Body & Soul by Frank Conroy

I picked this book up in a bookstore. It was one dollar, and looked very well read, so I thought it must have been good to someone. I sure am glad that I did pick it up.

It was slow starting. I debated continuing, because the pace was very slow, and that was how the whole novel went: slowly. But I think that's how Claude's story had to be told, slowly. A lot of what happened to him happened rather quickly, so it was interesting to see this fast-paced life told slowly. It made me slow down as I followed his life and focus on what was being communicated. 

If I was asked to name the climax of the story, I would have a very difficult time. There are several possibilities, but none of them seem strong enough to stand as the sole climax. Things just continue happening, Claude continues through life, with a few bumps, until the end. 

This does make me somewhat disappointed on another level: Claude doesn't really change. There was a point, after a tragedy, that I thought Claude would grow up. At one point, one of his mentors talks to him about the fact that he is very immature. Everything had been given to him, and he didn't have to work much, which caused him to lack certain maturity. When I read this section, I was seriously stunned at the fact that I hadn't previously realized this. Up until this point, he felt very mature: he was on his way to becoming a famous musician, how could he be immature? But that's exactly what he was. Then, when I thought he had crossed a threshold into adulthood, Catherine returned, ruining any hope of maturity. In other words, while Claude learned a lot, experienced a lot, and felt a lot, he didn't change or grow. 

As a musician, so much of the book touched me deeply, and I know that if I took the time to really study what Claude was studying, I could learn a lot more musically, but I must admit that some of the seriously technical paragraphs, I skimmed, in a hurry to get to the meat. But Conroy writes about music in a way that is so real and true and beautiful. The impact of music can be felt so deeply within these pages, and the feeling and emotion Conroy exhibits is brilliant. 

I was rather surprised when the only outright mention of the connection between body and soul was during a sex scene. This was unsatisfying to me. I saw the connection several times while Claude was practicing or performing, and yet the only time Conroy discusses it is when he's having sex. I had hoped for something more meaningful, considering that this was with Catherine, a childhood crush he couldn't get over. I suppose Conroy left the musical part of body and soul up to deciphering for his readers. 

Were I to read it again, which I don't think I will because I can never again experience the beauty of reading the music for the first time, I would have to slow way down, learn with Claude, and try to decipher Conroy's hints to the theme of body and soul.