The Music Teacher

by Barbara Hall

In The Music Teacher, a penetrating and richly entertaining look into the heart and mind of a woman who has failed both as an artist and as a wife, Barbara Hall, award-winning creator and writer of such hit television series as Judging Amy and Joan of Arcadia, tells the story of a violinist who has accepted the limitations of her talent and looks for the casual satisfaction of trying to instill her passion for music in others. She gets more than she bargains for, however, when a young girl named Hallie enters her life. For here at last is the real thing: someone with the talent and potential to be truly great. In her drive to shape this young girl into the artist the teacher could never be, she makes one terrible mistake. As a result she is forced to reevaluate her whole life and come to terms with her future.

Hall has crafted a thoroughly engrossing novel that examines the pitfalls of failure and holds up a mirror to the face of a culture that places success and achievement above all else

Genres: Fiction, Music, Chick Lit, Adult Fiction, Adult, Novels

292 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2009

About the author

To TV audiences she may be better known as a four-time Emmy-nominated writer and producer (Joan of Arcadia, Judging Amy) and the co-Executive Producer of Homeland, but to avid readers she’s a novelist with 11 published works whose imagination has been honored by numerous institutions, including the American Library Association in both their Best Books and Notable Books categories.

Reviews

[Jerry Oliver · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an awesome book for me. Maybe because I'm a musician/music teacher who has had dreams and dissolution. Maybe because I've worked in a music store just like this and known these same moody musicians/teachers and students just with different names in a different location. Maybe because I've desired to see dreams come true for students and when they have I've felt both elation and resentment. Maybe because I've gotten so close to students and band members and then "poof" they're gone. Maybe because I love music so much and it's grip on me is so fierce and won't let go that I've tried to betray it but it's too late and there is nothing to leave it for. Maybe it's because I'm human and filled with hope and faith one day and bitterness and emptiness the next and all of these human emotions, feelings and thoughts are filtered through a musician/music teacher's experience in this simple, thoughtful story that strikes so close to home. It made me laugh and it made me cry. Lovely.

[Christina DeVane · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not recommended! I only read this because the title describes part of my life. 😆 I enjoyed the 5% of the book that was relatable with students who don’t practice, recitals and parents taking credit, students who have hard home lives that factor into their learning and struggles as a person. The author pointed out that students good at math can be really good at music because of timing and rhythm in music. But they have a hard time with expression because it’s methodical to them. I hadn’t thought of that before, and it’s true to some extent.
However this storyline is terrible, language, etc. I don’t think the author was meaning to, but she really showed how life without God has no purpose, you’re always floundering to find the next thing to make you happy.

[Laurie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Simply put: potential, but didn't make it to greatness.

That is not only one of the novel's themes, but also my summary of the novel. A few times, the author struck me with her words:

pg. 90 -- "the secret is something that only musicians understand. Music does not come from us. It comes through us. It is a voice from beyond. It is the bridge between the logical world and whatever else exists." --

ah, there's the rub -- Hall, despite numerous biblical allusions which would indicate a knowledge of the Word, doesn't really understand what not only exists but enables creation of all else. Her words come so close to truth, and then as I was being drawn into her poetic prose and ideas, she dropped me with her "rogues", her wandering characters and their use of the F word or their irrelevant need for sex...

pg. 90,91 -- When you play a musical instrument, you are simply converting energy from one form to another. But it doesn't feel like that. It feels as if you are picking up the voices of the ages, the screams or the prayers of the dying, the joy of the triumphant." --

isn't that beautiful?! Why sully such ideas with unnecessary side plots...

pg. 91 -- It's you and it isn't you. But how can that be? How can there be something greater than you and the instrument working together?...How it can be ceases to matter at some point. It only is, and that is the secret...This is what makes an artist run to church or into a bottle or a river...And then once you've glimpsed it, they expect us to walk around in the world with everyone else. Go to the car wash and the grocery store and sign up for normal, for the mundane ugliness in front of our eyes." --

yes, that's it -- that's what I couldn't get past as I read this book -- the mundane ugliness -- and I suppose that is the author's intent...

the music teacher, and it seems we are to feel that most of us, are described in this passage...

pg. 233 -- I started reading biographies again...I needed to know my part...in any given biography, I show up around chapter twelve. I am the person who could have made a difference but didn't. I am the person who met her at the crossroads of her life, gave her a little bit of helpful information, then let her down. I am the person who, when you get to this particular chapter in her biography, makes the reader shake his head and say, 'Oh well, that's the one who let her get away. That is the turning point right there.'" --

and I wonder if I didn't like the book, not only because of the irrelevant sex and f-word, and maybe because I fear a bit of what that last passage says is indeed true...?

