Hello bookworms! Is there an author whose journey you have followed as a reviewer? Have you read every book they have published yet? For me, Barbara Linn Probst is one such author. Last year, through The Nerd Daily, I reviewed her debut novel Queen of the Owls and it was at a time when I was pondering what life as an academic would look like for me. Now, a year later, I bring you the review for The Sound Between the Notes, the story about a female pianist. Take a look at the synopsis below and then read on for my review.
What if you had a second chance at the very thing you thought you’d renounced forever? How steep a price would you be willing to pay?
Susannah’s career as a pianist has been on hold for nearly sixteen years, ever since her son was born. An adoptee who’s never forgiven her birth mother for not putting her first, Susannah vowed to put her own child first, no matter what. And she did.
But now, suddenly, she has a chance to vault into that elite tier of “chosen” musicians. There’s just one problem: somewhere along the way, she lost the power and the magic that used to be hers at the keyboard. She needs to get them back. Now.
Her quest―what her husband calls her obsession―turns out to have a cost Susannah couldn’t have anticipated. Even her hand betrays her, as Susannah learns that she has a progressive hereditary disease that’s making her fingers cramp and curl―a curse waiting in her genes, legacy of a birth family that gave her little else. As her now-or-never concert draws near, Susannah is catapulted back to memories she’s never been able to purge―and forward, to choices she never thought she would have to make.
Told through the unique perspective of a musician, The Sound Between the Notes draws the reader deeper and deeper into the question Susannah can no longer silence: Who am I, and where do I belong?
Content Notes: Memory loss, loss of loved ones, hereditary disease, adoption.
Thoughts on The Sound Between the Notes
Susannah has not played her piano in a professional capacity for over fifteen years. The Sound Between the Notes begins with her auditioning for a solo position at a fundraiser. This opportunity to showcase her skills and play music in front of an audience has a drastic effect on Susannah because it feels like a second chance at the career which she gave up when she had her son, James. Though happily married, this concert has the possibility to open new doors and Susannah finds herself thinking about herself and the road to her success. I loved her from the start – her bold choice of music and her perseverance. Susannah is a brilliant pianist and The Sound Between the Notes is her story to find the source of her music, to fight to keep it and recognize in the process that her family still plays a huge role in what she does and who she is.
On Hard Choices
Our childhood has a profound effect on us, not just during but also after. As we grow older, we start to process what happened when we were kids. As I was reading about Susannah’s journey to find her birth parents and growing out of the truths that she believed about them, I was reminded of myself in some ways. In anger, loneliness and sorrow, it is easy to blame other people and take things personally. It’s hard to make peace with the fact that something happened the way it did and we had no control on it whatsoever. It takes time to make that peace and this was not something I was expecting to find in this book – Susannah’s birth and childhood history offered a unique dimensionality to Susannah’s character and spoke to how our parents, even when they are not there, shape us. This profound connection with the story made it extra special for me.
This also relates to how we will never truly know what goes on in someone’s mind when they make big decisions and more often than not, it becomes too late to ask. Susannah’s relationships with her birth mother, her mother, and her piano teacher were well done and the struggles of each of them were portrayed vividly. She only knew the parts of them that those chose to share and it was a good reminder of this fact of life.
On the Drive to Recognition
Music had been an important presence in Susannah’s life as she was growing up and it is a part of her decades later. She has grown up playing the piano and though she might not be a professional classical pianist her love for the instrument shines through the story. Her parents knew she was talented, she had one of the best piano teachers of the area and she bonded with her husband over her music. When her music is threatened and there is a possibility that she might not be able to play again, it is natural for her to want to fight for her musical ability and go to any extent to try to save it. She doesn’t know how much time she has and as a result she pushes herself and wants to be recognized as quickly as possible before that chance slips away. This leads to a descend into not-so-logical decisions which only emotions and fear can justify.
I love how the author portrayed this desperation and tension. I felt for Susannah the whole time and though I did not agree with her every move, I have learned over the years, and more recently with reading In My Own Moccasins, that it is easier to judge and think we would make better decisions when we are actually not in the situation itself. When something truly happens, the stakes are high and we try to do what we can to the best of our abilities then. Susannah recognized the rift that she had caused as a result of her drive to have a shot at a career. Her struggles were realistic and believable.
On Writing and Storytelling
Having read Barbara Linn Probst’s debut novel, Queen of the Owls, it was inevitable that I would compare both the works. I loved how The Sound Between the Notes choses to focus on a different journey of a woman to find her way to reconcile her dreams and her reality. The family situations are different, the stages in careers of the women are different and the problems that they are tackling are also different. Barbara’s talent in creating relatable women characters and situations shines through. I love reading her books because they lead me to ponder what it would be like to embark on a new stage of a career with kids, and now I have two examples – doing a PhD with little kids in Queen of the Owls or becoming a classical pianist with an older child in The Sounds Between the Notes. Through the focus on arts in both books, I also recognized the need for a passion that transcends time. For these women it was their research and music respectively. For me, it is my reading, staging and writing and as long as I keep that creative outlet going and through it,a connection to myself, I will be ok.
Overall, The Sounds Between the Notes is an immersive read. I wanted to know what had happened to Susannah in the past as well as what would happen in the future. The switch in time was an asset and I loved the variety of relationships in the book. I highly recommend this book for readers of realistic fiction and those who like thought-provoking reads.
** The Sound Between the Notes is now available in stores. Be sure to check your local library and support them. **
Many thanks to the publisher and The Nerd Daily for providing me the gifted copy of the book for an honest review. This review was first posted on The Nerd Daily on March 27, 2021. Check out my interview with the author Barbara Linn Probst about both her books so far only on The Nerd Daily.
For other contemporary fiction novels, check out my Book Review Index!
Cover image: Photo by Lorenzo Spoleti on Unsplash
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