The Violin Conspiracy is a tantalizing thriller combined with a coming-of-age novel that explores racism in the world of classical music. Ray is a high school senior and a gifted violinist. His mother wants him to quit school, get his GED, find a job at Popeye’s, and help her pay bills. His Grandma Nora loves hearing him play and tells him how he inherited his talent from her grandfather whose enslaver gave her grandfather the fiddle he played. Grandma Nora finds the fiddle in her attic and gives it to Ray before her death. The instrument is in bad shape, but finally, Ray has his own violin.
Encouraged by a wonderful teacher, Ray goes to college and becomes an accomplished violinist. When it’s discovered that Ray’s fiddle is a Stradivarius worth 10 million dollars, Ray becomes a media sensation while he’s training to compete in the elite Tchaikovsky Competition. Two weeks before he’s to leave for Moscow, his violin is mysteriously stolen. Ray’s remaining family thinks they deserve to split the insurance money if the violin isn’t recovered. The descendants of his great grandfather’s enslaver say it belongs to them. As Ray juggles practicing for the competition with trying to recover his violin and fighting the claims of the two families, the tension builds.
Just below the surface, staccato bursts of racist micro aggressions and more serious racist attacks threaten Ray’s ambitions.
“So here’s what you do if you’re a Black guy trying to make it work in an unfamiliar world:,” Ray tells us. “ You just put your head down and do the work. You do twice as much work as the white guy sitting next to you and you do it twice as often, and you get half as far. But you do it.”
Underlying the mystery of the violin’s disappearance is the music that forms a literary soundtrack for the novel. The reader is enveloped in the sounds of Ray’s music and the expert writing makes the reader feel that it’s actually playing. I read this novel, but I could swear that I heard Ray’s strings.
Author Brendan Slocumb has been a music educator for Kindergarten through 12th grades for 23 years. He’s played the violin with several orchestras and is the concertmaster for the NOVA-Annandale Symphony Orchestra. His musical knowledge and experiences make the novel real.
Summing It Up: Read The Violin Conspiracy to experience a young Black man’s will to succeed as a classical violinist when the world tries to hold him back. Keep turning the pages faster after his Stradivarius is stolen and every clue leads to a new and frightening development. Listen to the soundtrack in your head as the music builds. Embrace your concerns as Ray’s family and the descendants of his ancestor’s enslaver try to cheat him.
Rating: 5 Stars
Publication Date: February 1, 2022
Categories: Fiction, Five Stars, Mysteries and Thrillers, Super Nutrition, Book Club
Author Website: https://www.brendanslocumb.com/
Interview with the Author: https://youtu.be/giiUNtoGuF8
Read an Excerpt: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/688511/the-violin-conspiracy-by-brendan-slocumb/
Reading Group Guide: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/688511/the-violin-conspiracy-by-brendan-slocumb/
What Others are Saying:
Kirkus Reviews: https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/brendan-slocumb/the-violin-conspiracy/?page=2
New York Times: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/01/books/review/the-violin-conspiracy-brendan-slocumb.html
Publishers Weekly: http://www.publishersweekly.com/9780593315415
The Washington Post: https://www.washingtonpost.com/books/2022/02/02/violin-conspiracy-brendan-slocumb/
“Finally, classical music gets the complex treatment it deserves. A wide-eyed look at the art form and it’s discontents.” — Gary Shteyngart
“Utterly original and downright gripping, The Violin Conspiracy is more than a mystery—it’s an unflinching peek into the heart and soul of a gifted Black violinist striving to pursue his passion in the face of adversity. Brendan Slocumb’s debut is an essential lesson in artistry, prejudice, and persistence.” — Zaria Daliia Harris
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