(no subject)

[skygiants]

Llinos Cathryn Thomas' A Duet for Invisible Strings is a charming novella featuring the rarest of romantic protagonists: solidly middle-aged lesbians!

The lesbians in this case work together in an orchestra; Heledd is the first violinist and she has been pining for her conductor/collaborator Rosemary for many a year, and Rosemary does Not Seem Indifferent. Unfortunately, Heledd is also afflicted with a mysterious supernatural obligation that makes her deeply reluctant to act upon her feelings in case the supernatural obligation comes to call upon her in the near future. As indeed it seems quite likely to, when the orchestra unexpectedly finds a gig has been arranged for it in Heledd's home village in Wales!

It's a relatively short book but a very sweet one; Heledd and Rosemary are both kind and responsible and drawn together by a shared passion and I always enjoy a sympathetic changeling POV narrative -- probably my favorite aspect of the book was actually the description of baby changeling Heledd having to learn how to make music from scratch instead of summoning it out of the air. It's definitely got something of the feel of a fairy tale, but the solid musical details and concerns of a working orchestra ground both the story and the protagonist in a way that I appreciated very much.

Comments

[osprey_archer]

This sounds delightful! And I had a very tiresome day wrestling with computer problems, so clearly I deserve to treat myself to a new book...

[skygiants]

You extremely do! - and also, as I had forgotten but kate_nepveu noted down below, it is currently free which means that it's also a one hundred percent guiltless treat. :D

[sovay]

a sympathetic changeling POV narrative -- probably my favorite aspect of the book was actually the description of baby changeling Heledd having to learn how to make music from scratch instead of summoning it out of the air.

I'm in favor!

[skygiants]

love to see a changeling make good! love to see them develop a fulfilling career and hobbies! inspirational!

[rymenhild]

Ooooh.

[skygiants]

One of the protags is forty-some and the other is fifty-some! I WAS SO DELIGHTED.

[oracne]

I love stories about musicians.

[skygiants]

It definitely made me once again start eyeing the viola I haven't touched in 15+ years ....

[kate_nepveu]

the two books of hers showing on Kobo, this and another, are both free!

[skygiants]

Oh I think I knew that she'd made it free-for-lockdown at some point but I had completely forgotten it was still true! (I bought it before lockdown intending to read on a train trip, then didn't get to it, then forgot I had it until relatively recently.) What timely blogging by me. :D

[genarti]

This is extremely useful information and I thank you for it! :D

[raven]

Aww I am so pleased you enjoyed this one! I am hopelessly biased because I edited it but ISN'T IT LOVELY OMG.

[skygiants]

It is EXTREMELY lovely (and you did a lovely job editing!) I had high hopes and was not at all disappointed. :D

[chestnut_pod]

Oh, I do like the sound of this. I love books where the work situation is realistic and detailed -- something about that texture of reality feels very grounding and helps give a sense of the rest of the world beyond the romance.

[skygiants]

Yes agreed, and I also love things that, like -- I've described this before as conceptual OT3s, where two people are drawn together because they both care so much about a shared passion such that the romance is really like Person A/Person B/ACTING!!! or Person A/Person B/MUSIC!!!! or Person A/Person B/THE REVOLUTION!!! (obviously my favorite kind, but the others are great as well!)

[chestnut_pod]

I totally agree! Especially when it's some other thing that truly seems to have a personality -- often I feel like the arts, like music or dance, get the most attention, and definitely THE REVOLUTION or THE WORKERS, but I've also read great stories where everyone is a lawyer, or a country parson, or an architecture enthusiast! I love being introduced to new things to love in that way, just like the characters sometimes are.

[genarti]

Yessss. One of my favorite forms of romance! (Or friendship, come to that.) Overlapping with, but I think slightly distinct from, Person A/Person B/DUTY AND RESPONSIBILITY, which I also love enormously and possibly even more.

[merit]

It looks delightful - thank you for the rec.

And haha, yeah, finding fiction about people of a certain age can be a mission sometimes.

[skygiants]

You're welcome, I hope you enjoy if you read!