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The Universe Playing Strings
Music is the heartbeat of this novel about the world of hometown musicians the jamming venues, the contests, the onstage cues, the subtle rules. The story focuses on four musicians: Carl Bradshaw, an aging Oklahoma fiddler; Amy Chandler, a young dumpling who can outpick most guitarists; Jack Martin, who lives in the shadow of a successful father; and Cora, an older woman on the edge of a world she believes can t be hers. The novel s structure reflects the sets of a performance on stage, with smaller sections that serve to introduce the musicians. Song titles, phrases, and sounds are part of the language, as are the characters styles in speaking about music, creating it, and performing it. With its winning evocation of the joy of playing together, The Universe Playing Strings will remind readers of the movies Once and Crazy Heart."
240 pages, Paperback
Published August 15, 2016
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
September 30, 2016
I fell in love with this book the minute I picked it up. A beautifully designed work of art, it felt right in my hands. But, that's a superficial thing. Inside, the book is filled with characters that come to life, intimately and accurately. They suffer heartaches and humiliations, all of them searching for something just out of reach that is the equivalent of the music they love so much. Carl "Pop" Bradshaw, around whom the book revolves (I can't call him the protagonist or main character because, as with the bluegrass open-mic night at the heart of this story, all characters take center stage for a while to perform), is an aging fiddler with incredible skill who, in my mind, resembles a clean-shaven Sam Elliot. Then there's Amy, a much younger guitarist stuck in an abusive relationship. She wants to play music more than anything else in life. The other lead characters and even the supporting cast are vivid and emotionally complex like these two.
As a reader, this book made me feel--not just one thing for one person, but a litany of joys and sorrows, doubts and angers, bubbling up for all, even the unlikable ones. Kinder masterfully climbs inside these different heads and digs around for treasure. All this, and music, too: I could hear the songs and spontaneous jams as if the book came with a soundtrack on CD.
As a reader, this book made me feel--not just one thing for one person, but a litany of joys and sorrows, doubts and angers, bubbling up for all, even the unlikable ones. Kinder masterfully climbs inside these different heads and digs around for treasure. All this, and music, too: I could hear the songs and spontaneous jams as if the book came with a soundtrack on CD.
May 19, 2017
Once again I'm reading something outside my element, and I'm so happy to have found this particular treasure. Written with a wonderfully sweet, almost poetic tone, the book follows an eclectic group of people searching for identity, and their place in the world. They find camaraderie through their music that provides a much needed connection in their lives. I wasn't sure what to expect but I certainly didn't expect to enjoy it as much as I did.
June 6, 2017
This is an engaging look at the world of serious amateur folk/bluegrass musicians: the love and competitiveness between them, their mutual passion for music, and the inevitable love triangles that occur. I will be publishing a full review later this year in Pleiades Book Review.
March 26, 2020
A perfect read about complex people living simple lives to a bluegrass soundtrack
R. M. Kinder’s latest novel, The Universe Playing Strings, certainly tugged at my heart strings with the richly developed characters drawn together by chance and a love for acoustic music. Complex people living simple lives, that’s how I’d describe Ms. Kinder’s characters. Perfect for someone like me who finds joy in people-watching and pondering their stories. And ponder I did, but my guesses as to what might come next for each character were never exactly what happened. Thanks for all the surprises, R. M.!
I was swept into the world of bluegrass music and the lives of those drawn to The Kettle every Friday night. The Kettle is where Carl, Amy, Cora, and Jack meet and jam with each other and the many others drawn there for the music to free their souls or hone their skills. A place for music, a place for lives to weave together and apart.
A bonus for me was to find Amy’s character drawn to the National Flatpicking contests that are part of each year’s Walnut Valley Festival in Winfield, Kansas. In my family, we consider time spent at those festivals over the years as “Coming Home” experiences that renew us in ways hard to describe. Reading The Universe Playing Strings was a pretty good substitute for the comfort of coming home.
R. M. Kinder’s latest novel, The Universe Playing Strings, certainly tugged at my heart strings with the richly developed characters drawn together by chance and a love for acoustic music. Complex people living simple lives, that’s how I’d describe Ms. Kinder’s characters. Perfect for someone like me who finds joy in people-watching and pondering their stories. And ponder I did, but my guesses as to what might come next for each character were never exactly what happened. Thanks for all the surprises, R. M.!