[gardienne_du_feu · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pearl Swain hat immer von einer Karriere als Violinistin geträumt, doch dafür, hat man ihr immer gesagt, hätte sie ein paar Jahre früher beginnen müssen, Unterricht zu nehmen.

Jetzt ist sie vierzig, frisch geschieden, lebt in einem Wohnwagen in L.A. und verdient ihre Brötchen als Geigenlehrerin und Verkäuferin in einer Instrumentenhandlung. Freunde hat sie nur wenige, am ehesten könnte man noch ihre Kollegen als solche bezeichnen, auch wenn sie mit denen nicht viel mehr verbindet als die gemeinsame Leidenschaft für die Musik.

Eines Tages bekommt sie die Art Schülerin, von der jeder Lehrer träumt. Hallie Bolaris ist 14, aufmüpfig, elternlos und musikalisch höchst begabt. Pearl hofft, aus ihr die glänzende Geigerin machen zu können, die sie selbst nie werden konnte, doch sie muss feststellen, dass das nicht so einfach ist. Hallie ist unzugänglich, launisch, wird immer schwieriger. Pearl vermutet, dass das tiefere Gründe hat und will Hallie helfen, aber sie merkt, dass gut gemeint nur zu oft das Gegenteil von gut gemacht ist.

So zusammengefasst klingt das jetzt ziemlich unspannend und sozialromantisch, und so sehr viel mehr als das passiert auch gar nicht in dem Buch, abgesehen von Pearls dürftigem Liebesleben und ein paar Abstechern in ihre persönliche Vergangenheit, aber trotzdem habe ich sehr gerne gelesen, wie diese nicht mehr ganz junge Frau versucht, ihr Leben nach der Trennung wieder zu ordnen und neu in die Hand zu nehmen. Die Fürsorge für Hallie wirkt dabei ein bisschen wie eine Krücke, mit der sie sich aus ihrem Trott von Langeweile und Traurigkeit befreien will - nicht gänzlich uneigennützig, aber trotzdem authentisch.

Pearls selbstironischer Erzähltonfall, die wichtige Rolle, die die Musik hier spielt und so manche Popkultur-Anspielung haben dafür gesorgt, dass mich das Buch ziemlich schnell in seinen Bann ziehen konnte. Ein unterhaltsamer und dabei nicht gänzlich anspruchsloser Roman, richtig schöne Zwischendurchlektüre.

[Ginger · Rating 1 out of 5]

For a short book (292 pgs), it was excruciatingly long! Ugh!! The book was all over the place and didn’t seem to really go anywhere. Maybe that was the point? Maybe some of it was over my head?
Anyway, I am super glad I’m done! Take it from me....don’t waste your time or money on this one!

[Maria Elmvang · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'll say it straight out - this is not your ordinary book. If you come looking for a traditional plot with a climax and a resolution, you'll be disappointed for The Music Teacher has neither. Instead it has characterisations, thoughts, memories and most importantly, atmosphere.

Pearl Swain really wanted to be a professional violinist, but she started taking lessons too late, and thus never moved beyond "pretty good". Instead she works at a music shop, and gives lessons to other hopefuls with the dream of finding at least one student who'll head towards a more successful future. She thinks she has found such a student in Hallie Bolaris – a moody teenager to whom music seems to come as easily as breathing comes to the rest of us – but as Hallie in turns confides in Pearl and then pushes her away, Pearl starts to suspect she is hiding a dreadful secret.

Contrary to what I originally thought, the story of Hallie isn't the focal point of The Music Teacher, and the lack of a resolution is frustrating. Instead Hallie is used to set the rest of Pearl's life into perspective, and cast a light on some of the choices she makes.

