Stradivarius Paperback – August 29, 2007

Great story well told you always want to know whats next.

Wonderful little Book

July 2015I am rereading this book perhaps for the third time, perhaps in a bit of protest of the reviews of Go Tell A Watchman (released 4 days ago) on July 14 by Publisher's Weekly and NPR in which the writing of Watchman apparently characterizes Atticus as less noble than in Mockingbirdthe circumstance of which I decided to take personal offense to. Perhaps I take the whole thing too personally.If I gave Stradivarius (1995) a rating of 10, To Kill a Mockingbird would get from me perhaps a 2 and a myriad of other titles I have read might get a -3.I won't argue To Kill Mockingbird doesn't have some wonderful messages and thoughts and color and doesn't deserve the recognition it has gained for what it is, but I think Stradivarius has about 5 times more to offer at least having as its main character a young backwoods West Virginia child who is a prodigy.The is a lot of tolerance and interaction between diverse cultural backgrounds. City and rural, A War Vet and Grade School teacher,musicians and non musicians, Southern Baptists and Rabbi's, young and old, etc. Stradivarius if full of lovely thoughtful dialog and quotable items and musical references which aren't overwhelming and interesting to me who is not well studied in music.This is a very personable book which has scarcely reached its audience who might appreciate it.

I was lucky enough to receive a copy from Donald himself. I'm reading it now and I absolutely love it. It's a good read with a cute story and real characters.

This is a delightful, well written book with much insight and an obvious love of music. The author spans many years in his tale of a Stradivarius violin from it's beginnings in Cremona, Italy through palaces of Europe, a hut in the Korean war and finally to a young prodigy deep in the southern U.S. The characters are well thought out and written. The plot lines believable and interesting. I loved this book and think it's a shame that more people didn't take the opportunity to read a wonderfully written story full of heart, wit and charm.

As a librarian, I have given this book to virtually every one of my regular readers. Despite their widely varying tastes, I have never had one negative reaction. It is a charming gem. It's worth reading just to experience the wise and gentle approach to conflict resolution that resonates and builds throughout the book. I have given it to many teens, as well. Even the boys will admit to liking it. Give it a try.