A Very Different Kind Of Music Novel!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                             Like "Bel Canto," "Aja Gabel's debut novel, "The Ensemble," is immersed with the music world, but in a more insular way.  Here, the reader follows the trajectory of a chamber quartet--Bri, Daniel, Henry, and Jana--their present and past lives, their self absorption, and, finally, their departure as a group.  It would not surprise me if the author has seen a production or two of Sondheim's "Merrily We Roll Along," for the ending here seems right out of that musical.

                                               Unlike Patchett, whose descent into the music world is accessible to most readers, reading "The Ensemble" depends on more than a general music knowledge.  Narcissism is common to the arts--oh, tell me about actors and dancers, please!!!!!!!!--but musicians are not an exception, just not examined as closely.  Well, Gabel does it here, and it is superb.

                                                  I could have done without the rampant heterosexuality.  OK, in your twenties, I get it, but in your forties?  And Daniel, what a pig!  And Henry, what a bourgeois!  What is he even doing in this field, except he is tremendously gifted, and fit for nothing else?

                                                    "The Ensemble" is not afraid to reveal its flaws, and, in some way I found that admirable.  Gabel keeps the story moving compellingly, and I cannot wait to see what
subject she tackles next.

                                                      Maybe not the year's best, but perfect for a fading Summer!!!!!!!!!!