Book Review--Violin--Anne Rice

Violin is one of those books where the author has obviously put so much effort into the language that you keep reading, hoping that at some point there will be a plot, or some strong characterization, or something else that has received as much attention as the poetic words. Then you realize you've read a hundred pages, then a hundred and fifty, and nothing has really happened.

There's really nothing to Violin. Even the poetic language falters, often overwrought, and repeating the same themes to tiresome effect. The motivations of Stefan, the ghostly owner of the titular violin, are never fully explained, and Triana, the heroine, receives similarly short shrift.

Although I've read numerous Anne Rice books that I loved, this book did little for me, and if I hadn't been on a plane reading the book straight through, I probably wouldn't have bothered finishing it.