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In the Before, rock singer Luce Cannon is just starting to hit the big time when the world is hit by the one-two punch of massive terrorist attacks and (apparently unrelatedly) a pandemic. In the After, gatherings have been banned to prevent violence and viruses, life is lived mostly online and under the eye of huge corporations. Rosemary, a young woman who loves music but experiences it only in virtual reality, is hired by one of those huge corporations to scout musicians at illegal underground concerts.
This novel starts with a bang and had me completely engrossed for the first third. The second two-thirds were well-written, but for me lacked the propulsive power of the first part of the book. I say “for me” because I’m not sure if that was the book or me. Given that my favorite part was Luce’s first-person narration of her pre-pandemic tour, I’d happily read a contemporary novel about musicians by Pinsker, no sf content required. Luce is Jewish and her relationship with her family and community, which she's mostly estranged from, is a small part of the novel but very well-done. I'd also have happily read a novel focusing on that.
Luce and Rosemary are both queer, and have romantic relationships with women (not with each other). Their own relationship felt like it should have been the center of the book, but wasn’t; they had a few powerful scenes early on, but later their interactions felt more like a clash of worldviews than like a clash of two people.
Generally, the longer the book went on, the more didactic and abstract it felt, with the vibrant and very human Luce of the beginning giving way to an iconic figure. The more the book is about its actual premise (a young woman scouts for talent in a world where live concerts are banned), the less interested I became. I don't think it was because of anything inherent about the premise, but because of how it was treated.
The early parts about Luce's band were really funny, among other things. Afterward, music and music-making was treated much more seriously, with no goofing around and playing pranks. I'm not sure it's true that people doing illegal things with huge consequences if they slip up actually do stop being silly-- they probably just channel it into areas that won't attract attention outside of their own group. At least, the second part of the book would have been more interesting if they had. The second part also was primarily Rosemary's narration, and she was very very very serious. The book ended up feeling solemn and weighty in a way that didn't play to Pinsker's strengths as a writer.
I still recommend it but not as strongly as I thought I would when I started it.
There’s a big and still-ongoing discussion here which delves a lot into the worldbuilding.
A Song for a New Day
This novel starts with a bang and had me completely engrossed for the first third. The second two-thirds were well-written, but for me lacked the propulsive power of the first part of the book. I say “for me” because I’m not sure if that was the book or me. Given that my favorite part was Luce’s first-person narration of her pre-pandemic tour, I’d happily read a contemporary novel about musicians by Pinsker, no sf content required. Luce is Jewish and her relationship with her family and community, which she's mostly estranged from, is a small part of the novel but very well-done. I'd also have happily read a novel focusing on that.
Luce and Rosemary are both queer, and have romantic relationships with women (not with each other). Their own relationship felt like it should have been the center of the book, but wasn’t; they had a few powerful scenes early on, but later their interactions felt more like a clash of worldviews than like a clash of two people.
Generally, the longer the book went on, the more didactic and abstract it felt, with the vibrant and very human Luce of the beginning giving way to an iconic figure. The more the book is about its actual premise (a young woman scouts for talent in a world where live concerts are banned), the less interested I became. I don't think it was because of anything inherent about the premise, but because of how it was treated.
The early parts about Luce's band were really funny, among other things. Afterward, music and music-making was treated much more seriously, with no goofing around and playing pranks. I'm not sure it's true that people doing illegal things with huge consequences if they slip up actually do stop being silly-- they probably just channel it into areas that won't attract attention outside of their own group. At least, the second part of the book would have been more interesting if they had. The second part also was primarily Rosemary's narration, and she was very very very serious. The book ended up feeling solemn and weighty in a way that didn't play to Pinsker's strengths as a writer.
I still recommend it but not as strongly as I thought I would when I started it.
There’s a big and still-ongoing discussion here which delves a lot into the worldbuilding.
A Song for a New Day
