Ungrateful Instrument

Hardback

At its heart, An Ungrateful Instrument is a novel that portrays a son s struggle to be more than a mere instrument of the father s ambition. Antoine Forqueray and later his son Jean-Baptiste, were each brought up as child prodigies to the court of Louis XIV. Together, they were said to be the only musicians in France who could play the father s brilliant, eccentric music for the viola da gamba. In an imaginative masterstroke the story is told by Jean-Baptiste s highly attuned deaf-mute sister, Charlotte-Elisabeth. Threaded throughout, deep in a forest an old man creates the gift of a special viol for the boy, Jean Baptiste. This is a novel that can almost be heard like music, as it soars in language, theme, and a wisdom that both embodies and transcends its period setting.