Playing from Memory
David Milofsky, 1999
University Press of Colorado
270 pp.
ISBN-13: 9780870815263
Author Bio
Playing From Memory is a deeply moving, compassionate novel about the power of marriage to survive under stress, a love story that tells of a musician's courageous battle against a degenerative illness and his wife's struggle to face the end of their life together
Ben Seidler, an intense, passionately committed violist, is at the height of his career as a member of the Casa Bella Quartet, one of the foremost string quartets in the nation. His gifts as a concert artist had always been intuitive, but love did not come so easily. It took determination to win the hand of his wife, Dory, who was reluctant to set aside her ambitions of becoming an artist.
Their marriage is at once complex and ordinary, balancing the rigors of long rehearsal sessions against the daily round of family life with their two sons. Then suddenly the rhythm of their lives is shattered when Ben falls victim to multiple sclerosis. Stubbornly independent, Ben refuses to rely on others until necessity forces him to see that there are things beyond his control. Through a new closeness with his aging father, his older son, and, most importantly, Dory, he learns to accept help and to appreciate human frailty and affection.
As Ben's health declines, Dory is forced to resume her career and compete in a world dominated by men, and to re-examine her feelings and commitment to her husband. As their lives change, so does their marriage, and Ben and Dory forge a new kind of love, a fierce love that sustains them through everything.
Playing From Memory is a rich and touching story, a novel that charts the landscape of despair but ultimately celebrates the triumph of the human heart. David Milofsky has written a powerful novel that carries all the weight and authority of lives truly lived. It is as much about loving as about dying, leading us back to our deepest selves. (From the publisher.)
Author Bio
• Birth—1946
• Where—reared in Wisconsin, USA
• Education—B.A., University of Wisconsin;M.F.A., University of
Massachusetts
• Awards—Fellowship, National Endowment for the Arts;
Colorado Book Award; Short Fiction Award from Prairie
Schooner.
• Currently—lives in Denver, Colorado
David Milofsky is the author of A Friend of Kissinger, Color of Law, Eternal People and Playing from Memory. His short stories, articles, and reviews have appeared in a variety of publications, including Prairie Schooner, New York Times Magazine, and elsewhere. He has twice won grants from the NEA and is currently a professor of English at Colorado State University, where he edits the Colorado Review and serves as Director of the Center for Literary Publishing. He lives in Colorado with his wife and children. (From the publisher.)
Book Reviews
As a glimpse of humanity, this etching of a fragmented life is perfect.... Milofsky, with love, goads us, compells us to read on, to be drawn in, and to care.
Philadelphia Inquirer
Milofsky is an insightful novelist, and the story he presents is compelling and very moving
Publishers Weekly
Milofsky is an insightful novelist, and the story he presents is compelling and very moving.
Library Journal
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