Weekly Reader: The Devil's Dance by Thomas Milhorat; Lyrical Brilliant Character Study of A Musician And His Downfall

 

Weekly Reader: The Devil's Dance by Thomas Milhorat; Lyrical Brilliant Character Study of A Musician And His Downfall

By Julie Sara Porter

Bookworm Reviews

Spoilers: Thomas Milhorat does an excellent job of writing brilliant character studies of people put in almost fantastic situations that cause them to question the reality around them.

The previous work of his in which I reviewed was Melia in Foreverland, my favorite book so far this year. In that, a young girl visits an Afterlife in the stars, in which great artists, thinkers, and scientists like Leonardo Da Vinci, Galileo Galilei, and Aristotle live and help her rethink her faith and answer the questions in her life.

This book, The Devil's Dance, gives us a man who gets everything that he ever wanted, then is afflicted with a mysterious illness or curse that causes him to potentially lose everything that he worked for. It's a detailed and lyrical book of a man desperately holding onto his love for music to keep him occupied, bring him recognition, then to hold onto his eroding faculties and sanity.

Harrison "Harry" Braque would be like most people in rural Gravesend Village, Pennsylvania living the life of a farmer or a minor, but he has a genius talent for music, particularly playing the piano. His teacher, Rita Cahill, has taught him everything she knows. He has done well in state and regional competitions. Now is the time for Harry to take his act on the road and continue his studies at Julliard.

Harry wishes that he was leaving a happy home, but unfortunately that is not the case. His father, Andre, has been afflicted with a mysterious illness that his family calls "the fidgets." His body twitched and shook, sometimes causing him to do involuntary things like dancing uncontrollably. Eventually, his faculties and memory went into decline and he was bedridden. 

There are many possibilities to Andre's condition: Sydenham's chorea AKA St. Vitus' Dance, Tourette's Syndrome, Parkinson's, Huntington's Disease, or maybe long term complications from when he had influenza as a child after WWI. Later, a cousin produces an interesting theory. At Andre's funeral, she reveals that an ancestor of the Braque family was cursed by the Devil to succumb to what she termed The Devil's Dance. The curse continued through the male line and Andre is the latest victim. 

Either way, Harry is of two minds about his opportunity. On the one hand, he is excited about the new world approaching him but on the other hand, he feels guilty about leaving his sick father and patient mother who is caring for her ailing husband. Even though his family and Mrs. Cahill encourages Harry to pursue his dreams, he still worries about his father like a loyal son would.

Harry's journey (and the book's plot) picks up when Harry moves to New York to study and play music professionally. He is surrounded by young people, like Andy Greenwald his roommate, best friend, and clarinetist, who share similar dreams of improving their lots in life. Harry's tough piano instructor, Madame Anastasia Kabelevakoff, mentors and pushes him to play better because she sees talent and potential success in him. (She listens to him play by ear and is impressed but wants him to play "like himself not Kabelevakoff".)

Harry is determined to play his best and when he makes his debut at Carnegie Hall, it is a moment of triumph as he plays in front of his New York friends and the good folks of Gravesend Village. Thankfully, we are spared the cautionary success tale in which the protagonist becomes a snob when he gains ambition. Harry is still the same nice guy in success that he was in poverty, if maybe a little more aware of the world around him.

The 1950's New York milieu is captured with brilliant details of the settings and colorful characters that inhabit it. The characters visit various delis, nightclubs, and concert halls that are always jumping with many famous faces. We also see many important celebrities of the time period like Walter Winchell, Cole Porter, Truman Capote, and Stella Adler. Because Harry appreciates different types of music, he meets various musicians such as folk singer, Pete Seeger, jazz trumpeter, Chet Baker, and classical pianist, Arthur Rubinstein. Rubinstein, in particular, gives Harry some good advice. When people compare him to Rubinstein, the famed pianist says "No you are not the next Rubinstein. You are the next Harry Braque."

Harry also falls in love, twice. His first girlfriend, Anna Alexandrovich, Kabelevakoff's orphaned niece, is a shy young admirer. The two become close and get engaged, but family differencees keep them apart. Harry has better luck with his next girlfriend, Maggie McGuire, a Southern gal who came to New York and Hollywood to become an actress and model. The bit parts dried up and she ended up as a high priced Lady of the Evening. 

Both women in Harry's life are well written as women with interesting backstories and are not just set pieces for the men in their lives. Anna is ready to finish her education and live a life beyond marriage, family, and diapers. She doesn't let an accidental pregnancy get in the way of her dreams and rejects Harry's half hearted proposal.

Maggie is also a very strong willed woman who is a good helpmate and lover to Harry. She isn't ashamed of her past occupation and considered it a means to an end. She also appreciates that Harry treats her as an individual and not a slut. The two marry and have two children.

 After their marriage, Maggie continues to be supportive to her husband. When Harry succumbs to heroin addiction to keep up with his frequent touring schedules, countless interviews, and sleepless nights, Maggie looks after him as he quits cold turkey.

The heroin addiction and insomnia are the first signs that things are not quite right with Harry. When his hands uncontrollably twitch, Harry panics. His personality undergoes a severe transformation from a bright hopeful prodigy to an anxious bad tempered recluse. He knows what the illness or curse did to his father and doesn't want the same thing to happen to him. 

Harry's bout with his genetic illness leads to an ending that is so abrupt that this Reader had to actually ask if there was another chapter that she was supposed to get. Though perhaps we are supposed to be left with the questions that are not answered. As peculiar as it is, the ending is left up to the Reader to their own interpretation, but still a few more pages or one more chapter couldn't have hurt.

Most of all this book reveals the power music has over people. Harry's gift for playing the piano makes him stand out from everyone else in his town. When Harry played Mendelssohn's "The Duet" for his ailing father, it relaxed and soothed him. The music that Harry plays brings him success and when he plays as "the next Harry Braque," he has a legacy that outlives him. He encounters other musicians, like Seeger and Baker whose music allows them to express themselves and say what they really feel. Even at his worst with his addictions and illness, Harry can find solace in the music around him.

The Devil's Dance is the type of books with excellent characters, plot, and setting that plays all the right notes. All of these qualities create an enchanting symphony within this book.