The Spanish Bow

The Spanish Bow
Andromeda Romano-Lax
Harcourt, Inc.
ISBN: 978-0-15-101542-9
Fiction, Historical Fiction
Reviewed by Shannon Frost

On the day when his father’s remains are to arrive from Cuba, young Feliu Delargo receives instead a posthumous gift from him, a bow for a cello. From that moment, Feliu’s life is shaped by the music he is destined to play. He matures from a boy who sees only the simple purity of music, to a man who struggles to find meaning in it. Accompanying him on his journey is his one constant friend, and also his most infuriating rival, pianist Justo Al-Cerraz. Together, the two men find harmony in music, but discord in nearly everything else, and when they create a trio with a mysterious Italian violinist, Aviva, their music reaches a new point in beauty, but the cost of achieving such height is more than either would have dared consider.
Told from the first-person prospective of the protagonist, Feliu Delargo, the voice of this character is one the reader feels instantly comfortable with, and with the lovely prose as guide, easily follows Feliu as he traverses time through his memories, from his birth to old age, from the dusty streets of his small village of Campo Seco to the opulent halls of the royal palace in Madrid, through two World Wars and countries of crumbling governments. As Feliu learns scores and performs the works of classical masterpieces, the story will inspire the reader to pull out their CDs of Bach and Mozart, Dvorak and Vivaldi to visit with these old friends, or perhaps direct their Internet browser toward YouTube to hear some of the pieces mentioned for the first time. The characters are fully human, but the wit and charisma of Al-Cerraz allows him to claim each scene he’s featured in from the often stoic Feliu and the heartbreaking Aviva, making him a quick favorite in the book. Dotted with historical figures, inspired by the life of Spanish cellist Pablo Casals, and layered with a deep understanding of the times and events, the story may be fiction, but the care that went into gathering historical facts is evident. It is a book that not only entertains, it educates. It’s hard to believe that such a fine work is author Romano-Lax’s first venture into novel writing, but what a wonderful debut she has created. For lovers of classical music, history or an engaging read, The Spanish Bow, is a book that must be picked up.