I was swept into the world of bluegrass music and the lives of those drawn to The Kettle every Friday night. The Kettle is where Carl, Amy, Cora, and Jack meet and jam with each other and the many others drawn there for the music to free their souls or hone their skills. A place for music, a place for lives to weave together and apart.
A bonus for me was to find Amy’s character drawn to the National Flatpicking contests that are part of each year’s Walnut Valley Festival in Winfield, Kansas. In my family, we consider time spent at those festivals over the years as “Coming Home” experiences that renew us in ways hard to describe. Reading The Universe Playing Strings was a pretty good substitute for the comfort of coming home.
August 9, 2016
I didn't want to say goodbye to the four main characters of this novel. Their musical story is richly woven into the fabric of their souls and erupts through their instruments. These ordinary people living mundane lives come together to play, laugh, love, sing and cry together through the journey of life. The author tells the story in a gentle way that captured my heart.
October 26, 2016
I won a copy of this book.
This book follows 4 musicians and the venues they play at. I enjoyed this book and recommend it.
This book follows 4 musicians and the venues they play at. I enjoyed this book and recommend it.
April 12, 2017
In The Universe Playing Strings, author R. M. Kinder lures her reader into the world of bluegrass music. She skillfully develops four distinctly different voices and blends them together to give life to four musicians. Carl Bradshaw, also known as "Pops" is the strongest voice of the story. He's a skilled fiddler who earns his keep doing string instrument repair. His words introduce and close this story set in in Tucson, Arizona. Amy Chandler, the young proud owner of a Martin-28, is a skilled guitarist and performer. Jack Martin, son of a famous author, is a determinedly independent performer and songwriter. And Cora Leban is an older woman of lesser musical confidence who hovers around the edge of the musical jam sessions.
Their love of music and performance provides the foundation to the friendship of these four string players. Kinder plays them each as transparent and sincere, flawed and sympathetic, with remarkably distinct voices. Like the jam sessions portrayed throughout the book, each character steps forward to play his/her part in a given chapter and then falls back to yielding center stage to the life circumstances of another. They abide by the courtesy of the bluegrass players culture and customs as decribed in Kinder's narration. In individual chapters, each character offers a central narrative voice followed by an opportunity to be a supporting character in the following chapter. This varied narrative perspective adds a depth and texture to Kinder's characters and story
Kinder weaves character development into the growth of musical talents. The players grow more confident, become integrated members of the bluegrass community, and gradually gravitate toward of gaining perspective in their a personal lives as well.
Midway through the novel, Pop reveals to the reader the nature of his attraction to this community. He observes, "The smells of cooking and cigarette smoke wafted everywhere. And music. Strains of different songs mingled. Altered when another musician entered. Constantly changing so it would go most of the night, the blend like a separate melody altogether. God, he loved music and musicians. When he stood still and closed his eyes, he'd swear the universe was playing strings."
This is not a dramatic or suspenseful story that will drive you to read into the early morning hours. It is a story that slowly acquaints the reader with the intimate foibles of individual players while offering keen insights into a community of amateur musicians.
by Diane Stanton
for Story Circle Book Reviews
reviewing books by, for, and about women
Their love of music and performance provides the foundation to the friendship of these four string players. Kinder plays them each as transparent and sincere, flawed and sympathetic, with remarkably distinct voices. Like the jam sessions portrayed throughout the book, each character steps forward to play his/her part in a given chapter and then falls back to yielding center stage to the life circumstances of another. They abide by the courtesy of the bluegrass players culture and customs as decribed in Kinder's narration. In individual chapters, each character offers a central narrative voice followed by an opportunity to be a supporting character in the following chapter. This varied narrative perspective adds a depth and texture to Kinder's characters and story
Kinder weaves character development into the growth of musical talents. The players grow more confident, become integrated members of the bluegrass community, and gradually gravitate toward of gaining perspective in their a personal lives as well.
Midway through the novel, Pop reveals to the reader the nature of his attraction to this community. He observes, "The smells of cooking and cigarette smoke wafted everywhere. And music. Strains of different songs mingled. Altered when another musician entered. Constantly changing so it would go most of the night, the blend like a separate melody altogether. God, he loved music and musicians. When he stood still and closed his eyes, he'd swear the universe was playing strings."
This is not a dramatic or suspenseful story that will drive you to read into the early morning hours. It is a story that slowly acquaints the reader with the intimate foibles of individual players while offering keen insights into a community of amateur musicians.
by Diane Stanton
for Story Circle Book Reviews
reviewing books by, for, and about women
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews