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The Ensemble
"Pitch-perfect." — People
"You won’t be able to quit these characters." —goop
The addictive novel about four young friends navigating the cutthroat world of classical music and their complex relationships with each other, as ambition, passion, and love intertwine over the course of their lives.
Jana. Brit. Daniel. Henry. They would never have been friends if they hadn't needed each other. They would never have found each other except for the art which drew them together. They would never have become family without their love for the music, for each other.
Brit is the second violinist, a beautiful and quiet orphan; on the viola is Henry, a prodigy who's always had it easy; the cellist is Daniel, the oldest and an angry skeptic who sleeps around; and on first violin is Jana, their flinty, resilient leader. Together, they are the Van Ness Quartet. After the group's youthful, rocky start, they experience devastating failure and wild success, heartbreak and marriage, triumph and loss, betrayal and enduring loyalty. They are always tied to each other - by career, by the intensity of their art, by the secrets they carry, by choosing each other over and over again.
Following these four unforgettable characters, Aja Gabel's debut novel gives a riveting look into the high-stakes, cutthroat world of musicians, and of lives made in concert. The story of Brit and Henry and Daniel and Jana, The Ensemble is a heart-skipping portrait of ambition, friendship, and the tenderness of youth.
"You won’t be able to quit these characters." —goop
The addictive novel about four young friends navigating the cutthroat world of classical music and their complex relationships with each other, as ambition, passion, and love intertwine over the course of their lives.
Jana. Brit. Daniel. Henry. They would never have been friends if they hadn't needed each other. They would never have found each other except for the art which drew them together. They would never have become family without their love for the music, for each other.
Brit is the second violinist, a beautiful and quiet orphan; on the viola is Henry, a prodigy who's always had it easy; the cellist is Daniel, the oldest and an angry skeptic who sleeps around; and on first violin is Jana, their flinty, resilient leader. Together, they are the Van Ness Quartet. After the group's youthful, rocky start, they experience devastating failure and wild success, heartbreak and marriage, triumph and loss, betrayal and enduring loyalty. They are always tied to each other - by career, by the intensity of their art, by the secrets they carry, by choosing each other over and over again.
Following these four unforgettable characters, Aja Gabel's debut novel gives a riveting look into the high-stakes, cutthroat world of musicians, and of lives made in concert. The story of Brit and Henry and Daniel and Jana, The Ensemble is a heart-skipping portrait of ambition, friendship, and the tenderness of youth.
352 pages, Paperback
First published May 15, 2018
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,370 reviews
May 1, 2021
My 1.5 star rating only indicates how I felt about the book. It’s not a judgment on the author’s talent or the worthiness of the story. It simply was not for me.
The cover is gorgeous, I’ve seen stellar reviews from trusted sources, and I love a character-driven novel. This looked promising.
But, for me, the entire book was S-L-O-W with a lot of telling and very little showing. We are told in minute detail every thought they ever have. There’s lots of naval-gazing. Pages and pages of musings. Lots of angst from self-absorbed, narcissistic musicians. I found the characters to be insufferable. There's also a lot of descriptions of music that I didn’t understand so I skimmed. I found myself hoping one of them would come down with a life-threatening disease just so something….anything…would happen.
I think it was meant to be philosophical and “deep” but I didn't find it to be so. So much introspection and analyzing of everything. Lots of thoughts. And strangely, a lot of talk about sweat and moist skin. I found 30 references to sweat when I searched my kindle. Do musicians sweat more than the rest of us (and not just when performing)? I refrained from searching for the word moist and damp even though both were also used a lot …ick.
Sadly, for me, I found it boring, overwritten, and all tell, no show. Luckily, I had my friend Marialyce as my reading buddy and we felt much the same. But many people I respect loved this book so do read the 4 & 5 star reviews for a different perspective.
The cover is gorgeous, I’ve seen stellar reviews from trusted sources, and I love a character-driven novel. This looked promising.
But, for me, the entire book was S-L-O-W with a lot of telling and very little showing. We are told in minute detail every thought they ever have. There’s lots of naval-gazing. Pages and pages of musings. Lots of angst from self-absorbed, narcissistic musicians. I found the characters to be insufferable. There's also a lot of descriptions of music that I didn’t understand so I skimmed. I found myself hoping one of them would come down with a life-threatening disease just so something….anything…would happen.
I think it was meant to be philosophical and “deep” but I didn't find it to be so. So much introspection and analyzing of everything. Lots of thoughts. And strangely, a lot of talk about sweat and moist skin. I found 30 references to sweat when I searched my kindle. Do musicians sweat more than the rest of us (and not just when performing)? I refrained from searching for the word moist and damp even though both were also used a lot …ick.
Sadly, for me, I found it boring, overwritten, and all tell, no show. Luckily, I had my friend Marialyce as my reading buddy and we felt much the same. But many people I respect loved this book so do read the 4 & 5 star reviews for a different perspective.
June 3, 2018
A while back I decided to quit reading most of the summarys posted for books. The reason I stopped doing this is that I felt too much of the book was being given away. I do, however, read the first paragraph of these summarys, just to get a general idea of the book. I was drawn to this one because it stated it was an addictive read, plus it was about music, and seemed a little different from that which I usually read. Surprisingly enough I did find this addictive.
The lives of four member of a musical quartet, two men, one a prodigy on the viola, one a cello player and two women violinists. How they came together, their hopes for their careers, how they try to balance having a personal life while maintaining and rising in a career that takes everything. It is divided into four sections, the heading of each section includes a musical score. I looked for these on YouTube and played them as I read along.
In the beginning I was quickly taken by two of these members, the other two were more difficult for me to like. One had a giant chip on his shoulder, and one of the woman seemed cold, unbendable, but as I read, as the characters grew along with their careers, matured in their playing and personalities, I embraced all four. I loved how the author marked the passage of time, eighteen years they would play together, knowing each other better in many ways than their partners in life. I enjoyed so much about this book, following these very flawed characters, their love for their music, the difficulties in maintaining a relationship with each other, and lastly how far they progressed emotionally and musically after all those years.
"It had to do with time. Time looked different when you were young, and whatever foolishness you engaged in was undiluted-thsre was always the possibility that the next promised moment would carry you somewhere else,always the possibility of more flames, more beats, more life. Time, when you were older,was smethng different, irregular."
ARC from Edelweiss.
The lives of four member of a musical quartet, two men, one a prodigy on the viola, one a cello player and two women violinists. How they came together, their hopes for their careers, how they try to balance having a personal life while maintaining and rising in a career that takes everything. It is divided into four sections, the heading of each section includes a musical score. I looked for these on YouTube and played them as I read along.
In the beginning I was quickly taken by two of these members, the other two were more difficult for me to like. One had a giant chip on his shoulder, and one of the woman seemed cold, unbendable, but as I read, as the characters grew along with their careers, matured in their playing and personalities, I embraced all four. I loved how the author marked the passage of time, eighteen years they would play together, knowing each other better in many ways than their partners in life. I enjoyed so much about this book, following these very flawed characters, their love for their music, the difficulties in maintaining a relationship with each other, and lastly how far they progressed emotionally and musically after all those years.
"It had to do with time. Time looked different when you were young, and whatever foolishness you engaged in was undiluted-thsre was always the possibility that the next promised moment would carry you somewhere else,always the possibility of more flames, more beats, more life. Time, when you were older,was smethng different, irregular."
ARC from Edelweiss.
June 25, 2018
Audiobook...narrated by the wonderful
*Rebecca Lowman*.
Author Aja Gabel completely won me over...
...A pitch-perfect debut.
It’s filled with sharp observations about the choices one makes between love, work, and friendships.
The interrelationships between Brit, Daniel, Jana, & Henry...members of the string quartet...and their outside relationships were complicated- yet that’s what made the book interesting.
“The Ensemble” reminds me a little of the television series “Mozart in the Jungle”....a show I loved.
Other times, the ‘feel’ of “A Little Life”...a book I loved.
The audiobook was a great!!!! REBECCA LOMAN just ‘can’t do bad’. She’s one of my favorite Audiobook readers...bringing the best out of novels.
Gorgeous writing.
I felt I knew the characters- flaws and all.
**A bonus... this story takes place in San Francisco.
The city that changes from block to block.
Music 🎶 to my ears-enjoyable!!!
*Rebecca Lowman*.
Author Aja Gabel completely won me over...
...A pitch-perfect debut.
It’s filled with sharp observations about the choices one makes between love, work, and friendships.
The interrelationships between Brit, Daniel, Jana, & Henry...members of the string quartet...and their outside relationships were complicated- yet that’s what made the book interesting.
“The Ensemble” reminds me a little of the television series “Mozart in the Jungle”....a show I loved.
Other times, the ‘feel’ of “A Little Life”...a book I loved.
The audiobook was a great!!!! REBECCA LOMAN just ‘can’t do bad’. She’s one of my favorite Audiobook readers...bringing the best out of novels.
Gorgeous writing.
I felt I knew the characters- flaws and all.
**A bonus... this story takes place in San Francisco.
The city that changes from block to block.
Music 🎶 to my ears-enjoyable!!!
Read
December 14, 2017In the tradition of THE INTERESTINGS and THE SECRET HISTORY, THE ENSEMBLE teases apart the strands of an intense and long-lasting group friendship that both bolsters and binds its members. Aja Gabel's powerful debut offers a sensitive portrait of four young musicians forging their paths through life: sometimes at odds with each other, sometimes in harmony, but always inextricably linked by their shared pasts.
