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The Violin Conspiracy: A Novel (Good Morning America Book Club)
GOOD MORNING AMERICA BOOK CLUB PICK! • Ray McMillian is a Black classical musician on the rise—undeterred by the pressure and prejudice of the classical music world—when a shocking theft sends him on a desperate quest to recover his great-great-grandfather’s heirloom violin on the eve of the most prestigious musical competition in the world.
“I loved The Violin Conspiracy for exactly the same reasons I loved The Queen’s Gambit: a surprising, beautifully rendered underdog hero I cared about deeply and a fascinating, cutthroat world I knew nothing about—in this case, classical music.” —Chris Bohjalian, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Flight Attendant and Hour of the Witch
Growing up Black in rural North Carolina, Ray McMillian’s life is already mapped out. But Ray has a gift and a dream—he’s determined to become a world-class professional violinist, and nothing will stand in his way. Not his mother, who wants him to stop making such a racket; not the fact that he can’t afford a violin suitable to his talents; not even the racism inherent in the world of classical music.
When he discovers that his beat-up, family fiddle is actually a priceless Stradivarius, all his dreams suddenly seem within reach, and together, Ray and his violin take the world by storm. But on the eve of the renowned and cutthroat Tchaikovsky Competition—the Olympics of classical music—the violin is stolen, a ransom note for five million dollars left in its place. Without it, Ray feels like he's lost a piece of himself. As the competition approaches, Ray must not only reclaim his precious violin, but prove to himself—and the world—that no matter the outcome, there has always been a truly great musician within him.
“I loved The Violin Conspiracy for exactly the same reasons I loved The Queen’s Gambit: a surprising, beautifully rendered underdog hero I cared about deeply and a fascinating, cutthroat world I knew nothing about—in this case, classical music.” —Chris Bohjalian, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Flight Attendant and Hour of the Witch
Growing up Black in rural North Carolina, Ray McMillian’s life is already mapped out. But Ray has a gift and a dream—he’s determined to become a world-class professional violinist, and nothing will stand in his way. Not his mother, who wants him to stop making such a racket; not the fact that he can’t afford a violin suitable to his talents; not even the racism inherent in the world of classical music.
When he discovers that his beat-up, family fiddle is actually a priceless Stradivarius, all his dreams suddenly seem within reach, and together, Ray and his violin take the world by storm. But on the eve of the renowned and cutthroat Tchaikovsky Competition—the Olympics of classical music—the violin is stolen, a ransom note for five million dollars left in its place. Without it, Ray feels like he's lost a piece of himself. As the competition approaches, Ray must not only reclaim his precious violin, but prove to himself—and the world—that no matter the outcome, there has always been a truly great musician within him.
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Community Reviews
The Violin Conspiracy is best described as a mystery intertwined with a coming of age story. I thought it was beautifully written and was definitely reminiscent of The Queenâs Gambit as other reviewers have noted. We learn in the authorâs afterword that the descriptions of racism that Ray faced as a black violinist in the classical music world were actually based on the authorâs real life which makes them all the more poignant.
The book had a great mystery to build onto but it wasn’t well executed. As a black violinist I was very excited to read a story where we see how the culture of classical music and black identity intersect. I find it unrealistic that a violinist can go so long without training but has the abilities of a high class musician by the end of college. It takes more time than 4 years to correct years and years of poor technique. (In my opinion and experience) Even so, black excellence is real so I don’t have a major gripe with it. The writing was not great, many typos, and I feel the metaphors were overdone. Any opportunity in the story someone had to be racist, the author took it, and this made me feel that the racism the author was trying to convey was too obvious. In the world of classical music the racism is much more covert, at least in my experience. It mainly looks like never getting the opportunities the protagonists Professor “pulled strings” to get. I feel the afterword was helpful in conveying that the racist experiences in the book actually did happen, and I feel it helps the story, but while reading it, it felt like the most obvious thing would happen and it did, it’s been done this way already in movies and books, and TV shows. I wish there was a more insightful way to talk about the hidden parts of prejudice in classical music. The plot twist and ending was extremely underdeveloped. The motive of his girlfriend was not strong enough at all and kind of made the story lack luster. What could have been a great plot twist fell extremely flat. I also didn’t find the protagonist like-able.
It was an enjoyable read despite not being in a style I normally enjoyed. I guessed the thief very early on and was drawn in by the mystery of the violin, buoyed by the beautiful music referenced, enraptured and delighted by the character's stalwart dedication to his musicality, and (rightfully) enraged and haunted by the depictions of slavery. Well worth a read for the music lover, mystery lover, violin enthusiast, and fiction lover.
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