Official Review: 'The Composer' by Lee Olds

Skillian · Post by **Skillian** » 07 Dec 2014, 01:31

[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "'The Composer'" by Lee Olds.]

Share This Review

This is Lee Old's fifth book. The San Francisco native gained notoriety in the 60s with his best-selling title 'Too Much Sun,' a novel surrounding a young man who flees from home in order to live in the wilderness of Alaska. He resurfaced in 2013 with Not So Noble Books, and is focusing on a new audience.

'The Composer' is a fictional story surrounding Natalie Cooper and her self diagnosed prodigal musical status. She shamelessly fancies herself amongst the greats such as Mozart and Mendelssohn. An idea partially spawned from learning the meaning of word Wunderkind while overhearing her brother's German studies. This notion is not an opinion anyone else has managed to realize. She is seen as average, especially in comparison to her piano-playing savant of a sister.

In the beginning, Natalie struggles with her die hard Christian beliefs, which war against the admiration she holds for her atheist aunt Janet. Janet embodies every aspect of what a good woman shouldn't be like, according to Natalie's understanding of Christianity (and her mother), but there is something to Janet's happy and carefree nature that holds an undeniable allure for Natalie.

The story meanders along for a slow start. The concept of Natalie is stated upfront, but nothing really comes of it until chapter six. Before that we are subjected to philosophical ramblings thinly disguised as clever dialogue (This tendency doesn't end. Chapter 15 is just one long conversation with no real contribution to plot). Each character seems to have the same voice of deep brooding understanding and musical appreciations. All of which I noticed reflect the author's M.A. in philosophy and various musical interests. While the items discussed are interesting, it really detracted from the flow of the story.

I'll be honest, my issues with the book started long before that. There is a great number of misspellings and grammatical errors (spacing, punctuation, capitalization, etc.) Then there are huge inconsistencies. For example, the author goes back and forth referring to both Nancy and Natalie as the older sister. The word usage is relaxed then suddenly some superfluous words are plugged in along with unsupported references. There are huge jumps in the character's train of thought, as well as from one paragraph to the next, where I was just lost. Even after re-reading the sections I couldn't regain my footing.

Now to extend beyond issues of writing. The only character given any depth is Natalie, who is selfish, shallow, and inconsistent. She is supposed to be some genius twelve-year-old with intellectual capabilities that are written as equal to her father's (who is a lawyer), and yet there are these random bursts of her seemingly perverse relationship with Janet's lover. Natalie even asks herself how she would be able to replace her Aunt. At one point she randomly calls him, after he hadn't been mentioned in months, to discuss feelings. During this call they both learn a lesson together as 'equals.' Why does she have his number? Why is there a theme throughout the book that it is OK for a twelve year old to have a relationship with an older man? There are a lot of notions infused into this book that aren't explained well. None of this contributes to the plot in any way.

There was also an obvious bias against Christians and women, despite the main character being female. All of the women turn on her without clear reason, and are overly emotional. There are more inconsistencies regarding her treatment as well. She is shunned for coming out with her talent, and yet she is still allowed to take lessons? Oh, I almost forgot the blatant racial stereotype of the happy singing Christian black maid that 'slaved' over cooking, and the only other minority was a Slavic driver.

Overall, I felt completely mislead by the book's description. Instead of reading about the moral struggles of a prodigy as she strives for success I was swindled into some Atheism versus Christianity debate with undertones that encourage pedophilia and racial/gender inequality. If that wasn't enough the book's only climax was at page sixty-two (out of 323!). I kept reading, because I just couldn't believe what I was seeing. I thought that there simply had to be something hiding behind the next page that would somehow make it all better. I give the book a 1 out of 4. It would need serious re-writing to have a shot at being OK. I don't recommend it at all, and I am left wondering who the 'new' intended audience even is.

