The Truths and Triumphs of Grace Atherton

I want to thank this book from the bottom of my heart for bringing me out of a reading slump. I raced through it in one night

First, let's talk about the elephant in the room: the title is terrible. I read somewhere that this was originally called "Goodbye, Paris" which is much better but misleading/a spoiler. How about something punny about Grace, or the Paris Affair or something else?

The constant apostrophes before the word "cello" did me in too. Yes, I know it's an abbreviation but it's an accepted use. Just say cello. Other musicians do. Drop the pretention.

I love loved the musical aspect of the story. Grace' s back history and obsession with playing and later creating the cello. Adored it.

If you're looking for something light and predictable, in a contemporary story with fantastic characters look no further, I couldn't put it down. Tidy wrapped up loose ends and obvious plot points? Heaps of them, doused with generous feelgood.

Pick it up if you're a fan of Elinor Oliphant or Begin Again

<i>I received an advance reading copy of this book thanks to Simon & Schuster (Australia) via NetGalley</i>

I really did not know what to expect of this book and after a little bit of online research scoping the different titles etc., I decided straight off the bat (not really knowing what the book entailed) that I preferred the both the title <i>The Truths and Triumphs of Grace Atherton</i> and also the cover art of this specific edition.

Once I began reading, it was incredibly easy to keep pace and continue to read on. I sat back cautious about where the story was heading; I highly despise the generic boys treats girl badly, girl is a wreck, boy apologies, girl happily returns, narrative. So many books have great promise only to travel the same path as so very many before them and honestly, it's just a little boring and predictable - I like a thrill and pleasant surprise when I read fiction books of this nature every now and then. For them all to have a similar ending isn't overly enjoyable for every reader. I am so happy I put my trust in Harris and where she was directing the narrative. I didn't know whether I felt angry, helpless or sorry for Grace whilst I was reading but I'm glad Harris took her in the direction that she did. By the end of the book I felt a sense of pride and camaraderie at the strength Grace built after tackling some very difficult situations that one hopes never to be in the midst of.

The structure in which this book is written is beautiful. It flows gracefully and I felt a sense of gentleness whilst reading. The amount of detail written about the violin family and how they are crafted is perfect. You get a good overview of the art without receiving too much information that distracts from the flow of the story. Atherton has done a fantastic job at fusing romanticism to the craft of violin-making throughout her narrative.

I highly enjoyed this book and would definitely recommend it to reader of contemporary fiction.

When first opening this book a reader may well believe that it is purely a relationships read, the main character of Grace, a cellist, instrument maker who is “the other woman” in a relationship with a human “peacock”. Yes, David is true to this description, so sad for Grace who has worn the tarnish of rejection from her music professor at the conservatoire, and who looks to the bright light of 7n. However the author sets the scene relatively early whereby Grace’s fantasies of a life with her beautiful man dissolve due to events at a railway station. From here the book develops and moves into a wonderful and delightful story whereby Grace has to pick up the baton of reality. All the elements are subtly there, rejection, sexual predatory, homophobia, unfaithfulness and narcissism. Grace has not been one to “collect” a volume of friends and since meeting David she has continually daydreamed of a life with him and fantasises of holidays in France, maybe Spain, always looking for David to fill the void in her life rather than pursuing fulfilment herself. Her business is successful, however her experiences with her music professor have affected her so adversely that she is unable to play the cello to an audience. As it all begins to unravel Grace has a real hissy fit and demolishes all the stock in her shop including a cello she had been working on for the great Cremona competition. Two people who are trying to cope with their own problems see in Grace what she does not see in herself and come to her aid. Her shop assistant Nadia a talented musician struggling with the problems of youth and family and a cherished old gentleman customer Mr Williams who is dealing with his own personal loss. These two friends from different points of life’s spectrum get Grace back on her feet and in doing so in the end resolve their own issues. Whilst in Cremona Grace runs into a fellow student from her days at the conservatoire who reveals to her the truth about the professor and in doing so the clouded self judgement of her cello abilities are changed and faith in herself is restored. As further events unfold while in Cremona Grace faces her demons and finds herself finally playing for an audience.
Many thanks to Simon & Shuster and to Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this delightful story.

Not having read any JoJo Moyes or Elinor Oliphant is Completely Fine, I didn’t have any expectations and wasn’t disappointed that it wasn’t similar. In fact, I enjoyed it.

Grace is a bit lost. She thinks she’s fine, although she can’t perform in public since being asked to leave music college as a young woman, but the reader can see she’s not, so it’s no surprise to us when everything falls apart. But Grace is a strong woman and her rebirth from the ashes has a positive effect on more lives than just her own.

Excellent writing and a story which kept me guessing until the end, I gave this one 5 thoroughly enjoyable stars. Music lovers will especially enjoy all the music and there’s even a play list included.

Thanks to the publishers and Netgalley for a free copy of this novel.

‘We were staying at David’s apartment in Paris the night the woman fell onto the Metro tracks.’

Grace Atherton has been the ‘other’ woman in a relationship for eight years. Her world revolves around David, who is (one day) going to leave his wife (when his children are grown). In the meantime, to protect David’s family, discretion is needed. Grace is also an accomplished cellist and luthier, who owns her own shop repairing (and making) violins and cellos.

