La casa del silenci

First of all, I received this book in exchange for an honest review:

This is an honest review: I loved it! It's beautifully (sometimes sparely) written.

Busquets is extremely deft at moving between characters and back and forth in time, creating mysteries and intensity in relationships. Each narrator, starting with Teresa, the little girl who finds a violin in the garbage dump, and Maria, who becomes housekeeper to a great conductor, tell the story in their own time and place. The souls of humans, violins, and music sing out to us.

As the book starts, Teresa gains a violin that helps her climb out of poverty, Maria finds a fascinating home with Karl the composer/conductor, Anna practices violin and reacts to a mother who ignores her. As show more the book continues, all three women form relationships with Karl and his son Mark and become acquainted with each other.

For some of you, this may be a slow confusing read (and in fact I read it unnecessarily slowly to savor it). Most of the action is within relationships and within the characters, but it is not at all dull. You will be asked as a reader to pay attention, and in return you will chuckle, tear up, and want to scream at the antics and differing perspectives of these absorbing characters. The ending is also very satisfying. Enjoy. show less

Esta es la historia de varias mujeres y de algún hombre. Mujeres valientes y sensibles, mujeres apasionadas, mujeres que aman a los hombres pero que, por encima de todo, aman la música. Esta es la historia de un violín que pasa de mano en mano, de un director de orquesta exiliado que vive entre notas musicales y faldas, de madres ausentes, de desamores y venganzas, de guerras que separan, de criadas que toman chocolate caliente... Esta es la historia de La casa del silencio, donde la música jamás deja de sonar.
Una magnífica novela que une la historia musical de la Europa del siglo XX con las pasiones de una saga de personajes sólidamente construidos. Una obra excepcional de Blanca Busquets, una de las narradoras más destacadas show more de nuestro país, que en el 2011 recibió el prestigioso Premi Llibreter. show less

Una història maniquea, plena de llocs comuns i personatges arquetípics que parlen en una primera persona molt forçada i com a condescendent. Potser és el hype de què li haguessin donat el premi Llibreter amb l'anterior llibre, però m'esperava molt més.