Here’s where I’ll begin

I’ve been to-ing and fro-ing nonstop since early spring, and I’m finally ready to settle down for a bit, sink into a lawn chair out in the sunlight of these long lingering Western New York late afternoons, and get started reading again.

This book, The Ensemble, came to me in Gambier, Ohio at the Kenyon Writers Workshop. I heard the author, Aja Gabel, read an excerpt at the fellows’ evening presentation, and as soon as she said, “this book is about a string quartet,” I knew I had to have it immediately if not sooner. I literally ran to the bookstore after the reading and snatched the very last copy off the display shelf (luckily there were more copies in the back so I didn’t have to suffer the consequences of my impulsive selfishness). Aja signed the book for me, and while speaking with her, I found out that she’d been a cellist, very serious with her music studies, but decided after high school not to pursue it. But she knew she would at some point want to write about music, and here is the result. I’ve just started reading it, and already I know I won’t be able to put it down until I’m done. I’ll write back later in the week with my impressions, but so far, it’s a great read.