Violin

~ Violin ~

Released in 1997

The original title was
Symphony for Mary Jane
Foreign translations
Le Violon(French)
Notable characters
Stefan, Tristana

- Summary on back cover -
Triana's grief is deep and almost boundless. Death has marked her, and taken her husband. Now only the music in her dreams can carry her from night to night. And now, into those dreams, into those nights, come Stefan, the restless, tormented ghost of a Russian aristocrat.
Stefan's musical genius will first enchant Triana, then dominate her so that she will be drawn into the cruel past in which he lived his earthly life. Finally, Triana will find herself in the realm of ghosts and spectres where an ally awaits her...
Surreal, dramatic and mesmerising, Violin moves across time and continents to bring together three lost souls bound to one another through music, passion and rapture.

- My opinion -
Although I enjoyed Violin, it was not one of my favourite Anne novels. I found the story far too similiar to her own life for example Triana the main character is obviously based on Anne herself. Look at her name for a start. Then consider the fact that she has 4 sisters, that her daughter died young and that her husband died of Aids. Anne experienced all of this except that it was her best friend who died of Aids and not her husband. Anne has also described in interviews how as a child, she was fascinated by the violin and longed to play it but found she had no talent. This is exactly what happens to Triana except that she is aided by Stefan and becomes a master violinist.
In spite of any criticism, I thoroughly enjoyed the scenes in Rio de Janeiro. I have never been to Brazil and I know that Anne has, so she managed to capture the atmosphere rather well. I also became fond of the character Stefan, who had suffered so much. I was much more fond of him than I was of any other character in the book.

If Violin is your favourite novel vote for it.