Sex and Stravinsky
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Review
'Her readers hold her in desperate affection and her fiction inspires an almost compulsive desire to share ... A seductive writer' Libby Brooks, Guardian 'Her fiction snares from the first page, its plot machinations skilfully veiling a darker pulse' Joanna Briscoe 'Barbara Trapido's writing is so sparklingly clear and witty that it can be a shock to realise how strong an undertow runs beneath the surface' Helen Dunmore 'I love Barbara Trapido and I adore her books' Carol Shields
--This text refers to the
Hardcover
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Review
'This wonderful novel sparkles with Midsummer Night's Dream magic' Daily Mail 'A dazzling achievement. It's beautifully-written, deftly-plotted and moves skilfully from domestic drama to global themes and back again' Daily Express 'Beautifully structured, with flashes of wonderful eccentricity' The Times 'Delightful and brilliantly choreographed comedy' Sunday Times
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
36 of 37 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I first read Barbara Trapido a long time ago, with the wonderfulBrother of the More Famous Jack. Her earlier novels have all now been repackaged, and I'm sure will tempt lots of readers. This new book, "Sex and Stravinsky", though, feels somewhat less obviously enjoyable than that first read. Josh is married to Caroline, he interested in ballet and mime, she more of an active, cake-baking, floor-sanding type. Their daughter Zoe finds her mother fairly unbearable, yet is nonetheless reluctant to go on her schedule French exchange. Josh is off to his former homeland, South Africa, for a conference, where he meets up with an old flame, Hattie. Hattie's daughter also finds her mother unbearable.
The way the story is constructed feels experimental, narrated in the present tense, and switching between all the main characters in turn. This means that you never quite get to settle with one main character in the way you would in a more conventional book. The book is a page-turner, and the reader definitely guns for the final page: Trapido ratchets up the drama by giving her first heroine an absolutely appalling mother, whose bad deeds are almost of Snow White stepmother proportions. You definitely wish for Caroline, the daughter, to have her revenge, and spend a lot of the book agonising over whether it will ever happen. There is also a lot of sadness, and many thoughtful observations of life in pre-Apartheid South Africa. Then it features two teenagers, both of whom detest their own mothers; mothers and children turn out to be the main theme of the book.
Yet despite all of this excellent raw material, I did come away feeling slightly flat. I might even have given the book 3 and a half, if it were possible. The descriptions are vivid and alive, and the themes deeply intriguing, but the neat tying-up of the plot at the end really annoyed me because I felt the possibilities of the book hadn't been met. I wondered what conclusions Trapido was drawing about the nature of mother-daughter relationships, when I got to the end - I felt her view was rather pessimistic.
All in all, though, this is a much better beach read than a lot of the trashier books you'll find in the shops. And I can imagine book groups really enjoying a discussion of the mothering on display in the book. (Some really, really bad examples to cheer most of us right up about our own efforts...)
The way the story is constructed feels experimental, narrated in the present tense, and switching between all the main characters in turn. This means that you never quite get to settle with one main character in the way you would in a more conventional book. The book is a page-turner, and the reader definitely guns for the final page: Trapido ratchets up the drama by giving her first heroine an absolutely appalling mother, whose bad deeds are almost of Snow White stepmother proportions. You definitely wish for Caroline, the daughter, to have her revenge, and spend a lot of the book agonising over whether it will ever happen. There is also a lot of sadness, and many thoughtful observations of life in pre-Apartheid South Africa. Then it features two teenagers, both of whom detest their own mothers; mothers and children turn out to be the main theme of the book.
Yet despite all of this excellent raw material, I did come away feeling slightly flat. I might even have given the book 3 and a half, if it were possible. The descriptions are vivid and alive, and the themes deeply intriguing, but the neat tying-up of the plot at the end really annoyed me because I felt the possibilities of the book hadn't been met. I wondered what conclusions Trapido was drawing about the nature of mother-daughter relationships, when I got to the end - I felt her view was rather pessimistic.
All in all, though, this is a much better beach read than a lot of the trashier books you'll find in the shops. And I can imagine book groups really enjoying a discussion of the mothering on display in the book. (Some really, really bad examples to cheer most of us right up about our own efforts...)
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Always love Ms Trapido's books...the first one I read was well over 20 years ago and at the time was so frank and , to me, so daring, but believable, moving and affecting because of it .. with her normal dash of humour and clever use of serendipidty. I couldn't wait to buy this book and get started. Sadly, it was just not up to her usual gripping unputdownable standards. The story line could have been so much more meaningful. She kept tantalising the reader with issues surrounding Apartheid, Class differences, Bad communication et cetera..but never really followed through on these themes... The setting of the couple's first home together and subsequent chldren there .. was just NOT credible.....there were far too many characters which kept being introduced along the way, the seemingly important Mother and Sister, just dropped away half way through the book, it seemed tired, overlaid with events, complicated histories of NEW characters, and a very - well ALMOST - Mills & Boon ending ... Sorry Barbara...PLEASE get back to your more incisive and 'strike a chord' books...I'm still a fan!
34 of 37 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I have loved all Barabara Trapido's novels and this is no exception. The words flow beautifully so it is an effortless read but such a satisfying one! She manages to capture family life and all its vagaries perfectly, all the characters are real (did she know my mother?)and interesting. I couldn't put it down but did not want it to finish; when it was finished though I realised how much she had accomplished. It is more than a story of families, international themes are there, especially with the South African links, social comment is there but it is all intertwined with the magical words showing the pattern of life and lives. A tremendous read!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
My advice? Don't bother.
I read and enjoyed Barbara Trapido's Frankie and Stankie many years ago so thought this would be a similarly enjoyable read. Read more
Published 1 month ago by perfectionist
Skilful and Beautiful Tragi-Comedy
Barbara Trapido is often branded as a 'humorous' writer - in fact, she regards many of her own books as having some very sad elements to them. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Kate Hopkins
Sex and Stravinsky
This was my first Trapido novel. I enjoyed it hugely and found it to be a page turner BUT the ending disappointed. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Chorister
Magic
I cannot imagine a Barbara Trapido novel I would not enjoy,and this was no exception. A whirling,magical dance of characters and coincidences! I wanted to shake Caroline,but oh! Read more
Published 5 months ago by Jadi
Terrific Trapido
I love Barbara Trapido's books, so was really excited about getting this one. It's set in England and South Africa, so combines elements of 'Frankie and Stankie' with the... Read more
Published 7 months ago by pictureperfect
A really good read
Love this author and this book was on my wish list for a while.
Received it for my birthday and really enjoyed the plot and the characters
Received it for my birthday and really enjoyed the plot and the characters
Published 7 months ago by helonwheels
Very little Stravinsky and no sex at all - not her best
This wasn't Ms Trapido's best novel because a lot of the characters were caricatures, especially leggy perfect intellectual Caroline, mousy Hattie and Caroline's ghastly mother... Read more
Published 9 months ago by Puskas
Beautifully written
A beautifully written novel with interesting and complex characters. The story moves fluidly between England and South Africa and tracks the lives of Josh, Caroline, Hattie, and... Read more
Published 11 months ago by Freckles
Serendipitous meetings and mishaps choreographed into a `dance of...
Sex & Stravinsky is based on a complex plot, with interweaving storylines of six characters, and told in 1995 with numerous flashbacks. Read more
Published 11 months ago by Marjorie
Charming
Sex & Stravinsky is based on a complex plot, with interweaving storylines of six characters, and told largely in the mid-1990s with numerous flashbacks. Read more
Published 15 months ago by Ali
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