***
Buy "'The Composer'" on Amazon

ALynnPowers · Post by **ALynnPowers** » 23 Dec 2014, 09:32

Very nice analysis of the book! It's too bad that you couldn't get into it. Thanks for the review.

Skillian · Post by **Skillian** » 23 Dec 2014, 09:57

Thanks for the compliment!

I wish I could have gotten into it too.

ALynnPowers · Post by **ALynnPowers** » 23 Dec 2014, 10:04

Natalie actually sounds like a very interesting character. Not one that I would particularly enjoy to meet in real life, but interesting to read about... maybe

Skillian · Post by **Skillian** » 23 Dec 2014, 10:11

haha! It would certainly pass some time. She is.. well.... complicated. She is definitely someone that takes real getting to know in order to find those redeeming qualities. hahaha. Mostly she is just confusing... but then who isn't?

dumbkoph · Post by **dumbkoph** » 23 Dec 2014, 18:57

[...] Se la vive. The author.

ALynnPowers · Post by **ALynnPowers** » 23 Dec 2014, 21:48

C'est la vie.

Gravy · Post by **Gravy** » 23 Dec 2014, 23:35

I think I'll stick to my strong female leads...
Especially ones with a good supporting male character somewhere in the mix

ALynnPowers · Post by **ALynnPowers** » 24 Dec 2014, 00:34

Graverobber wrote:I think I'll stick to my strong female leads...
Especially ones with a good supporting male character somewhere in the mix

That sounds good to me as well.

PashaRu · Post by **PashaRu** » 28 Dec 2014, 08:24

Thanks for the honest and well written review. We have to call 'em as we see 'em. And third-party criticism can be an invaluable aid to an author, if he/she wishes to accept it.

hellothere · Post by **hellothere** » 29 Dec 2014, 21:49

I wanted to say something inappropriate...but instead I will just say that constructive criticism is a good thing.

gali · Post by **gali** » 29 Dec 2014, 23:36

Thank you for the well written review.

Reviews are subjective and should be treated as such.

ALynnPowers · Post by **ALynnPowers** » 31 Dec 2014, 07:10

Question to reviewer: Did you read a paperback version of this book? Or digital? I assume digital, but was just curious.

Post by **bookowlie** » 31 Dec 2014, 12:02

Skillian, Well-written, detailed review. Hopefully, the author will accept the honest, constructive criticism.

dumbkoph · Post by **dumbkoph** » 13 Jan 2015, 21:01

Reply to review
1.natalie is not a self-diagnosed genius but explicitly denies she could be any such thing.
2.rather than shamelessly fancying herself among the greats she doubts she could be anything like one.
3.when a third party suggests she thinks in the vein of her father she humbly doubts it.
4.her admiration for the artist is platonic as a youth. After she is of age she imagines it could be sexual. Nowhere are there undertones of pedophilia as the reviewer suggests.
5.natalie is not shunned for developing her talent. Her mother is simply angry at it since she wanted to imagine it in the older sister.
6.the singing Black maid sang from mourning rather than happiness and as far as being the only minority along with the slavic chauffeur the one great love of the composer's life was a Black jazz musician. to name a few of the reviewer's inconstancies which radiate throughout her entire review. author.

-- 13 Jan 2015, 21:18 --

-- 13 Jan 2015, 21:23 --

1. The composer is not a self diagnosed genius but explicitly expresses doubt she could be any such thing.
2. Rather than fancying herself among the greats she doubts she could be anything like one.
3.When a third party suggests she thinks in the vein of her father she sincerely doubts it.
4. Her admiration for the artist is platonic as a youth. After she is of age she imagines it could be sexual. Nowhere are there undertones of pedophilia as the reviewer suggests.
5. Natalie is not shunned for divulging her talent. Her mother is upset at the revelation because of her hopes for it in the older sister.
6. The singing Black maid sung mournfully rather than happily nor were she and the slavic chauffeur the only minorities in the book. The one great love of the composer's life was a Black jazz musician.
Who is this reviewer?