June 9, 2018
This is a remarkable debut as much for its portrayal of ambitious musicians in the world of classical music, as it is for its depiction of growing into adulthood within that rarified world. I was surprised at how addicting I found the stories of these four friends and how captivated I became with the music they were creating. With no musical inclination whatsoever--unless you count baton twirling with the marching band--I was immersed in every note and I found so much of it deeply absorbing.
What was remarkable in the performance, however, was that these four people, they contained everything…I think many of us strive for community and family, but often find it difficult…but it is possible. It is possible to arrange your life around art, and to find, in that art, a kind of love that grows...that changes, goes away, comes back.
It is that intertwining of their lives that I found the most fascinating, how they arranged their lives around the chamber ensemble, subverted their private dreams and desires, yet found the same ebb and flow as all lives do. What begins as a percussive piece in their 20s, picks up momentum when they reach their 30’s, and eventually comes together as a beautiful melody in their 40s.
.…he thought of his life as a piece of music, sonata form, one that progressed through movements, in which the motif became clearer and clearer through repetition and variation, until the third movement, the menuet, when the theme distilled down to a simple, sing-able song.
Rich characterization, lyrical prose and a captivating narrative about life, love, friendship and music as art form made for a deeply satisfying and enriching read. I highly recommend this noteworthy debut.
Thank you to Riverhead Books and all involved in this Goodreads Giveaway. I was going to read this anyway, but it was all the more exciting to have won an early copy.
What was remarkable in the performance, however, was that these four people, they contained everything…I think many of us strive for community and family, but often find it difficult…but it is possible. It is possible to arrange your life around art, and to find, in that art, a kind of love that grows...that changes, goes away, comes back.
It is that intertwining of their lives that I found the most fascinating, how they arranged their lives around the chamber ensemble, subverted their private dreams and desires, yet found the same ebb and flow as all lives do. What begins as a percussive piece in their 20s, picks up momentum when they reach their 30’s, and eventually comes together as a beautiful melody in their 40s.
.…he thought of his life as a piece of music, sonata form, one that progressed through movements, in which the motif became clearer and clearer through repetition and variation, until the third movement, the menuet, when the theme distilled down to a simple, sing-able song.
Rich characterization, lyrical prose and a captivating narrative about life, love, friendship and music as art form made for a deeply satisfying and enriching read. I highly recommend this noteworthy debut.
Thank you to Riverhead Books and all involved in this Goodreads Giveaway. I was going to read this anyway, but it was all the more exciting to have won an early copy.
January 27, 2019
1.5 stilted mundane stars
For me this book was like taking a ride on the NY subway system. There were moments of light but most of it was traveling in the dark. Following four people, members of a string quartet, one of whom was gifted and the rest very talented was a dull experience. To me, it lacked life, it lacked vibrancy, the exhilaration one feels when you have found your place in the arts.
I do have a music background and I do have some experience with working with gifted and talented people spending three weeks for three summers at Lincoln Center, and then having the artists come to my school and work with my students. It was a terrific experience unlike the one I had reading this book.
This book was dull, repetitious, and frankly never seemed to engender in me any feelings about the characters. The talented artists I met, while at Lincoln Center had a joie de vie, a kind of thirst and drive for life. They were fun, full of that New York swag, and their love for their art was so well evidenced. The characters in this book, seemed to mope through their days, going from one semi disaster to another never really seeming to be happy or even lost in their music. At times, I wondered if they really even liked what they were so driven to do? It was a story of sadness, bleakness, and melancholy.
I am not so naive to believe that all artists are successful, that probably most suffer for not being recognized, or feeling accomplished in their trade. However, these artists never seemed to be bolstered by their successes but always seemed to wallow in the doldrums.
I do realize that the author has extensive knowledge in music, and I am sure there are others who saw merit and joy in reading of these characters. I will give you that, it was quite a character study, just not about any characters I would care to know.
So sad to say this was like a piece of Bach music, very long on moodiness with not a ray of sunshine. Whenever I played his music, (which I tried not to do that often), I felt like I was in a graveyard saying goodbye to a departed soul. However, I am quite happy to say goodbye to this book. It could have been quite something but it got lost, very lost along the way.
This was a buddy read with Jan, and we both found this book to be forlorn and full of anguish.
For me this book was like taking a ride on the NY subway system. There were moments of light but most of it was traveling in the dark. Following four people, members of a string quartet, one of whom was gifted and the rest very talented was a dull experience. To me, it lacked life, it lacked vibrancy, the exhilaration one feels when you have found your place in the arts.
