where he fits into the canon of literature, as well as a good question for anyone else interested in the arts.

My problem though was that it felt so old-fashioned. I'm sure that his short stories and maybe the novel too had overbearing mothers, in the midst of marital breakdown. And while I know this book was published some 25 years ago, comparing this picture of gay life to today's questions of identity among LGBTIQ people, seems quaint. Gay people are cultured (loving classical music). They tend to have relationships with partners with vast age differences. A prime concern is monogamy or lack of it. It did feel to me an old book. But being so easy to read, and with some lovely prose, it is hard to be too critical.

[Caryn · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book was well-written. The characters concisely conceived in the flawed glory of human beings. It was an interesting read.

Until it wasn't. The deft and detailed plot line washed away under a wave of stagnant emotions.

It fell apart, as so many things do, at Christmas. And Pamela's reaction to her son being gay. A support group where she encounters the ex-husband's side piece? Really? Why? It added nothing. It distracted from the clarity of the story.

And what followed was stereotypical. Typecasting gays as dishonest and dodgy. Not committed to relationships or truth.

And the ending? A moment of peace between mother and son and it's just over? Oedipal moment aside, it was an extremely disappointing conclusion.

I see real talent in this work. But something is holding the author back, just like Paul's piano teacher recognizing the ending of Paul's aspirations as a pianist.

Only in this case, the author does have so much more to say. Maybe he just couldn't face keeping the characters alive.

[Emma S. · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the first 2/3 of this book, and found it really hard to put down when I first picked it up. However, towards the last third of this book I found it kind of sluggish to get though.

I found Paul to be an interesting main character to follow, but I would have liked them to explore more of his own musical career and for him to have a more complete end to his story than what was given. I felt like the novel ended with so many loose ends of where Paul is meant to go from here not only in his relationships with others but also his relationship with himself and his desires.

I was initially expecting this to be a typical romance story — but I actually found it had some interesting perspectives on how things like age, power dynamics, familiarity, and privacy can all play a role in how some relationships begin and how others come to an end.

[Mia♫ · Rating 4 out of 5]

- Totally think my vocabulary was expanded by reading this book haha and using my context clues
- I was surprised (but not really) with the unresolved ending. I had a feeling it was going that way and was still left feeling a little empty
- This novel would definitely be one that I wished I read for school so we could annotate and discuss the hell out of it. Paul’s Mom, Paul, Kennington, Joseph, Tushi - all of them held such an important place in the novel to bring the stiry together
- Still kind of stumped on the meaning of the 3 different sections of the book
- I was enthralled, more than I thought I would be having just picked it up on a whim and haven’t read anything by Leavitt previously but really enjoyed it

[Luis Tovar · Rating 5 out of 5]

This novel resonated with me. I truly loved this novel and is one I recommend you pick up and enjoy. I took my time (a weekend) because I didn't want to finish it in one day. I wanted to enjoy it like one enjoys a second beer. The first one quenches your thirst and the second is taken slower and more appreciatively. I put the book down and on the second day relaxed with it and relished every word. The third day I finished it and with a glass of wine in hand the echo of classical music still played in my head for it had plucked at the stings of my being.

[Don Bradshaw · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a bit of a let down after having read other books by this author. Paul was a bit of a whiner and an entire bottle of qualudes wouldn't calm Pamela down. I felt kind of bad for Richard. He was such a spoiled loser. The book could have benefited from a lot more description as it felt stark at times.

[Lauren · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love David Leavitt's writing, and I wanted to love this book. I had a hard time understanding which character was speaking sometimes. I even struggled to get a good read on Paul's personality. While the plot made sense, the end was also unclear to me. I feel like this book was missing the warmth of characters in others by the same author.

[Corey]

Not nearly as affecting as "The Lost Language of Cranes." A fun concept and Leavitt (thankfully) writes musical characters well, but overall it's a bit thin and underdeveloped. And the ending is rather abrupt.

[Daniel J. Meyer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Maravilloso. Yo creo que a todxs los que tenemos en mente el imaginario de Angels in America, Rent, etc. volveremos a olfatearla, aunque también disfrutaremos de nuevos olores fantásticos
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