What a fascinating, wonderful read. Not a book for the faint of heart, this book is one of L'Engle's adult novels and deals with serious topics. I picked it up a while back because I knew it was the companion piece to "The Small Rain" and knew that I needed to read it at some point. These two books are a wonderful story in and of themselves. With "The Small Rain" being the first book L'Engle ever wrote, back in early 1940s, and this one being one of her later ones written (published 1982 I believe?), these books are not quite autobiographical but they surely draw from L'Engle's own experiences and life. One of them written when she was young and fiery and just starting to discover her passion for writing, the second one written after a span of almost 40 years, of course it's a fascinating study to compare the two and trace the changes and deepening of both the main character (Katherine Forrester Vigneras) and also the author herself. I gave myself a year or so in between reading these two books, as I wanted to allow myself some time away from the story of young Katherine before I experienced the story of old Katherine. And what a story it was. Pierced through with flashbacks to pivotal and emotional moments in Katherine's life, this book tells the story of a woman who has retired and stepped away from her career as a world-famous pianist to settle in her house in New York City. Katherine does not quite succeed at getting away from the world though, as she finds herself very much needed in the small community in which she finds herself. The people that Katherine gets to know are all fascinating in their own right, and L'Engle does a masterful job in drawing these characters and making them come alive. The city of New York is a character itself, as it often is, and it was fascinating but also slightly horrifying to make the acquaintance of late 1970s New York City. This book isn't perfect. Katherine herself seems almost saint-like at times, one who has near apotheosized at the final stage of her life. She becomes the confessor for practically every character in this book and is the one that always seems to know just how to respond or act to meet the needs of those around her. She is almost brimming over with love and acceptance and compassion, at least outwardly. L'Engle does her level best to humanize and ground her, showing her internal doubts, frustrations, angers and fears, but even so - it feels like the character of Katherine Forrester has reached the point where she's not merely her own character anymore, but a paragon of virtue, the saint that we should all aspire to be like. I am possibly being overly harsh because I quite like Katherine and am grateful to experience her story here. Let not my negativity in this one point put you off reading this book, because this story is worth the experience! As always, L'Engle excels at telling the small scenes - the dinner parties, the conversations over lunch, the small moments and intimacies between characters. This book is a very talky book - vast majority is conversations. I love it though many might not. There are some theological quibbles I have with this book (please don't read L'Engle for her theological and biblical insights!) but I am able to look past those with the understanding that none of us have our understanding of God and this world perfectly in order - why should I be surprised that these characters' views of God and salvation may be slightly flawed? Apart from that, this book does deal with some fairly rough topics. Again, not for the faint of heart. There is loss and jealousy and abuse and infidelity and an atmosphere that drips of grime and fear. Yet there is also love and beauty - I simply loved all the discussions of music and any depictions of Katherine and/or friends playing musical instruments and/or singing together. The book ended beautifully, the only way it could have. I am not myself a musician, though I do dearly love music, but reading L'Engle's portrayal of a musician and what the music means to her...it is something to behold. While I don't know as if I could read this book often, it is a story superbly told about characters who are messy and real. I will definitely at some point in the future re-read both "The Small Rain" and this one, as they are books with a weight to them, books that talk about the things that matter.

One of L'Engle's attempts at writing for grown ups. Never hits the stellar nature of her Wrinkle In Time series for the younger reader.

Interesting read!

So enjoyed this counterpoint to the Small Rain. Lovely read. Interesting to follow the characters late in life. Soothing. Didn’t want it to end, but thought the end was very fitting.

I'm glad I finished this. I like it a lot. There's a lot of people drinking tea, reading and just remembering. I liked seeing this Katya.

There were some iffy things and I'll leave it at that because I prefer to remember what I did enjoy.

I only wished more was done for Topaze.

A most wonderous oeuvre!