I do have a music background and I do have some experience with working with gifted and talented people spending three weeks for three summers at Lincoln Center, and then having the artists come to my school and work with my students. It was a terrific experience unlike the one I had reading this book.
This book was dull, repetitious, and frankly never seemed to engender in me any feelings about the characters. The talented artists I met, while at Lincoln Center had a joie de vie, a kind of thirst and drive for life. They were fun, full of that New York swag, and their love for their art was so well evidenced. The characters in this book, seemed to mope through their days, going from one semi disaster to another never really seeming to be happy or even lost in their music. At times, I wondered if they really even liked what they were so driven to do? It was a story of sadness, bleakness, and melancholy.
I am not so naive to believe that all artists are successful, that probably most suffer for not being recognized, or feeling accomplished in their trade. However, these artists never seemed to be bolstered by their successes but always seemed to wallow in the doldrums.
I do realize that the author has extensive knowledge in music, and I am sure there are others who saw merit and joy in reading of these characters. I will give you that, it was quite a character study, just not about any characters I would care to know.
So sad to say this was like a piece of Bach music, very long on moodiness with not a ray of sunshine. Whenever I played his music, (which I tried not to do that often), I felt like I was in a graveyard saying goodbye to a departed soul. However, I am quite happy to say goodbye to this book. It could have been quite something but it got lost, very lost along the way.
This was a buddy read with Jan, and we both found this book to be forlorn and full of anguish.
October 31, 2021
A mix of my favorite book, Rules of Civility and another one of my favorites, The Interestings, but starring the members of a string quartet. LOVED it!
May 24, 2018
3.5 stars
I liked this debut novel about four young musicians who come together to form the Van Ness Quartet. The group includes first violin Jana, their resilient and headstrong leader, second violin Brit, the consistent and sweet orphan, Henry on the viola, the prodigy who has gotten everything he wants in life, and Daniel playing cello, the oldest and angriest of the group. The Ensemble follows this chamber group's rocky start to its glorious heights. Amidst their music comes drama in their individual lives and their relationships, spanning heartbreak and marriage, shared joys and bitter resentments, and feelings of connection as well as abandonment. The driving force of this group: how they always come back to one another, again and again and again.
I appreciated this book's emphasis on art and friendship. Aja Gabel, a former cellist, portrays the musical world well. She incorporates the hours and hours of rehearsal, the unique intimacy that comes with a shared bond with fellow musicians, and the struggle to balance an artistic life with other relationships and goals. I do not have much of a musical background, so this aspect of the book may resonate even more with those who do. Furthermore, Gabel's focus on a group of friends warmed my heart. Rarely do we see books that honor the power of friendship, so I feel grateful that Gabel centered the experiences of these four friends, their merriment and discontent and everything in between.
I just wish I had felt closer to these characters. I wanted more development of their individual interior lives, like what drew each of them to music, their feelings about their music, how their pasts affect them, etc. I also wish we had gotten more interactions between the four, as I felt that relationships each of them had with individuals outside of the group shifted the spotlight from deepening or adding nuance to their bonds with one another. Toward the end of the book, some characters notice how other characters have changed since their shared youth. I wish we could have seen more of this change throughout the book, as opposed to being told about it afterward.
Still, a good read I would recommend to to music fans and books that span the adult life course. I look forward to reading Gabel's next work.
I liked this debut novel about four young musicians who come together to form the Van Ness Quartet. The group includes first violin Jana, their resilient and headstrong leader, second violin Brit, the consistent and sweet orphan, Henry on the viola, the prodigy who has gotten everything he wants in life, and Daniel playing cello, the oldest and angriest of the group. The Ensemble follows this chamber group's rocky start to its glorious heights. Amidst their music comes drama in their individual lives and their relationships, spanning heartbreak and marriage, shared joys and bitter resentments, and feelings of connection as well as abandonment. The driving force of this group: how they always come back to one another, again and again and again.
I appreciated this book's emphasis on art and friendship. Aja Gabel, a former cellist, portrays the musical world well. She incorporates the hours and hours of rehearsal, the unique intimacy that comes with a shared bond with fellow musicians, and the struggle to balance an artistic life with other relationships and goals. I do not have much of a musical background, so this aspect of the book may resonate even more with those who do. Furthermore, Gabel's focus on a group of friends warmed my heart. Rarely do we see books that honor the power of friendship, so I feel grateful that Gabel centered the experiences of these four friends, their merriment and discontent and everything in between.
I just wish I had felt closer to these characters. I wanted more development of their individual interior lives, like what drew each of them to music, their feelings about their music, how their pasts affect them, etc. I also wish we had gotten more interactions between the four, as I felt that relationships each of them had with individuals outside of the group shifted the spotlight from deepening or adding nuance to their bonds with one another. Toward the end of the book, some characters notice how other characters have changed since their shared youth. I wish we could have seen more of this change throughout the book, as opposed to being told about it afterward.
