Counterpoint: A Memoir of Bach and Mourning [Paperback]

A Pulitzer Prizewinning critics lyrical and haunting (Alex Ross, Lyrical and haunting. Full of arresting insights about the way music permeates our lives, as well as heartbreaking reflections on the wounds a parent can inflict on a child. Immensely moving....With gorgeous prose and granular inspection, Kennicott has created a subtle and profound portrait of love, loss and the human condition. A thought-provoking and accomplished memoir, meeting Kennicott's own criterion that every good book or great piece of music carries with it the possibility of redemption. With stunning candor and elegance, Kennicott explores the complexities of grieving for an emotionally abusive person with brief dissertations on longing, on learning, on perfectionism; the lasting memories that color our lives; a beloved dog that indelibly despises Bach.... Kennicotts approach turns what may have been a simple memoir into a shining, nonlinear meditation. A tender, wise, unflinchingly realistic and plain-spoken memoir.... In short, this is a beautiful and unexpectedly uplifting read which will have you reaching for both Goulds? Heart-wrenching....This book, marvelous as it is, might be merely another contribution to the subgenre of grief literature, were it not for Kennicotts extraordinary gift for writing about morning alongside music....By the end of A piano teacher once told me, We can be sitting here and play a phrase and suddenly theres beauty. You can touch a page of this book for beauty, along with sadness and wonder and certainly joy. A wise, haunted, and beautiful book. I found myself reading paragraph after paragraph aloud, marveling at Kennicotts ability to create a full musical resonance with his words alone. A story as complex and poignant as the great musical work at its heart, BachsUS