This has been the most satisfying story that I have read in some time. It is full and rich with portraits of very complex people. The many themes that weave in and out are similarly full and rich and thought provoking. Although she theoretically brought the story full circle, it was easy to think that there was so much more that you wanted to know about the lives of these people. Brava Madeline! Bien fait.

A really beautiful novel from L'Engle, a follow up to the earlier The Small Rain . I did like this book better than that one, especially since it brings back Suzy Austin and Dave Davidson (from the Austin series and The Young Unicorns , respectively).

Thoughtful and gentle novel about mercy

I have loved Madeline L’Engle ever since reading A Wrinkle in Time. I am enjoying some of her other fiction which seems, more often than not, to be based on her own life experiences. This book is no exception.

Katherine Vigneras is a world renowned pianist returning home to New York City after retirement from the concert stage. She is able to connect with old friends and makes new ones as she settles into her new life. Her serenity is interrupted when she begins receiving threatening phone calls from an anonymous source. Her journey to discover the truth about the present leads her into making peace with her past, and she guides new friends into discovering the beauty of mercy and forgiveness for themselves.

This book was thoughtful and well written. It read quickly but at times character development seemed sparse and the conclusion as to the caller’s identity and purpose seemed a little far fetched. Overall an engaging read!

This follow up to the first book in the 2-book series was a much better read for me then the first. Rather than have the second book a continuation of Katherine’s life, the author chose to have Katherine’s career pretty much complete, her child grown, and husband gone. Katherine is in her 70’s and has moved back to the United States from Paris. One learns what has happened in her life through her dreaming back and remembering good times and successes and some very tragic times and failures. And there is a who-done-it mystery to keep the reader hooked to the end.

Memory, forgiveness, love. A wonderful little read.

One of my favorite L'Engle books, which is surprising because the first 1/3 was slow and I could barely get through it without falling asleep. The more I got into Katherine's psyche and her past, though, the more attached I became. I loved how richly developed even the smallest of characters were, and the way things came together to form a community.

A lot of the plot points (and the setting) reminded me of one of the Austin family books (and Emily is mentioned) but I liked the way this book handled those elements so much better. It's mature, it's complex, and it's beautifully written. Even if the last few sections are very melodramatic.

One of the great pleasures for me in reading this book is the chapter by chapter unfolding of the petals of a great blossom, the way perspective and points of view shift on astounding plot turns revealing completely new ways of looking at the cast of characters and the rest of the book. And this KEEPS happening thoughout the entire book! To write a review full of spoilers would take away the potential for that pleasure from future readers, so please excuse me if I avoid plot details entirely.

This book is one of my favorites of all time. Mme. Vigneras, the main character, is very subtle in her communications, with layers and layers of unstated meaning implied. Often when she makes a statement, it is for the specific purpose of eliciting a response from the other character or the reader, of provoking them into questioning or thinking more deeply about what was said. This is an incredibly richly textured book, requiring deep reading and looking explicitly between the lines. Each time I re-read it, I discover something I had previously missed in earlier readings. Many of the plot turns echo in the brain and challenge the reader to examine their own conscience, the context of the book, the perspectives of the characters, and more. They justly deserve a hard look and much thought, and it is a good sign when one's initial reading is disturbing, and has provoked a variety kinds of questions and emotions. As someone who has read this book more times than I can count, I assure you, the explanations and justifications ARE present in the book. However, finding them will require looking as deeply into oneself and those around you as into the book itself.

I began by liking this book but then towards the end felt I didn't love it as much because of what I felt were some embedded sterotypes--like the "bad guys" ultimately turning out to be Latino and all the white people, even a Nazi, being ultimately positive. So okay she was displaying the complexities of the basically decent folk who, for whatever reason, fought the German fight on the Nazi side. But she didn't display a similar sensitivity toward the Latino family, which I found got in the way of my simply enjoying the book. That said though, I've underlined passages that struck me, especially in the context of my current immersion program in a J. Krishnamurti inspired education program with its focus on attention, the lack of comparisons, ideas, ideologies and other such goodies. More on that later or at least a link to it.