Marash Girl first learned of THE MUSICIAN'S SECRET on April 24, 2015, when Tom Ashbrook interviewed Litty Mathew in Glendale, California, by telephone from WBUR in Boston. Mathew's first novel, a mystery riddled with history, a history riddled with mystery, THE MUSICIAN'S SECRET, a recently published work of fiction, is a mystery set in contemporary Glendale, California. The mystery is dependent upon the knowledge of the history of what happened 100 years ago to the Armenian people, knowledge which is gradually imparted to the reader throughout the narrative. The narrator, an 85 year old man and famous duduk player of Los Angeles, captivates the reader (just as he is known to captivate his audiences) from the very first sentence on page one. A must read, whether or not you like mysteries, whether or not you like music, whether or not you like Glendale, California, whether or not you like Armenians!
I have just started to read The Musician's Secret, on the recommendation of Marash Girl (a reliable evaluator of good reads) - it is indeed a fine book. The writing is elegant - gracefully capturing the cadences of speech, small gestures of character and evocative detail of place. But as noted, the lead character is charming from the first page..at once appearing completely open and direct about present experience while avoiding examination of the past - to himself as well as the reader.
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