Customer Reviews

Black Waltz

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Jealousy is the focus of this classic psychological thriller by one of Brazil’s most acclaimed writers. A successful conductor of a major symphony orchestra is married to a gifted violinist close to thirty years his junior. But he is haunted by a voice that gnaws at his trust, his love, and ultimately, his sanity.

Reactions to this intriguing book were mixed, but all reactions were strong. Some readers felt it was an accurate depiction of a man’s descent into madness, both horrible and fascinating to watch. The main character’s fluctuations between lucidity and irrationality seemed to ring true. Deciphering reality through his point of view was an intriguing puzzle for some readers. However, other readers felt that the portrayal was too stereotypical. They were disappointed with the complete lack of redeeming qualities of the main character. His inconsistency was viewed as a shortcoming of the novel, as was the lack of development of the other characters. It was agreed that the writing style matched the content and mood of the novel quite well. Short sentences and short chapters contributed to the building tension. The intriguing endings of chapters made readers want to continue. The novel generated much discussion, and was finally given an overall rating of 7 out of 10 from the group, the second highest rating this season.

This was my first Melo book and I look forward to reading more. I've read Lost World (good) and will now have to dip into my pocket for the rest! A successful but paranoid Brazilian conductor is married to a sensitive and beautiful(and much younger) women who plays violin. She is Jewish and is intensely following a path to discover and 'own' her Jewishness. The main character carries on an internal dialogue revealing his anger at what he sees to be the hypocrisy of this as he sees the 'victimisation'of Jews and Israel as wholly disproportionate considering the suffering of Palestinians. But we soon realise that this seemingly rationalist view is in keeping with his anger at the world in general. He rages internally against hypocrisy at every level, the author often dropping in sly truths. He himself is however, a tyrant and control freak. He is prepared to sack people on a whim, and rails against the vanity and conceit of celebrity while behaving in the most arrogant, pompous and obtuse manner. From the onset we can see that he is not well and is getting worse. He seems incapable of caring for others and seems trapped in an isolated world of mid-life crisis,with attendant outbursts of jealousy and rage which veer increasingly to an out of control state. I was impressed that the author was female and how she has captured in her books a particular form of male madness which may speak a little to Brazilian machismo. We can feel the conductors brain, as the chemical reactions within it form emotions which lead him down a spiral which, for him he is powerless to resist.