For the first time he could remember, he tried to understand his father, to think himself into the mind of this man who had both endured and taken part in the massacre of his generation of young men. However terrible that destruction, his father had been determined he would start again, would build a family and a home, would create a garden. Perhaps war was a cyclical purge, an inevitable cleansing. Perhaps it was a necessary epidemic, not an evil that could be avoided? Rain, storm, tempest; war and peace, destroy, rebuild, destroy again — was this an unavoidable cycle?
(from The Music in Her Mind, page 35)
No matter my feelings about this book, I have to give the author a lot of credit. According to the press release that accompanied my copy of The Music in Her Mind, Robert Gilkes was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer a year ago and given just months to live. He wrote this book, his second, and started a third as a way to deal with the diagnosis and to fight the disease. Fortunately, The Music in Her Mind is a fast, captivating read that personalizes the loss and horrors that so many suffered at the hands of Stalin’s henchmen during and after World War II.
Just before the start of the war, Alex Litchfield visits his Uncle Nikolai in Paris, who has gathered with other Cossacks forced out of their homeland. On this trip, Alex meets Larisa Korsakova, a concert cellist and the daughter of Nikolai’s friend, Fyodor. Alex and Lara have many things in common; both have a Russian parent, but both grew up elsewhere, Alex in England and Lara in France. They both are creative souls, with Alex writing poetry and Lara able to play and hear music in her mind.
Alex and Lara share a passionate few days in Paris before they are separated for years by the war. When they are reunited in 1945, Alex is now Colonel Litchfield, a British tank commander who has learned the hard way that there is no glory in killing. Lara followed her father when he sided with Germany against Stalin, and she is part of a group of Cossacks who surrendered to the British, with Alex promising that they would be protected under the Geneva Convention. Alex and Lara’s romance is cut short once again when the British turn the Cossacks over to the Soviets, particularly the NKVD, or secret police. The NKVD likely will execute many of the Cossacks, and at best, they can hope for time in a Gulag, where hunger, cold, and rape are commonplace.
The Music in Her Mind is just 229 pages, which is short for historical fiction, in my opinion. I felt that the pacing, especially at the beginning, was too quick. In just a handful of pages, Alex and Lara meet and fall madly and passionately in love. I was supposed to believe they were soul mates, whose love could withstand years apart and the ravages of war. However, I felt that I didn’t have enough time to get to know them individually, never mind feel such an intense connection between them. Time passed so quickly in this novel, but I think a slower build-up would have been better here, at least to give readers a deeper understanding of Alex and Lara.
Yet as the story progressed, Gilkes seemed to find his footing, and I couldn’t put the book down. I may have simply accepted Alex and Lara’s connection at first, but by the end, I was a believer. Where the book shines is in Gilkes’ portrayal of the suffering of the prisoners of the NKVD. There was no author’s note to separate fact from fiction, but Gilkes did a great job showing how war and imprisonment take their toll on individuals and couples, changing their relationships and their perceptions of self forever. One could call The Music in Her Mind a love story, but the World War II backdrop means happily ever after either isn’t likely or won’t come cheap. I appreciated not being able to predict the characters’ fate.
The Music in Her Mind is one of those books you can’t help but enjoy despite a few flaws. Even when I wasn’t certain whether I liked Alex and Lara, I was intrigued by them. I haven’t read a whole lot about the Soviets during World War II so I found that aspect of the novel fascinating, as well as horrifying, anger-inducing, and just downright sad. I might have been put off by the fast pace at the start of the story, but I was glad for it toward the end when I couldn’t wait to find out what happened.
Book 15 for the Historical Fiction Reading Challenge
Disclosure: I received a copy of The Music in Her Mind from BookedPR for review purposes. I am an Amazon associate.
© 2012 Anna Horner of Diary of an Eccentric. All Rights Reserved. Please do not reproduce or republish content without permission.
it does sound short, very short. It would work with YA I guess but adult fic…
It’s not that the book doesn’t feel finished or was unsatisfying…I just think more time to develop the characters would get readers to care for them more and understand their relationship. It just seemed so rushed at times.
This sounds quite good. I don’t mind flaws all that much and am glad it’s not too long.
I wonder what happened to the author.
Well, the publicist said she was passing my review on to him, but that’s all I know.
I’ll be reading this one soon..glad to see its a good read
Looking forward to your thoughts.
I generally do some eye rolling with the instantly falling in love scenes but, I can still enjoy a book that has them. This one sounds worth reading.
If you can get past that, then I think you’d like this one.
Perhaps the fast pace at the beginning is due to the fact that the author was racing against time to finish the novel before his illness would not allow him to finish it. Sounds like an amazing and realistic book.
I’m sure that’s possible. At any rate, at least the rushed scenes didn’t prevent me from getting caught up in the story.
I can’t imagine writing books when battling such a serious illness!
I am so skeptical of romances that come out of nowhere but you said that in the end, you were a believer and I guess that says it all.
I didn’t buy the love at first sight thing, but the author does a better job of showing their bond strengthen over the years.
I am thinking I might have to check this book out…
Yes, this does sound right up your alley!
Writing makes a person feel exhilarated I’m sure and what better way to proclaim that I’m still here and still breathing??!! Sounds pretty good to me!
I agree. I’m sure it’s given him something else to focus on and an escape of sorts.
A beautiful review and an equally interesting novel. I finished reading Atonement a couple of days ago and think I can find parallels between the couple in this novel and Robbie and Cecilia. Again, the backdrop was the world war II. The author’s life perhaps led to the fast-paced nature of the write.
I guess I’m going to have to give Atonement another try. I’ve heard such good things about it, but I couldn’t get past the first 10 pages. I just didn’t like the writing style.
Interested in the comments, critical and otherwise. I’m still very much in the land of the living!
Hi, Bob! Thanks for stopping by to give us an update on your condition. So glad to hear it.
As the author I find it interesting that readers find the love affair in the first chapters to be ‘rushed’. I tried to convey – that the outbreak of war cut across the innocent even naive love of these two who were little more than children who had no idea of the terrible events that would engulf them. I find it a real problem when I’m writing to pull myself out of the environment I’m creating, drag my mind away from living in it myself.
I think you did show how their love was innocent and naive, but I wish I could have gotten to know them individually a bit before they fell in love. However, I understand that the war created chaos and there’s no time for a drawn-out love affair. Thanks for weighing in.
[…] Caldwell 13. The Book of Lost Fragrances by M.J. Rose 14. The Yellow House by Patricia Falvey 15. The Music in Her Mind by Robert Gilkes 16. Obedience by Jacqueline Yallop 17. Shadows Walking by Douglas R. Skopp 18. […]