BOOK REVIEW: Body and Soul

Thinking that I was picking up a Pat Conroy novel, I accidentally bought Frank Conroy’s BODY AND SOUL. All mistakes should turn out so well.

Six-year-old Claude Rawlings spends his days locked in an apartment in a run-down section of New York City while his mother, Emma, drives her taxi to make a living for them. Between her job and her drinking, Emma has very little time for her young son. He is as much alone when his mother is home as he is while she is working.

In his tiny room, under stacks of accumulated junk, he discovers an old white piano. He finds that he can pick out the music that he hears on his radio and his world becomes a little less lonely.

Later, when he goes to school, he makes friends with Mr. Weisfeld, the owner of a music store. Claude’s passion for music has finally found an outlet. With the help of Mr. Weisfeld and some of his surprising friends, Claude’s passion turns him into a highly regarded musician.

Starting in the slums of New York City during the 1940’s and following Claude through his school years in the 1950’s to his first big success in London in the 1970’s, this is not just a “rags to riches” story nor is it just a coming of age novel. It is an engrossing tale of a person’s dedication to something he loves, and in the process, the book becomes a love story to the art of music.

I have to admit that the technical language of music was beyond my understanding many times; Frank Conroy was a jazz musician who won a Grammy Award in 1986. It would take a reader more experienced with the theory of composition and orchestration than I am to criticize those parts of the book.

Conroy’s talent as an author had me so involved with Claude’s story that I felt that I understood the technical information. I did understand and appreciate the style and passion of this author. BODY AND SOUL should be on every musician or want-to-be-musician’s reading list.