The Education of Delhomme: Chopin, Sand, and La France
This novel’s narrator, Beaulieu Delhomme, connects readers to the many famous historical characters that populate it, such as Berlioz, Liszt, and Delacroix. The author includes excellent profiles in the back. However, the writing is pedantic. “Show, don’t tell” is the cardinal rule of fiction, yet as Chopin’s piano tuner, Delhomme tells us about Chopin. Portions read more like a history text. George Sand’s point of view, conveyed through journal entries, can seem girlish rather than showing the daring writer, activist, femme fatale who cross-dresses and smokes cigars. A high point in the novel is Sand’s dinner party at her manor, Nohant, where Burkhalter breathes life into her characters with witty political banter. More of these scenes would improve the novel.
Much of the story revolves around the relationship between the naïve Delhomme, a fictional character, and the great virtuoso pianist-composer. We sense Chopin’s perfectionism, popularity, and creative genius and his worsening tuberculosis. Perhaps my expectations were too high; I was disappointed not to discover a more romantic, intimate portrait of Chopin and Sand’s nine-year love affair. Delhomme’s espionage work spying on Sand, whose writing on equality threatens the monarchy, underscores this tumultuous time of the Second Republic (1848-1852).