I have a hard time deciding what I think of the book. My first impression wasn't too favourable, as I couldn't figure out what Barbara Hall wanted to convey to her readers. The lack of plot threw me off. But after having thought about it for awhile, I'm beginning to think that this was her intention. This was never meant to be a cut-and-dried tale with a definite beginning and end, but instead a brief look into another person's life – a life we may or may not be able to relate to, but which demands to be noticed. Pearl is fascinated by biographies, and here we are given a few chapters of hers.

The Music Teacher is somewhat out of my comfort zone, as I tend to prefer having my questions answered, but it's undoubtedly a book that will stay with me for awhile – I'm finding it harder to 'shake it' than I thought I would.

[Caroline · Rating 4 out of 5]

ARC copy recieved through Goodreads.

A very interesting character study of Pearl Swain, a violin teacher. The first-person story follows her as she evolves from a static time in her life, reflecting on a once-in-a-lifetime student and allowing her to move on from a painful divorce.

She has difficulty separating herself from her work as she associates with only one person outside of her coworkers, and her life revolves around teaching. Pearl has to finish working through her disappointment in not succeeding as a performance musician, realizing that while she has talent it is best put to use teaching others without becoming overly involved in their day to day life.

The book was very interesting, ending on a hopeful note as she finds real contentment since her divorce. All the characters were well fleshed out, although I wish she had delved more into Patrick's background and growing connection to Pearl. Overall the book was a poignant look into the rut people find themselves in when they age, as they look back on youth's dreams and how many/few were realized.

[Kathy · Rating 1 out of 5]

Even though all the reviews I read of this book convinced me I wasn't going to like it, I read it anyway, because: I occasionally liked episodes of "Judging Amy" written by Hall, it was short so I read it during advertisements while watching the Olympics, and my librarian chose it for our book club. She retired this week but will continue to come to our discussions. Here's a quote I liked: "I remember, now, why love is so difficult. You have to process another person's feelings. I find it challenging enough to process my own. You have to see into the future a little bit to love someone. You have to anticipate their concerns, feel their feelings, and formulate an approprite, and often forced, response."

[Ann · Rating 2 out of 5]

I got so bored with this book that I put it down and almost forgot to finish it. It is about a self-absorbed music teacher who thinks life is over at 40 and the only cure is an affair with a 28 year old musician.There were some subplots that seemed to insinuate that all violin prodigies are nuts and needed her intervention. I would not recommend this book.

[Ruth Bonetti · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book gives deep insights into the relationships forged between teacher-student and is honest about a teacher's motivations and need for validation through her work. The author explored interesting aspects of music and performance – a book to set one thinking.

[4daisym · Rating 3 out of 5]

:) great

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

I bought this at a library book sale thinking it was a standard YA novel about a music teacher and her violin student. It wasn't.

This was a very mature and well-written book about a middle age woman struggling to find meaning in her own existence. Sometimes it was absolutely profound. Sometimes the character was downright unlikeable. I actually liked that; it made her feel real. You can find yourself empathizing with Pearl as she talks so honestly about all of her feelings and the way that she views music, God, the world...it was as captivating as a violin solo!

That said, the ending felt very rushed and out of nowhere. I wasn't expecting a happy ending or anything, given the rest of the book (and there's definitely some trigger warnings in there), so I think where Pearl ends up is as realistic as anywhere, but it just sat a bit wrong for me. It didn't feel like the character had come out of these situations learning anything. But maybe that was the point. It also felt a bit creepy that Pearl, late in the book, goes to see Hallie at her home after specifically being told not to. I understand that she was concerned but it still gives me pause. She's a fully grown 40-year-old and should know when to let go of a situation at this point. It felt weird and off-putting to have her acting that way towards a 14 year old.

5/5 for prose, 3.75 for story (didn't care for the ending)

[alice ♡ · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed Hall's writing style and found it to be a quick read. I actually like how the storyline jumped around a little. I still found it easy to follow and engaging. However, the characters were so hit and miss. I recognize that Pearl was jaded and unhappy. This is fine, but there were just too many parts of the novel where I just found her to be pretentious and, at times, really sexist. Sometimes Pearl's insight was beautiful but other times it came off as haughty. People don't really talk like that. 90% of her interactions with Hallie I feel like accurately represented teenagers. However, the other 10% I felt like Hallie sounded like a completely different person. Definitely not like an edgy teenager at all. I am interested to read some of Hall's other work because I do think she's a great writer.