Still, a good read I would recommend to to music fans and books that span the adult life course. I look forward to reading Gabel's next work.
August 14, 2018
Okay. Okay. I was looking forward to reading this for months because I thought it would be like “The Interestings.” It’s not. I was about twenty pages in before I flipped to the author bio to see if Gabel had graduated from a writing program. She had. It’s a book that reminds me of everything I don’t like about literary fiction, MFA program fiction - you can’t even get into the story, loose as it is, without getting mired in backstory and interiority. It’s a book that’s supposedly about an ensemble but the four members of the ensemble rarely interact with each other in present time - most interactions are in the past, thought about, sans dialogue. We are assured, as readers, that the ensemble is codependantly close, but they barely interact on the page. There’s hardly a story on the page at all, just musings and backstory. Ugh. Disappointing to have waited months for this story only to find nothing at all.
Also, not surprised that Gabel was a student of Alexander Chee’s because I had all the same issues with “Queen of the Night.” I’m sure this is an excellent book for others, but is summertime and I just want a damn story.
Also, not surprised that Gabel was a student of Alexander Chee’s because I had all the same issues with “Queen of the Night.” I’m sure this is an excellent book for others, but is summertime and I just want a damn story.
Read
November 1, 2023This is the Modern Mrs Darcy Book Club November 2023 selection. The author will join us for a live discussion on November 16!
It’s the 1990s, and four promising musicians decide to forego the usual soloist path and bind their professional (and personal) lives to form a string quartet. Jana is driven, Henry a prodigy, Daniel a success through dogged determination, and Brit a bit of a wild card. With the feel of a dysfunctional family novel, the characters aren’t always likable but always ring true, and Gabel nails a wide range of human emotions—joy and pain, envy and fear, frustration and near-despair—as she portrays the group’s turbulent eighteen years together. An utterly believable and emotionally compelling submersion into the competitive world of classical music.
It’s the 1990s, and four promising musicians decide to forego the usual soloist path and bind their professional (and personal) lives to form a string quartet. Jana is driven, Henry a prodigy, Daniel a success through dogged determination, and Brit a bit of a wild card. With the feel of a dysfunctional family novel, the characters aren’t always likable but always ring true, and Gabel nails a wide range of human emotions—joy and pain, envy and fear, frustration and near-despair—as she portrays the group’s turbulent eighteen years together. An utterly believable and emotionally compelling submersion into the competitive world of classical music.
June 15, 2018
The Ensemble is a great summer read – a wonderful debut about four quartet musicians and their lives together from right out of school to adulthood – what they gave up and what they earned, the love they developed and the family they created. The Van Ness Quartet consists of Jana, first violinist and leader, Brit, the quiet, second violinist, Daniel the older cellist and playboy, and Henry the violist prodigy. Author Aja Gabel skillfully links them together by their shared musical experiences, emotional connections and their intertwined lives.
Through musical and personal challenges, emotional and physical relationships and breakups, private and career successes and failures, this foursome grows into their own as individual musicians and human beings as well as a group, making beautiful music together that just gets richer with age. These friends and music partners experience harmonious relationships along with plenty of friction, but they are committed to their craft and each other to live the lives of professional musicians…together.
This book gives us an inside look at what it is like to be a classical musician and play in a quartet for 20 years…a wonderful story – very enjoyable!
Follow all reviews on Book Nation by Jen.
Through musical and personal challenges, emotional and physical relationships and breakups, private and career successes and failures, this foursome grows into their own as individual musicians and human beings as well as a group, making beautiful music together that just gets richer with age. These friends and music partners experience harmonious relationships along with plenty of friction, but they are committed to their craft and each other to live the lives of professional musicians…together.
This book gives us an inside look at what it is like to be a classical musician and play in a quartet for 20 years…a wonderful story – very enjoyable!
Follow all reviews on Book Nation by Jen.
June 6, 2018
If you grew up playing a string instrument, The Ensemble will bring that dusty rosin smell right back to you. You probably knew people like Brit, Henry, Daniel, and Jana, the four characters who make up the titular string quartet--I know I did. Even if you’ve never spent any time with a bow in your hand, though, I predict you’ll get sucked into the cutthroat yet pristinely classy world of elite musicians. This is the kind of book where the shifting dynamics between the characters are the real attraction.
Because how can there not be drama when four very different people walk a career path together for decades? Quartets are collaborative; they only succeed when every person is pulling their weight. When one person is off, or, say, when two people in the group aren’t getting along, it throws off the rhythm of the whole ensemble. And in order to stay together, the four have to make decisions as one, which can be complicated when each person is trying to live their own life.
