You'll already know the plot by getting down to the reviews, so I'll forego repeating what the up-front blurb provides.

So. What a ride. I found myself tempted to dig through Wikipedia on more than one occasion to look up characters from this novel because it read so very much like an actual biography.

Truth be told, I found it a bit difficult to get into the feel for the book. I suspect that's my fault, and not author Farr's. Once I'd connected with Gaunt (20 pages in?) the rest of the book was a joy to read, sometimes painful in stretches.

A good tool for this novel was the dual narrative, with the documentarian hoping to tell Lena's story; the story progresses smoothly through this seemingly insignificant add. Nice touch.

Four stars.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me a free advance reading copy of this book. This in no way influenced by review or rating.

Lena Gaunt: early theremin player, grande dame of electronic music, and opium addict. When we meet our 81-year-old narrator, she’s just performed at the 1991 Transformer Festival and has caught the attention of a younger acolyte who wants to come interview her at home near Perth, Australia for a documentary film – a setup that reminded me a bit of May Sarton’s Mrs. Stevens Hears the Mermaids Singing. It’s pretty jolting the first time we see Lena smoke, but as her life story unfolds it becomes clear that it’s been full of major losses, some nearly unbearable in their cruelty, so it’s no surprise that she would wish to forget.

Though Lena bridles at Mo’s many probing questions, she realizes this may be her last chance to have her say and starts typing up a record of her later years to add to a sheaf of autobiographical stories she wrote earlier in life. These are interspersed with the present action to create a vivid collage of Lena’s life: growing up with a pet monkey in Singapore, moving to New Zealand with her lover, frequenting jazz clubs in Paris, and splitting her time between teaching music in England and performing in New York City.

With perfect pitch and recall, young Lena moved easily from the piano to the cello to the theremin. I loved how Farr evokes the strangeness and energy of theremin music, and how sound waves find a metaphorical echo in the ocean’s waves – swimming is Lena’s other great passion. Life has been an overwhelming force from which she’s only wrested fleeting happiness, and there’s a quiet, melancholic dignity to her voice. This was nominated for several prizes in Australia, where Farr is from, but has been unfairly overlooked elsewhere.

Favorite lines:

“I once again wring magic from the wires by simply plucking and stroking my fingers in the aether.”

“I felt the rush of the electrical field through my body. I felt like a god. I felt like a queen. I felt like a conqueror. And I wanted to play it forever.”

“All of the stories of my life have begun and ended with the ocean.”

It took me a while to get into this book but once I did I was intrigued. I had to look up what a Theremin was I had never heard of that particular musical instrument. A good and interesting read.

I thought The Life and Loves of Lena Gaunt was a great read. I thought it was based on a real person because Lena comes across as so real, so made of flesh and blood I couldn’t believe she was a work of fiction. Apparently she was inspired by a real person. The book is so interesting and well written I felt like I was reading a memoir and was hooked. I’d never heard of the instrument Lena plays and found it interesting it could be played without being touched. I thought Lena was a great character, so real and alive she leapt off the page and into my heart. I loved the fact the novel spans Lena’s whole life from the age of 4 until she’s in her 80’s. I was entranced by Lena and her life and loves. She is an amazing character and her life fascinated me. I also thought the musical terms and references were great. The Life and Loves of Lena Gaunt is great. Highly recommended.

I adored this novel, as lyrical as the curious music it describes. In beautiful prose, Lena emerges as a fully rounded character, not just a device for exploring the changing times she lives through to her ripe old age and the varied locations in which she lives: New Zealand, Australia, Malacca... It's poignant (there's not much love shown to her by her parents and she loses the two people dearest to her at a young age) and yet curiously uplifting, too, in showing the power of music and art. Like other readers, it took me a few pages to get into it. But please persevere. You will not be disappointed!

I wasn't sure what to expect from this story, but it was very winded and i got bored half way through.