[Clairette · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked it. If you enjoy an intelligent but jaded first person narrative, with a bit of physics & religion mixed in, you might like this too. But, I agree with the reviews that this fell short of its potential, in a kind of poetic way.

A discussion from pg 293:
"I can learn to ignore pain?"
"If not ignore it, at least keep it at bay."
"Until what? I'm strong enough to confront it?"
"No. Until you're strong enough to realize that it is always going to exist. And these distractions - music, art, sex, movie popcorn, alcohol, whatever you choose - serve as a vacation from it all. Not an escape. Just a stepping out."

Some would call this honest, others would call it tired and defeated. I think I've finally become one of the others. :)

[Claudia · Rating 2 out of 5]

Maybe 2.5 stars for certain parts of the story that were insightful regarding the lives of musicians, who did not make it in the music business. For that reason the story also bounced between pathetic and profound. The main character is a loser who has dysfunctional relationships with students, coworkers, her former spouse. She is the person you do not want to be when you grow up. Yet I did not feel sorry for her because she seemed to like to wallow in self-pity and keep doing the same stupid things over and over.

[Bachyboy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I feel a bit stuck with this review. I read the book in half a day so it obviously hooked me. I can't say I liked it but the central character, Pearl Swain, a music teacher is both flawed and a little bit fascinating. She is torn between "saving" her students and reinventing her life. Worth reading, I think.

[Marilyn Crosbie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this book was believable. Having taught piano myself, I identified with the protagonist in her experiences and feelings about her students. The fact that she taught in a music studio in the building where musical instruments, accessories and music books were sold, gave additional substance to the story through the relationships she had with the rest of the staff there.

[Durga Lakshmi]

The book has a sort of deep melancholic tone to it. If I were to write the same thing probably I might have done so little differently.

Yet, I loved the connections and the conversations the book is laid with. Its a melancholic yet a beautiful read...

“Inspiration is divine.
For everything else there are teachers.”
—St. Cecelia, Patron Saint of Musicians

[Diane · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very boring story.

[Paula · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read an early edition of the book, so I know there are some edits that need to be made. But with that in mind, here's my review of the reading copy made available to me.

Overall, the book was thoughtful and, at turns, unexpected, which I didn't mind. I like that I don't necessarily like the first-person narrator, Pearl, and that the ending is more of a "settling" than a real ending--because that's what the book needed. I also like that things don't really work out for any of the characters that the reader's pulling for simply because that's the more authentic conclusion.

As I said already, there are some edits for continuity that still need to be made; for example, early on a boy is playing a harp, but then for the rest of the next few paragraphs he's playing a harmonica. A more important edit would be in the pacing of the novel's progress, however, as it shifts so frequently between present and past tense and not all of those shifts are made as clearly as they need to be. Some of the sentences also can be tighter; a couple times I found the dialog a bit overlong or the narrator's thoughts straying away from either the relevant past or the relevant present of the story.

I liked some of the descriptions that were given of harsh situations or difficult concepts in the story. My favorite comes at what, I believe, is the real climax of the story and the confrontation between Pearl and her student Hallie: "The world around us suddenly turned silent. Or maybe it just turned silent for me. I couldn't hear the cars on Pico. I couldn't hear the wind. My ears just quit working, which is what happens, I'm told, when you hear something you don't want to hear." Not very flowery, but this described the situation and mood perfectly. In fact, at times the more ornate the description in this book, the less I was involved with the story and I found myself, consequently, putting the book down during those moments.

I do have mixed feelings about the use of Hallie's character, though. I think she's the strongest and most believable one in the book, and clearly this would be an entirely different book if told from her perspective, but I wonder if there's too much reliance on her as a parallel to Pearl's own story. The novel is, in the end, about Pearl, but that's not always clear to the reader and only towards the end does this become apparent, when we see less of Hallie and more of the goings-on of Pearl. Still, I'm not sure what can be done to rectify that, since the story really hinges on Hallie's break from her music teacher.

The descriptions of the music store where Pearl works give wonderful snapshots of the people who work there. I don't for a second believe that Pearl is in love with the owner, Franklin, nor that he's in love with her, and I think the repeated focus on her "love" for him is overuse of a devise to show irony in the story. But each worker is different in a way that shows the variety of people who love and work with music on a daily basis, which is another way of authenticating the novel.

