Stirring Look at Genius Swept Up in History

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	• The Spanish Bow Andromeda Romano-Lax Harcourt, 2007 - 560 pages average customer review:based on 11 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

a great read

i received this book as a gift. it is not the typical book i would choose to read, but i'm so glad i did! the spanish bow is delightful. it is set in a time and location i knew very little about, so it was an opportunity to learn in an interesting way. i was quite surprised to find it a compelling read. as i ended each chapter, i was never ready to put it down for another time.
very well-written, wonderful story. i highly recommend it, and will be waiting for andromeda's next novel.

Stirring Look at Genius Swept Up in History

Andromeda Romano-Lax does a masterful job of showing the development of a Spanish prodigy into a young cellist who serves King and Queen before becoming one of the great musicians of his time. Her deep knowledge of music and the cello itself makes this quite an education into the musical context that saturates the life of her character. As time moves along, the monarchy falls, the Spanish Civil War erupts, and the life of the musician is swept up in the coming of the Second World War. Andromeda Romano-Lax is a great story teller, but more importantly, she is able to bring the reader inside a complicated but fascinating life and mind.

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a beautiful, extraordinary book

I loved this book from beginning to end. Its depiction of Spain during what was arguably the most dramatic decade in Spanish history is thoroughly evocative and absorbing, and the theme of friendship throughout makes it a wonderful gift. I think I've bought it for at least 10 friends as birthday presents.

wonderful experience

The Spanish Bow was a gift from a friend, and what an excellent choice! The characters are rich and deep, with the main character uniquely drawn from the musical elite. His relationships are strong and real and captured me from the start. This author's style is rich with visual images and true-to-life dialogue. A great read!

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A total pleasure.

I initially picked this book up from the library and enjoyed it so thoroughly that I bought one for me as well as one for our son. He loves classical music but usually not novels about classical musicians. He's been as entranced by the book as I was.

I spent my sophomore year of college in Valencia Spain in 1973-1974, when Francisco Franco was still at least nominally in power. Ms. Romano-Lax captures the feel of Spain in a more limited scope than Michener did in Iberia, but just as true to the culture. I loved her use of the Spanish language for a few concepts that can't be captured in English. Other reviews here summarize the story line well. I hope Ms. Romano-Lax continues her fictional pursuits. She's found her calling.

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reviews: page 1, 2, 3

**DEBUT FICTION** I was almost born Happy. Literally, Feliz was the Spanish name my mother wanted for me. Not a family name, not a local name, just a hope, stated in the farthest-reaching language she knew?a language that once reached around the world, to the Netherlands, Africa, the Americas, the Philippines. Only music has reached farther and penetrated more deeply.

In a dusty, turn-of-the-century Catalan village, the bequest of a cello bow sets young Feliu Delargo on the unlikely path of becoming a musician. Anarchist Barcelona and the court of the embattled monarchy in Madrid teach him his first serious lessons in creativity, principle, and passion?and their consequences. When he meets up with the charming and eccentric piano prodigy Justo Al-Cerraz, their lifelong friendship and rivalry orchestrate a tumultuous course for them both. Over the span of half a century of creative struggle and international turmoil that sees them paying house calls on Picasso one year and being courted by dictators the next, they make glorious music together, and clash over virtually everything else: love, politics, and the purpose of art. When the tensions propelling a war-torn world toward catastrophe bring Aviva, an Italian violinist with a haunted past, into their lives, Feliu and Justo embark upon their final and most dangerous collaboration.

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