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    Two-Part Inventions: A Novel
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    Two-Part Inventions: A Novel
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    Two-Part Inventions: A Novel
    Ebook283 pages5 hours

    Two-Part Inventions: A Novel

    By Lynne Sharon Schwartz

    3/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this ebook

    Two-Part Inventions begins when Suzanne, a concert pianist, dies suddenly of a stroke in the New York City apartment she shares with her producer husband Philip. Rather than mourn in peace, Philip becomes deeply paranoid: their life is based on a fraud and the acclaimed music the couple created is about to be exposed. Philip had built a career for his wife by altering her recordings, taking a portion of a song here and there, from recordings of other pianists. Syncing the alterations seamlessly, he created a piece of flawless music with Suzanne getting sole credit.

    In this urban, psychological novel, author Lynne Sharon Schwartz brilliantly guides the reader through a flawed marriage and calculated career. Beginning with Suzanne’s death and moving backwards in time, Schwartz examines their life together, and her remarkable career, while contemplating the nature of truth, marriage and the pursuit of perfection.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherCounterpoint
    Release dateNov 1, 2012
    ISBN9781619021396
    Unavailable
    Two-Part Inventions: A Novel
    Author

    Lynne Sharon Schwartz

    Lynne Sharon Schwartz (b. 1939) is a celebrated author of novels, poems, short fiction, and criticism. Schwartz began her career with a series of short stories before publishing her first novel, the National Book Award–nominated Rough Strife (1980). She went on to publish works of memoir, poetry, and translation. Her other novels have included the award-nominated Leaving Brooklyn (1989) and Disturbances in the Field (1983). Her short fiction has appeared in theBest American Short Stories annual anthology series several times. In addition, her reviews and criticism have appeared in numerous magazines and newspapers. Schwartz lives in New York City, and is currently a faculty member of the Bennington Writing Seminars. 

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    Reviews for Two-Part Inventions

    3/5

    4 ratings2 reviews

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    • 3/5
      I remember liking this author which is why I chose to read this book. It's a tale of co-dependency which goes wrong and luckily, Suzanne never realizes what her husband has done. There is lots of foreshadowing but what Philip has done is not fully revealed until near the end of the book.
    • 3/5
      I chose to read this book because it was billed as a fictionalized version of the Joyce Hatto story. Joyce Hatto was a British pianist who spent most of her life in obscurity and poor health, but in her later years, she released many critically-acclaimed recordings of classical music. Critics marveled at her technique and versatility. How could such a great talent have been hidden for so long? Only after her death it was revealed that her husband, a recording engineer, had enhanced Hatto's recordings by splicing in passages played by other pianists. Was Hatto aware of what her husband did, and did she approve of his actions? Unfortunately, her opinion on the subject remains unknown.In the afterward, Ms. Schwartz states that the Two-Part Inventions was inspired by the Hatto scandal. However, most of the novel is not about the plagiarism or its aftermath. Instead, we follow Suzanne, the Hatto character, through her naive girlhood and musical education at Julliard. Suzanne is rather insipid and it's hard to care what happens to her. We also hear a lot about her husband Phil's dreary childhood and youth. There's nothing in the first two-thirds of the book that satisfactorily explains why these characters would get involved in the scandal at the end. It isn't until the last section of this book (perhaps it should have been called Three-Part Invention--it is in three parts) that the scandal erupts and things get somewhat more involving. But by then, Suzanne is already dead, so she never has to deal with consequences of her husband's actions. Neither does Phil; the book ends before the musicians he plagiarised from can sue him.