Although the passages describing music are admittedly a bit inside baseball, if you like literary fiction, you should give this one a go. Also recommended if you enjoy reading about unusual careers, complex group dynamics, and angsty artists making art.
More book recommendations by me at www.readingwithhippos.com
Because how can there not be drama when four very different people walk a career path together for decades? Quartets are collaborative; they only succeed when every person is pulling their weight. When one person is off, or, say, when two people in the group aren’t getting along, it throws off the rhythm of the whole ensemble. And in order to stay together, the four have to make decisions as one, which can be complicated when each person is trying to live their own life.
Although the passages describing music are admittedly a bit inside baseball, if you like literary fiction, you should give this one a go. Also recommended if you enjoy reading about unusual careers, complex group dynamics, and angsty artists making art.
More book recommendations by me at www.readingwithhippos.com
September 24, 2019
3.5 stars
I somehow found myself wavering between completely loving this book and being utterly bored by this book throughout my experience of reading it, which is quite the accomplishment in and of itself.
I somehow found myself wavering between completely loving this book and being utterly bored by this book throughout my experience of reading it, which is quite the accomplishment in and of itself.
June 18, 2018
Nicely done debut novel about a classical string quartet that spans the sixteen years following their graduate school recital to their last concert together. It's a coming of age story, with a musical twist.
The chapters alternate between each musician - Jana (first violin), Britt (second violin), Henry (viola) and Daniel (cello) - and one spouse, Kimiko. Each of the characters have their own backstories, flaws, foibles and differing levels of talent. It's interesting to see them through each other's eyes and to follow along as they grow into their individual selves while at the same time, they are binding themselves to each other as the entity that is the quartet.
This is a very introspective and "talky" novel. The author muses and ponders and analyzes everything to the nth degree. There's not a ton of plot here and things develop quite slowly. This, for me, is one of those books that I liked, but didn't particularly feel excited about picking up again. It did not COMPEL me. I appreciate the author's talent, but this felt overwritten to me - overly weighty
Overall, I did enjoy this peek into the world of classical musicians - the competitiveness, the physicality (who knew?), and the demands it makes on one's life.
The chapters alternate between each musician - Jana (first violin), Britt (second violin), Henry (viola) and Daniel (cello) - and one spouse, Kimiko. Each of the characters have their own backstories, flaws, foibles and differing levels of talent. It's interesting to see them through each other's eyes and to follow along as they grow into their individual selves while at the same time, they are binding themselves to each other as the entity that is the quartet.
This is a very introspective and "talky" novel. The author muses and ponders and analyzes everything to the nth degree. There's not a ton of plot here and things develop quite slowly. This, for me, is one of those books that I liked, but didn't particularly feel excited about picking up again. It did not COMPEL me. I appreciate the author's talent, but this felt overwritten to me - overly weighty
Overall, I did enjoy this peek into the world of classical musicians - the competitiveness, the physicality (who knew?), and the demands it makes on one's life.
April 12, 2021
One of my reading goals this year is to get through more of the books on my shelves with music as a theme. When I realized I had yet to do that and it's the 4th month of the year, I decided to start with the cheeriest cover.
Along the lines of An Equal Music or even Daisy Jones & The Six, The Ensemble is a very readable story of a string quartet that got together during graduate pursuit of music and how their relationships change over the years while still in the quartet. I loved that the author included specific works for each section, because obviously it's more enjoyable to listen to those pieces while reading. I felt some resonance with some of the ways musicians can be highly tuned in to one another and not be in a romantic relationship, but to people outside the group it has the same kind of vibe (I spent my undergraduate years in practice rooms by myself or accompanying others.)
Overall, the writing is straightforward but it leans on some overdone sentiments and it's too obvious when the author stops to try to say something poetic. But I would read her next book.
Along the lines of An Equal Music or even Daisy Jones & The Six, The Ensemble is a very readable story of a string quartet that got together during graduate pursuit of music and how their relationships change over the years while still in the quartet. I loved that the author included specific works for each section, because obviously it's more enjoyable to listen to those pieces while reading. I felt some resonance with some of the ways musicians can be highly tuned in to one another and not be in a romantic relationship, but to people outside the group it has the same kind of vibe (I spent my undergraduate years in practice rooms by myself or accompanying others.)
Overall, the writing is straightforward but it leans on some overdone sentiments and it's too obvious when the author stops to try to say something poetic. But I would read her next book.
June 12, 2020
[3.5] I enjoyed this character driven novel about the changing dynamics and friendships of four members of a quartet over a couple decades. Although I did not feel affinity with Brit, Jana, Henry and Daniel - I was fascinated with their individual and collective lives - as well as a view into the world of professional classical musicians.
