The Violin Lover

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Set in Jewish London in the 1930s, Susan Glickman’s The Violin Lover is written against the backdrop of Hitler’s escalating campaign against the Jews. This beautifully written novel tells the story of Clara Weiss and Ned Abraham, “the violin lover,” brought together by Clara’s 11-year-old son, Jacob. A successful doctor and amateur violinist, Ned is pressured to practice a duet with Jacob by the boy’s piano teacher. Though reluctant at first, Ned is charmed by the young prodigy and surprised by Jacob’s dedication and passion for music. In him Ned sees his younger self, so young and full of promise. A friendship is soon built on a mutual love for music. A dinner invitation to spend Passover with the Weiss family seals Ned’s fate and a clandestine love affair begins. Although they both agree that no one must ever know — especially not Clara’s family — their affair inevitably comes to a crashing end, with disastrous, life-altering consequences.

Unfolding like a melody, The Violin Lover is infused with music and told in three voices. It is a powerful novel about the love one feels for family, friends, culture, faith and music, and the passion that comes with it — regardless of the outcome.

AUTHOR

Susan Glickman

Susan Glickman is the author of six volumes of poetry, most recently The Smooth Yarrow (2012), three novels for adults, most recently Safe as Houses ( 2015), the “Lunch Bunch” trilogy of children’s books, and The Picturesque & the Sublime: A Poetics of the Canadian Landscape (1998). She works as a freelance editor, primarily of academic books, and teaches creative writing in the continuing education programs of the University of Toronto and Ryerson University.

Reviews

Clara Weiss and Ned Abraham are an unlikely couple: he a self-possessed doctor and accomplished violinist, and she a struggling young widow. As the Blackshirts terrorize London’s Jewish community, harrowing consequences follow their secret affair, and Ned’s careless intrusion into the life of Clara’s son Jacob, a gifted 11-year-old pianist.
“The Violin Lover is a beautifully written novel, one that fans of violin music, as well as readers of serious literary fiction, will particularly appreciate.”
– Violinist.com

“Dividing the novel into three parts, Glickman masterfully structures The Violin Lover in sonata form, mirroring and reflecting the musical narrative themes that underpin the book … Glickman’s mastery and maturity are evident in The Violin Lover. Its final moments are as moving and inevitable as the flow of music toward its conclusion. Readers will be richly rewarded by the beauty and power of her artistry.”
– Globe and Mail