A beautiful and complex novel filled with fast-paced mystery, The Violin Conspiracy is the debut novel from Brendan Slocumb. The writer Brendan Slocumb is a violinist who has played in orchestras during his career in Northern Virginia, Maryland, and Washington, D.C. He has also taught education at public and private schools for more than twenty years.
Quick Synopsis
Ray McMillian, the protagonist, is a rising star in the world of classical violin, yet he is often overlooked for one simple reason: he is black. The story revolves around this black classical musician's desperate attempt to recover his lost violin before the world's most prestigious music competition.
Review
The story begins with Ray, a young Black man in Charlotte, North Carolina, receiving a violin gifted to him by his grandmother. She inherited that violin from her own great grandfather and kept it for decades until someone in the family took an interest in music. Ray later discovers that the violin itself is extremely valuable and rare. He receives a full scholarship to study music and eventually is invited to participate in the most prestigious music competition in the world.
However, the violin gets stolen. And Ray has no shortage of suspects: the family that enslaved his great-great-grandfather wants their property back. As well as Ray's mother and uncles, who are resentful because he took the valuable instrument. A few allies stand by Ray: his mentor, his girlfriend, and an aunt who refuses to take part in the lawsuit.
The plot of this story is different from what you may expect if you are looking for an action-style story. As Ray pursues a career in music, he faces villains at every step. However, he's less likely to venture into a dangerous situation to find his violin.
A story's antagonists, like many stories, provide a compelling conflict that challenges Ray and drives the plot forward. Ray's mother is the first to actively discourage him from pursuing a musical career. Ray's practicing bothers her, and she does not care about the full scholarship he earned, so long as he sends her money. It was particularly noticeable how some of the minor characters acted viciously towards Ray. Readers would not be able to fully comprehend Ray's world without them.
Discrimination and violence are prominent throughout the story. Among Ray's racist experiences are music teachers who do not take him seriously, a man who kicks him out of his house after he performs at his daughter's wedding, and a police officer who arrests him for a minor traffic violation. A slaveowner's treatment of his "property" is also briefly described, which may also cause some upset.
Slocumb reveals in his author's note that many of these scenes were inspired by his own experiences. As young Black men in the South and in the classical music world dominated by whites, they are the greatest sources of tension in the story.
Throughout this book, Slocumb portrays the struggle against racism by placing the reader in the shoes of a person of color who is subject to bias, ignorance, and hatred within a white-dominated society. A tale of inspiration, The Violin Conspiracy illustrates that persons of color, and all humans, can overcome any obstacles.
What about the "other" crime, the violin theft mystery? Well, from the beginning to the end, the reader is captivated by the conspiracy behind the violin. Read this amazing book to uncover that conspiracy.
Click on the picture below if we made you curious.
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