October 25, 2022
4 Stars for The Ensemble (audiobook) by Aja Gabel read by Rebecca Lowman.
This was a interesting look into the lives of professional musicians.The story is told from each member’s point of view and it spans the main part of their careers. My wife is a violinist and this gives me a little glimpse into her world.
This was a interesting look into the lives of professional musicians.The story is told from each member’s point of view and it spans the main part of their careers. My wife is a violinist and this gives me a little glimpse into her world.
March 16, 2019
I had hopes when I began reading this novel - a telling of the lives of the members of a classical music string quartet. Those hopes faded quickly when I found myself reading something that was a step above a soap opera or chick lit - at times perhaps only half a step above those genres.
To make matters worse, Ms. Gabel is an explainer. She repeatedly tells the reader the thoughts and feelings of the four musicians. More showing and less telling, please.
So I'm still looking for fictional works that deal with music in a satisfying way. I've read two or three, and I know there must be others out there.
To make matters worse, Ms. Gabel is an explainer. She repeatedly tells the reader the thoughts and feelings of the four musicians. More showing and less telling, please.
So I'm still looking for fictional works that deal with music in a satisfying way. I've read two or three, and I know there must be others out there.
July 9, 2018
The Ensemble is a gorgeously written contemporary about four very different people brought together by the common dream of being recognized in the field of classical music.
With excellent character development and an insightful portrayal of the intricate relationship shared by quartet musicians, Aja Gabel has woven a beautiful story about what it is like to be a professional classical music player and part of a quartet for almost two decades.
Although, a lot of musical reference throughout the book went completely over my head because (sadly) my knowledge of classical music is pathetically lacking, I still enjoyed its wonderful prose and the constantly changing complex group dynamics of the four lead characters.
Recommended if you like character oriented literary fiction and classical music.
For more reviews visit my blog Booktimistic - Books, Outdoors & Optimism
**Thank you Riverhead Books and Goodreads for my copy. I won this in the Goodreads giveaway**
With excellent character development and an insightful portrayal of the intricate relationship shared by quartet musicians, Aja Gabel has woven a beautiful story about what it is like to be a professional classical music player and part of a quartet for almost two decades.
Although, a lot of musical reference throughout the book went completely over my head because (sadly) my knowledge of classical music is pathetically lacking, I still enjoyed its wonderful prose and the constantly changing complex group dynamics of the four lead characters.
Recommended if you like character oriented literary fiction and classical music.
For more reviews visit my blog Booktimistic - Books, Outdoors & Optimism
**Thank you Riverhead Books and Goodreads for my copy. I won this in the Goodreads giveaway**
May 17, 2018
In May 1994, the members of the Van Ness String Quartet are completing their final graduate recital at a San Francisco conservatory and preparing for the Esterhazy quartet competition in the Canadian Rockies. These four talented musicians – Jana, first violin; Brit, second violin; Henry, viola; and Daniel, cello – have no idea what the next 15 years will hold for them: a cross-country move, romances begun and lost, and career successes and failures. Drawing on her own history as a violinist and cellist, Aja Gabel infuses her debut novel with the simultaneous uncertainty and euphoria of both the artistic life and early adulthood in general. An alternating close third-person perspective gives glimpses into the main characters’ inner lives, and there are evocative descriptions of classical music. I think The Ensemble will mean even more to those readers who are involved in music, but anyone can relate to the slow fade from youth into middle age and the struggle to integrate art with the rest of life.
See my full review at BookBrowse. (See also my article on string quartets.)
See my full review at BookBrowse. (See also my article on string quartets.)
November 19, 2017
I loved this. I loved it I loved it. Never have I read such glorious writing about music and about musicians. I want to say something poetic about how the author builds the four characters into a harmony even when they're pushing against one another in dissonance, and how it's about a quartet but it reads like a symphony but I'll just say that I loved it and leave it there.
October 8, 2019
2.5 Stars...
The Ensemble's premise is interesting enough: a story about the inner lives of the members of the Van Ness String Quartet from 1994-2009.
However, this novel suffered from a great deal of technical weakness. There's a certain lack of rhythm that makes for pretty slow reading for a novel with only 330 pages. (I've been noticing this lack of rhythm in a lot of debut novels lately!) I felt so distanced from the main characters, and ironically, it was because of the long digressions into their inner lives and thoughts. As a reader, I enjoy knowing these things, but the execution felt inauthentic and left me cold.
Another thing is that the writing can be a little sentimental, and quite pedantic concerning the emotions that the protagonists experience, on the verge of being cliche for most of the book.
I'm a professional musician and I thought the strongest scenes were the quartet's performances and rehearsals. Those scenes felt the most realistic and relatable for me.