I'm not sure this is ready to be published as-is, but the story itself is compelling while subtle. The slow unveiling of the narrator may be improved by a slight hastening of the story's actual "present," but in the end it's a soft, realistic tale of a woman who wants to find her place in a world that otherwise would deem her a failure. It resonates with any reader who stumbles over larger problems in real life and who doesn't easily nestle into any particular niche.

[Patrick O'Hannigan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is not a novel in the traditional plot-driven, three act sense. Instead, as the anonymous reviewer for Kirkus Reviews rightly pointed out, this is a "deeply felt meditation" on some big things like success and failure and mortality. I liked the book.

Pearl Swain is a divorced musician who just missed the big time for several reasons, and now teaches violin to students at a Los Angeles music store that the author calls "McCoy's." If you know the west side of Los Angeles, then you soon realize that Hall is actually writing about a real and legendary music store called "McCabe's." I took lessons there long ago, albeit not for violin, and it's great fun to see how faithfully the author has captured the vibe of the store then and now.

A violin prodigy named Hallie serves as the catalyst for Pearl's grudging re-examination of her own life, but the introspection is handled well, even when metaphysical thinking near the end gets a little Froot-Loopy. Three other store employees also figure prominently in the part of Pearl's life that we get to accompany, and it's heartening to see how true they all seem to ring (By the end of the story, I was thinking of them as The Manager, The Enigma, and The Puppy). If the story had a subtitle, it might be "How to find a fragile kind of peace through failure."

The book is not quite great, but Hall is an honest writer who does a wonderful job with voice and characterization. Moreover, she's really writing about being human. She does that in miniature rather than at epic scale, so this is more like Of Mice and Men than like East of Eden, but that's okay. There's room on lots of reading lists for little books that punch above their weight -- or at least, there should be.

[Ariell · Rating 4 out of 5]

I got into The Music Teacher pretty quickly. It is an easy fast read. It wasn't what I might have thought it would be. I like the way Barbara Hall writes. She writes very plainly, straight forward. No over embellishment to make it tedious.
The characters were all very real. I appreciate that she managed to get her message across while still keeping out any graphic sex scenes. There was a bit of unnecessary language. But I can get the point without any foul language while others feel some books are not complete without expletives in them. To me profanity is an excuse for people to be lazy. It displays a lack of intelligence.
I know my rant really has little to do with this particular book. I just got on a tangent and it was something I felt like sharing.
So all together I liked the book. I might even read it again if I ever get through all the other books on my list. I would even go as far as to recommend it to some other people to read.
I also really liked the moments when she put some depth into the thoughts of her character, Pearl. I liked that Pearl was spiritual by nature, even if her spirituality was weak compared to some. She still kept God a part of her thoughts in her daily life.

[Erin · Rating 5 out of 5]

There are plenty of good novels hitting the shelves today. Some are written in the first person, some in the third, and some in all kinds of varying perspectives. What they all seem to share, however, is a focus on the story. Fantastic, harrowing, heartbreaking, suspenseful, incredible...the list goes on and on, but the emphasis remains on the tale itself.

The Music Teacher is different. The narrator is a 40-year-old violin teacher named Pearl Swain, and she is the story. The novel isn't particularly any of those adjectives listed above, and yet it caught me on the first page and never let me go.

Various things happen to Pearl throughout the story, of course. They aren't dazzlingly extraordinary or anything, but as we see Pearl process each conversation, thought, event, we realize that the book is really about her. It's a into a short span of one ordinary woman's life as she struggles to come to terms with her profession, her past, her relationships, her philosophies. It's honest and insightful in a wry, sometimes witty, always penetrating sort of way. By the end of the book, you feel like you've known Pearl all her life.

[Nikki · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's obvious, right from the start, that this story is written from someone comfortable writing for television. I say this as a good thing, as I prefer that sort of casual, relaxed tone - I feel it usually offers a deeper insight into the characters in question. They're allowed to be themselves and say what they really mean, rather than squishing into a certain mold to be what the writer is expecting. This character is certainly given room to be herself. Pearl Swain's voice is absolutely fluid - with a touch of prim that comes through via the use of very few contractions, only increasing as she becomes more comfortable with herself - and she isn't taking any issue with just letting all of her thoughts out there. For the reader's sake, at least. As a TV writer, I have a feeling that Hall takes from that experience and really hears a person's voice when she writes for them.

