Gone: A Girl, a Violin, a Life Unstrung - Hardcover

Kym, Min

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0241263158 ISBN 13: 9780241263150

Publisher: Viking, 2017

Synopsis

'All my life my Stradivarius had been waiting for me, as I had been waiting for her . . .'

At 7 years old Min Kym was a prodigy, the youngest ever pupil at the Purcell School of Music. At 11 she won her first international prize. She worked with many violins, waiting for the day she would play 'the one'. At 21 she found it: a rare 1696 Stradivarius, perfectly suited to her build and temperament. Her career soared. She recorded the Brahms concerto and a world tour was planned.

Then, in a train station café, her violin was stolen. In an instant her world collapsed. She descended into a terrifying limbo land, unable to play another note.

This is Min's extraordinary story - of a young woman staring into the void, wondering who she was, who she had been. It is a story of isolation and dependence, of love, loss and betrayal, and the intense, almost human bond that a musician has with their instrument. Above all it's a story of hope through a journey back to music.

'The hours fell away as I read this spellbinding tale of love, loss and above all devotion to art' - Susan Cain, author of international bestseller Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking

About this title

Review:

I loved Gone. It will stay with me for a long time (Cerys Matthews)

A remarkable and original memoir . . . thrilling (Barbara Ellen Observer)

Intense, elegiac and completely mesmerizing ... a beautifully pitched memoir which hits many different registers (The Bookseller (Book of the Month))

Riveting . . . her story of bereavement and resilience, and the determination to pursue one's art no matter what obstacles stand in one's way, is as enchanting as Kym's recording of a Brahms concerto (Glamour)

A remarkable story of love and loss . . . Also a gripping thriller that contains a hint of scandal, as well as money, villains and a secret (Helen Davies Sunday Times)

Fascinating . . . a tragic musical love affair . . . told in admirably lucid and uncluttered prose (Adam Sweeting The Arts Desk)

Riveting . . . her story of bereavement and resilience, and the determination to pursue one's art no matter what obstacles stand in one's way, is as enchanting as Kym's recording of a Brahms concerto (Harper's Bazaar)

A movingly uncertain memoir of obsession, love and loss . . . Kym has an easy, elegant way of describing music (Financial Times)

Deeply moving (Sarah Foot Daily Mail)

This book makes for a devastating but ultimately redemptive read. It is much more than a story about a lost violin: it is about who we are, how we love, how we grieve (Clemency Burton-Hill Mail on Sunday)

From the Back Cover:

'Reads like a dream - so fast, so sharp. I loved Gone. It will stay with me for a long time'
Cerys Matthews
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'The hours fell away as I read this spellbinding tale of love and loss, and above all devotion to art. You probably don't know what it feels like to be a child prodigy or a world-class violinist, but you will after reading this luminous memoir. And though you may already know what it means to grieve and to love, you've never had the chance to experience these things through the gentle and far-seeing eyes of Min Kym'
Susan Cain, author of the international bestseller Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking
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'Intense, elegiac, mesmerising . . . a beautifully pitched memoir which hits many different registers'
The Bookseller

About this edition

• Publisher: Viking
• Publication date: 2017
• ISBN 10: 0241263158
• ISBN 13: 9780241263150
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 256