James Runcie

This is a slow moving, character driven book. A bereaved young teenager, Stefan Silbermann, is sent off to boarding school in Leipzig. There he comes under the instruction of the school's demanding cantor, Johann Sebastian Bach. Silbermann is often bullied at school and through a variety of circumstances, ends up living in Bach's household. During that time, Silbermann befriends Bach's daughter, Catharina, who is also an outcast.

There are a lot of references to music terminology and the story is highly religious in tone. I wasn't completely put off by that but the story is often maudlin and did drag in a lot of places. I have no idea how much of this story is fact and how much is fiction.

I guess overall, I liked some aspects of the story and learned something of how Bach made his living as a composer. On the other hand, I really didn't connect with other aspects of the writing and was glad to finish the book.

Rating: 3 stars
Original Publication Date: 2022
… (mere)

I'm not quite sure why this one took me so long to get through, since the material was somewhat familiar. This is a rare case in which I've seen the filmed version of the story before reading the book, and indeed I hadn't even heard of the book until I watched the show. I enjoy the show, so I thought if pick up the book. Sidney Chambers is a bit of a hapless, accidental detective whose first calling is to the priesthood. His investigations are all coloured by his faith and his role as a clergyman. His two fast friends are a local police detective and a friend of his sister's, with whom he shared a mutual attraction and equally mutual understanding that they are destined never to be together. In the show she ends up married, and I'm curious whether she will be so in the books also. She does find herself mixed up in Sidney's investigations from time to time, at least once with very disturbing consequences. But generally these short mysteries are pretty light fare, quickly resolved and not very nasty in nature. I'm sure I'll pick up the next volume eventually.… (mere)