This ability to write real people is a truly marvelous gift from the author.


[FTC disclosure: Received free ARC through Goodreads' First Reads program.]

[Mel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pearl Swine is a violinist, but not a professional in her standing. She works at a music shop with other musicians and teaches children. Her husband left her for a younger student he taught at UCLA.

The characters are interesting, but only on a superficial L.A. level. I'm not sure if this is what the author meant to do. If so she did a superb job. I felt sorry for them as they left me sad they're only living half lives.

The relationship Pearl has with one of her student's struck me as pathetic and not at all as a 40 year old woman should behave. Though the character does mention that. But she doesn't seem to delve into it much or seem to want to correct it.

It was an easy quick read and I liked the honest abruptness of Pearl which is what kept me reading and I liked the areas of intellectualism as well....but, there wasn't much growth of the characters and they felt like empty shells of human beings just going through the motions, to me.

[Selah · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's like reading the middle book of a never finished trilogy

This books focuses on a specific time in music teacher's life, and mainly around one gifted student whose talents and struggles bring up conflicts for them both. There's something frustrating about this book, in that it starts debates it never finishes, and spends too much time building it all up to just simply shrug it's shoulders and give up. You're left just as confused, unsure, and blind about things as the protagonist... and maybe that was the author's goal. But as a reader, it's unsatisfying, and annoying, and feels like time poorly spent.

[Kelly · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hall just barely earned three stars with me here. Even her show, Judging Amy, was better than this. And that show was a snore-bore!

First page in I was dropped into the Pearl Swain's world, missing luster and the whole enchilada, she makes her way through life unattractive, aging and feeling like a failure. Hmm, sounds like someone needs fictional therapy. But because I understand fully the art of sarcasm, her wit and charm was a half-win-win with me because I can relate. But what I cannot stand is the distance that Pearl keeps herself from the situation, or should I say, the distance Barbara Hall keeps her characters resembles hamsters running around in a plastic ball. They are not going anywhere.

But since I feel like I am the posterchild for Algonquin, what the heck. Here's a few stars you ingrate. *Slaps stars on review slip and laughs at writer's shocked face*

[Ji Eun · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a really good book and funny at the same time. I'm glad that I didn't go off of the public rating and start out with a low expectation of the book, but rather, I came upon it in the library.

Because I am a musician and have a heart for music, a lot of what Pearl said hit a chord. I could understand the expectations and passion Pearl has for music, her own failures, and her inability to move on from Hallie/ Mark. I also enjoyed very much Pearl's philosophical musings and arguments among the characters throughout the book - sometimes nonchalant, othertimes, hitting a roadblock. Hall knows how to flow from one thought to another and she covers an interesting range of stuff.

I might have liked the book more if Hall had illustrated a more detailed view of other characters like Franklin and Patrick. But overall, the story was realistic-

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is much different than most, as the storyline doesn't have a standard linear progression. It switches back and forth between the time before/during Hallie and the aftermath. At times it can be confusing which is which. But the whole focus of this book isn't about resolving the mystery of what happened but rather on the feelings of denial, rejection, and failure that both lead up to it and are caused by it. I got so wrapped up in the emotions I just couldn't put the book down. While reading I was able to feel all the confusion of the main character. I highly recommend this book to anyone who has felt lost or confused and felt disenchanted about life being a tidy set of choices; however, if you are looking for a book that leaves you with a sense of completion or fulfillment then this is not the book for you.

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book tells (about?) 3 stories at once, all happening to Pearl,a divorced 40-something violinist teaching lessons in a music store. A very talented, emotionally damaged teenage girl comes to Pearl as a student, and Pearl becomes too involved in the student's life. The author explores the need of a musician who's realized that she won't develop a brilliant career of her own to live vicariously through a gifted student. She also explores Pearl's struggle to rebuild her personal life and accept her divorce, as well as her entry into a new romance. The story is multi-layered with lots going on. The author really establishes a mood of emotional limbo, not quite depression, that Pearl is slogging through to build her new life.