Synopses & Reviews
Lyrical and evocative,
Sight Reading by Daphne Kalotay is an intense, literary love story.
When Hazel and Remy happen upon each other on a warm Boston spring day, their worlds immediately begin to spin. Remy, a gifted violinist, is married to composer Nicholas Elko, who was once the love of Hazel's life. Over the decades, each buried secrets, disappointments, and betrayals that now threaten to undermine their happiness.
We follow the notes of their complicated, intertwined lives from 1987 to 2007, from Europe to America, and from conservatory life to the Boston Symphony Orchestra.
Sight Reading, from the author of the acclaimed debut novel Russian Winter, is an exploration of what makes a family, of the importance of art in daily life, and of the role of intuition in both the creative process and the evolution of the self.
Review
“Set in the hothouse world of classical music, this wise, elegant novel maps the fallout from a passionate affair over the course of two decades. . . . Daphne Kalotay writes with grace and authority, paying equal attention to the artistic and emotional lives of her characters.” Tom Perrotta, New York Times bestselling author of The Leftovers
Review
“SIGHT READING is at once a compelling story about love, loss and music in four interwoven lives, and an insightful exploration of the sources and expression of creativity. The results are compulsively readable, memorable and wise.” Nancy Richler, award-winning author of < i=""> The Imposter Bride <>
Review
“Kalotay celebrates art . . . in prose that is brisk and concise as well as sensuous andsumptuous . . . A fictive musical and familial feast.” Booklist (starred review)
Review
“[Kalotay] really shines when discussing musicians making music…[and] she effectively shows us how performing artists live. Much as we ourselves do, except they then get to create something gorgeous. < i=""> Library Journal <>
Review
“Kalotays soulful second novel chronicles the collateral damage three classical musicians inflict on the people who love them. Merging two inherently incompatible modes of expression, writing and music, presents a formidable challenge-one Kalotay rises to admirably here.” < i=""> Kirkus Reviews <>
Review
“Kalotay writes elegantly and ably about music and emotion, drafting a moving meditation on the sacrifices made for art and the mysteries of the heart.” < i=""> Publishers Weekly <>
Review
“Ms. Kalotay manages to capture the fleeting exultation that performers feel whenever they play. It is as if she has been on stage, bow in hand, ready to make or break her career with a single piece of music:.” < i=""> New York Journal of Books <>
Review
Kalotay “takes great pains to get the little details right, both musical and geographical, and the resulting read is engaging and often insightful.... [S]urprising and satisfying...with some delightfully vivid writing.” < i=""> Boston Globe <>
Review
“Kalotays writing is clear and evocative…. [She] infuses each of the characters with total believability stemming from her understanding of classical music and her perceptions of human nature. She is a very wise writer…and her brilliant intuitions are augmented by her lyrical writing.” < i=""> Toronto Star <>
Review
“This entertaining novel follows a group of musicians through twenty years of disappointments and betrayals; lusts, regrets, afflictions, and delusions; rehearsals, recombinations, and revelations.” Edith Pearlman, award-winning author of < i=""> Binocular Vision <>
Review
“The characters about which Kalotay writes are deeply flawed, but also talented and fascinating to read about.” < i=""> Bookreporter.com <>
Review
“Kalotays thoughtful insights on artistic endeavors add depth to this graceful book.” < em=""> Cleveland Plain Dealer < m="">
Synopsis
The critically acclaimed author of
Russian Winter turns her "sure and suspenseful artistry" (
Boston Globe) to the lives of three colleagues and lovers in the world of classical music in this beautifully composed novel.
On a Boston street one warm spring day, Hazel and Remy spot each other for the first time in years. At first their brief meeting might seem insignificant. But behind them lie two decades in which their life paths have crisscrossed, diverged, and ultimately interlaced. Remy, a gifted violinist, is married to the composer Nicholas Elko—once the love of Hazel's life.
Lyrical and evocative, Sight Reading is a moving exploration of what makes a family, of the importance of art in daily life, and of the role of intuition in both the creative process and the evolution of the self.
About the Author
Daphne Kalotay is the author of the novel Russian Winter, which won the Writers' League of Texas Fiction Award and has been published in twenty languages, and the fiction collection Calamity and Other Stories, which was short-listed for the Story Prize. A MacDowell fellow, Daphne holds a PhD in modern and contemporary literature and an MA in creative writing, both from Boston University, and has received fellowships from the Christopher Isherwood Foundation, Yaddo, and the Bogliasco Foundation. She has taught literature and creative writing at Boston University, Skidmore College, Middlebury College, and Grub Street. Copresident of the Boston chapter of the Women's National Book Association, she lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts.