Lev's Violin
Making its way from the cobbled streets of sixteenth-century Cremona, through cool churches, glittering courts, and little coastal opera houses, LEV'S VIOLIN takes us from the heart of Italian culture to its very furthest reaches. Its tale of princes and orphans, virtuosos and fraudsters, collectors, composers, travellers and raconteurs, swells to an enrapturing meditation on the power of objects, stories and music to shape individual lives and craft entire cultures.
Reviews
Utterly enthralling - a beautifully-written voyage of discovery that takes us deep into the heart of music-making.
A readable, well-written, charming and original example of the history-sleuthing genre of non-fiction. The book leads the reader with a light touch through matters and histories that might seem esoteric, but are in fact consistently intriguing because of the very personal character of the telling. Attlee has the natural story-teller's gift.
This is a beguiling and truly original book...Attlee has such a wonderful way with words that as a reader you almost imagine you can see, as well as hear, Lev’s violin.
Attlee tells [this] story in easy, luminous prose, infused with a deep understanding for the way human value accrues mysteriously in things, and in the act of making them.
[Attlee] has proved already, in her superb THE LAND THE LEMONS GROW, the strength of her empathy with the moods and pulses of Italian culture, moving across the peninsula’s different landscapes in the guise of an explorer rather than simply another educated tourist. In LEV'S VIOLIN she does this again... Attlee’s writing has borne us forward with such seductive fluency, such a captivating sense of incident and place...
...an original and refreshingly unorthodox approach to history.
Attlee writes with rare beauty and sensitivity about music, and her love of Italian culture positively sings from the pages, making this a deeply absorbing 'violin-shaped version of Italian history.'
The author knows Italy well. Her love and unbounded enthusiasm for the country shine through the pages. She writes with zest about her sleuthing odyssey, her investigations into the art of lutherie and the dynasties dedicated to the crafting of these delightful objects. Whether it be a distant family history, the timber forests of the Dolomites or a momentary encounter, Attlee captures it in firm, fresh prose.
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