The Ensemble's premise is interesting enough: a story about the inner lives of the members of the Van Ness String Quartet from 1994-2009.
However, this novel suffered from a great deal of technical weakness. There's a certain lack of rhythm that makes for pretty slow reading for a novel with only 330 pages. (I've been noticing this lack of rhythm in a lot of debut novels lately!) I felt so distanced from the main characters, and ironically, it was because of the long digressions into their inner lives and thoughts. As a reader, I enjoy knowing these things, but the execution felt inauthentic and left me cold.
Another thing is that the writing can be a little sentimental, and quite pedantic concerning the emotions that the protagonists experience, on the verge of being cliche for most of the book.
I'm a professional musician and I thought the strongest scenes were the quartet's performances and rehearsals. Those scenes felt the most realistic and relatable for me.
July 16, 2018
everyone kisses everyone but no one cares
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June 13, 2018It pains me to say this, because I SHOULD have loved this book. I play the violin. I loved playing chamber music in string quartets. This book is on most summer reading lists for 2018. But I quit it on page 150. The main characters are selfish and neurotic and cynical; they didn't even exhibit real friendship (in the pages I read). Even the descriptions of the music, instruments and performances fell flat for me. I have learned my lesson after The Nest; any book in which the characters exhibit zero warmth or hope will not be allowed to take up my reading time. Especially in the summer.
May 24, 2018
4.5⭐️ Stellar writing with such complex and rich characters and relationships. Blown away that this is a debut novel. Loved being immersed in this world of classical music.
September 4, 2018
This book was overhyped for me, but I was impressed by the beautiful prose. While there was certainly a lot of emotion and complex relationships to tap into, I didn't always connect with that emotion, and I didn't really care about the characters. There were a few passages/quotes I loved, and I can appreciate the musical details, which were lovely. But it did lag for me at times. I haven't been this conflicted about my feelings for a book since The Nest.
May 7, 2018
I enjoyed this book and the story of four musicians. It is one of those books in which not much really happens but it spans many years and is a great character study. It was beautifully written. But I felt there were just parts my eyes would just skip over and that there was a lot of filler that got tedious.
I received an advanced copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley.
I received an advanced copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley.
February 27, 2023
This is the story of a string quartet whose members stayed together over the course of fifteen years. We have ambitious Jana on first violin (and acting group lead), sensitive Brit on second violin, Henry “the prodigy” on viola, and caustic Daniel on cello. This is a character-driven story that delves deeply into the interior lives of the four musicians. The storyline relates their family histories, friendships, relationships, marriages, children, disagreements, and personal growth.
It is obvious that the author has a background in classical music. The commitment, drive, competition, rehearsals, performances, and difficulties in establishing a career in classical music are believable and nicely done. What did not work as well for me is all the melodrama. There are way too many sexual escapades for my taste. I am really not all that interested in stories of who is sleeping with whom – it gets tedious after a while. The story is constructed in the form of a piece of music, and I think the author is using it as an extended metaphor for life. It almost works.
“They were playing now, like they always had. It wasn’t easy. It never had been. It was something like a miracle, all this music, each note a discovery you’ve already made, but it was also maybe the most ordinary thing in the world, to assemble and compose and perform—night after night—a life.”
It is obvious that the author has a background in classical music. The commitment, drive, competition, rehearsals, performances, and difficulties in establishing a career in classical music are believable and nicely done. What did not work as well for me is all the melodrama. There are way too many sexual escapades for my taste. I am really not all that interested in stories of who is sleeping with whom – it gets tedious after a while. The story is constructed in the form of a piece of music, and I think the author is using it as an extended metaphor for life. It almost works.
“They were playing now, like they always had. It wasn’t easy. It never had been. It was something like a miracle, all this music, each note a discovery you’ve already made, but it was also maybe the most ordinary thing in the world, to assemble and compose and perform—night after night—a life.”
November 9, 2018
This is totally not my kind of book but I actually enjoyed it. It is Sorkin like in the characters ability to articulate extreme self awareness. It is also greys anatomy like in the intense interpersonal relationships. So parr’s were way too slow for me, but I am over all pleasantly surprised with this book.
June 27, 2018
This cover is positively swoon worthy- right? Gorgeous!
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This novel follows the four members of a chamber ensemble over the course of their lives and careers. It was truly a study in character and relationships. It was a unique example of how expectations and dreams can become intertwined. How friends/colleagues can start to feel like family. I thought the writing was stunning.
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This novel follows the four members of a chamber ensemble over the course of their lives and careers. It was truly a study in character and relationships. It was a unique example of how expectations and dreams can become intertwined. How friends/colleagues can start to feel like family. I thought the writing was stunning.
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