Rated of 5
by Gary R. (bolingbrook, IL) a book on a musician by a musician
I'm not normally a big fan of historical fiction but finding out that the author Wesley Stace is also the musician John Wesley Harding I thought I would give it a read.really glad I decided to, it's quite a good story told by the music critic Leslie Shepard,who befriends the up and coming composer Charles Jessold,it seems, at least to me, to mirror the opera Mr.Jessold was composing.The insights into the English society at that period of time, before the great war and after, were very interesting. The collecting and transcription of the folk songs of the countryside, the period during and after the war, all add to the authenticity of the story. But mostly it's the story of the rise and downward spiral of a musical genius by someone who knows. Give it a read, well worth the time.
Rated of 5
by Kaye D. (Huntley, IL) Much as I tried couldn't read this book
The day after Thanksgiving and a morning of shopping I looked forward to sitting down and enjoying a good book. Unfortunately reading Charles Jessold, Considered As A Murderer wasn't the book. I had to force myself to keep reading and in all honesty finally just gave up. I kept telling myself that it would get better but after page 100 I was still forcing myself to keep reading one more page. I was really looking forward to doing a review of the whole book but just couldn't continue with it. It bored me to death.
Rated of 5
by Nancy O. (Hobe Sound, FL) Very twisted but good.
Once I started this book I could not stop reading. I liked it and was intrigued by the story, enough so that I finished the book in one sitting. I have to say that I did not see the twist in the story coming at all, so in that sense, it was surprisingly refreshing -- it had a storyline quite different than anything I've read recently. My only problem with this book is that the music speak was a bit tedious at times, and I found myself skimming to get back to the story once in a while, which I can overlook because of the strange and twisted story the author has laid out here. Otherwise, there was a clear sense of time and place, which is important in a good novel, and the characters were so pathetic that the author did his job well in creating them. I'd recommend it to people interested in historical fiction, or to people who enjoy a good twisty plot. Fans of Stace's other books will also like this one.
Rated of 5
by Mary Ann B. (Louisville, KY) No Night at the Opera
I had a hard time getting through this book. If you know Opera, and like it, maybe it is more interesting and meaningful. Unfortunately for me, I only felt indifference toward all the main characters.
Rated of 5
by Betsey V. (Austin, TX) Music and murder
Wesley Stace is no newcomer to music. He has composed 15 albums under the name John Wesley Harding, music of sardonic rock mixed with covers of British ballads. In his third novel, he turns to early the 20th century music scene of the pastoral music and the atonal avant-garde world of Schoenberg.
The novel opens with a report of a murder/suicide of a rising young composer: Charles Jessold, and the shooting of his wife. There are parallels to the life of homonymic (in name) Carlo Gesualdo, the Rennaissance composer. The first part of the book is the version of the police. The second part, "Post-Mortem,"gives a wholly different picture of the murder.
The story is told by Leslie Shepherd, a composer and patron who worked with Jessold on his latest opera. The narration is dry and witty, if a bit fusty and precious at times, but true to the period of the story. Very esoteric and scholarly. It helps if the reader is familiar with classical music and opera in order to fully appreciate the nuances of wit and mordancy.
Rated of 5
by Wendy E. (Mechanicsville, VA) I Just Couldn't Embrace It
I wanted to like it. I certainly enjoyed the erudite language, the plentiful allusions and the premise -"music-club" men collecting authentic English songs before they were lost to time. This was a slow read. I was hoping for a more engaging mystery and a bit quicker pace. Sometimes that clever language and reference-rich prose became tiresome.
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of 5
by Gary R. (bolingbrook, IL) 
of 5
by Kaye D. (Huntley, IL) 
of 5
by Mary Ann B. (Louisville, KY) 
