The Life and Loves of Lena Gaunt
Musical prodigy Lena Gaunt rises to fame and acclaim in the 1930s as the world’s most accomplished master of the theremin, a unique electronic instrument played as a conductor “plays” an orchestra, by waving the hands in the air. When she is in her 80s and largely forgotten, a documentary filmmaker conducts a series of interviews with her in which Lena reluctantly tells her stories: a lesbian love affair, an out-of-wedlock childbirth, a tragedy that led to her opium addiction, and more.
Australian author Tracy Farr’s debut novel gets off to a compelling start, told in the delightfully cantankerous voice of the elderly, fictional Lena, and positively hums with perfect sentences and musical metaphors. About halfway through, though, the story sags, and so much that gave the book such promise fades: Lena’s tough-old-bird language and devastating wit; the younger Lena’s immersion in music and the breathtaking language associated with that; and the narrative, which moves along thrillingly through Lena’s relationship with “Trix,” an older, accomplished artist, but loses momentum at the very point where Lena’s story ought to sweep us along to its poignant climax.
For some reason, Farr has omitted key details, leaving the reader flipping through the pages, wondering what was missed, and raising questions never answered. In portraying an intensely private protagonist unwilling to tell all about her life, Farr seems to have detached herself from Lena, as well, depriving readers of the intimacy and emotional resonance those early, engaging chapters led us to expect.