Then, one evening, David saves a woman who fell onto the Metro tracks in Paris. Everyone wants to know who the hero is. Once David is identified, Grace’s life is turned upside down. What will Grace do?
Grace (and this novel) are saved by Nadia, a teenager who helps in Grace’s shop, and Mr Williams, a customer.

The interactions between the three are wonderful. As Grace emerges from the wreck of the fairy-tale she’d imagined, she also learns that she is not alone and that events in the past were not quite as black and white as she’d imagined. Sometimes mistakes can be revisited. Sometimes dreams can come true.

Yes, elements of this novel are predictable. But it was the way in which Ms Harris told the story that held my attention. I enjoyed this novel. I liked the ending, the way that Grace, Nadia and Mr Williams all found a degree of happiness. And David? Hmm.

Note: My thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster (Australia) for providing me with a free electronic copy of this book for review purposes.

Jennifer Cameron-Smith

Musical - literally - and highly predictable, but still an enjoyable story.

Plot: Grace is in love with David. Things get complicated. Grace seeks solace in her instrument-making, and the company of a headstrong teenager and an elderly man. There is intermittent David-drama.

The drama level is pretty high here, and even though I basically predicted everything, it still caught my breath to actually read the way it all played out. It's lucky there are so few characters because they all have their own stories and we're given enough detail and time to get attached. I definitely got attached. Not so much to Grace, who annoyed me a lot, or David, who is a scumbag who calls Grace 'darling' and 'sweetie' and other equally eye-roll-worthy names waaaaaay too many times, but mostly to Fiery Nadia and Nice Guy Mr Williams. These two are the real MVPs.

So the story is sweet and dramatic; highly predictable but nevertheless enjoyable.

The writing is unique. I am on the fence. It's beautiful and elegant, and contains some really beautiful phrases, but it's also full of an insane amount of detail regarding music and instruments and honestly, it was pretty much lost on me. I appreciate the attempts to describe, but I basically had no clue what I was reading. Oh well.

I was also incredibly bothered by how many times the author used LITERALLY (hence my cheeky opening line) because it was overused and, in some cases, incorrect. This is one of my pet hates.

I was torn between 3 and 4 stars for this one but I nudged it up thanks to my love of everything French and how this book catered to it. I loved reliving my own memories as the author described places I myself have been. Ah, such fond memories.

If you're looking for a sweet little contemporary with elegant language, attention to detail and cosy settings, this is the book for you. It's quite lovely, and I'd recommend for an easy, light-hearted page-turner.

Thank you Simon and Schuster (Australia), Anstey Harris (the author) and Netgalley for an ARC of this novel.

4.5 stars

I really enjoyed this book written by a new to me author, whose husband. I have since read is a Luthier (a maker and repairer of violins).

Grace, a 40 year old Luthier, lives alone and is the owner of some complicated relationships throughout her life, both past and present. Set mostly between England and Paris the book is set out like a symphony, contained within four movements. Entwined in these movements are characters which are not always particularly likeable, although some are often very lovable and all are developed so well by the author.

To compliment the great character development the author has described geographical locations and music, particularly violins amd cellos beautifully. At times I felt like I was walking through streets of Montmarte myself and other times I was imagining the pain of hours and hours of practice resulting in beyond blistered hands.

I loved learning the intricacies or making amd repairing beautiful instruments and of the passion, soul and hard work that members of an orchestra go through to the amongst the worlds best. The list of music at the end of the book was a lovely surprise.

Thank you for the opportunity to read this wonderful book, it is so nice to start and finish my reading year with fabulous books. I highly recommend this book and will be telling my friends all about it.
I will also recommend this for our book group.

Delightful! I was hooked from the beginning; the characters are vividly painted, the relationships well-rounded and real. I was very moved by the main character's evolution. Just wonderful! I found this story profound, poetic, uplifting and life-affirming.

The context of the book is extremely interesting and appealed to me as a musician. I was wary at first as other books I’ve read with musical aspects have not been that accurate, but this was absolutely spot on. It was fascinating to read about the process of a luthier making a stringed instrument and made for a fresh take on the music industry which is not found in other books.

I thought that the characters were greatly varied - personality and age wise - and accurately represented the many personalities found in music colleges. The experience of the main character, Grace, in music college is something that I can slightly relate to. Though in my tertiary studies I decided to do composition, my experience as a flautist in the years leading to that, was intense and cut-throat, even as a teenager and with teachers much less daunting. I appreciate the fact that Anstey showed the true nature of the rougher and somewhat romanticised part of becoming a professional musician.

Though I thought that some of the characters were quite plain at the beginning of the novel and I questioned their choices, the more I got to know about them, their circumstances, and eventually their growth, they became more vivid and their initial personalities made sense to those reasons. Overall, I did really enjoy this book and I thoroughly appreciated an accurate novel about musicians.

A wonderful, uplifting tale about finding friendship in the most unexpected of places. Grace is a violin maker that has her own shop in rural England and is in a long distance relationship with David, who lives in France. She has dreams of winning a prize in a prestigious violin making competition, but after a fateful night in Paris with David, her dreams come crashing down in the aftermath. With her soul at rock bottom, her friends rally around her, a lonely old man and an angst-ridden teen become Grace's unlikely allies, as she tries to rebuild her life and make it to Italy in time for the competition.
I was enchanted by this book, the characters are all too real, and I learned a lot about the making of stringed instruments, something that wasn't even on my radar before. But don't get me wrong, this book isn't overloaded with technical detail, it's a very interesting part, as is the competition in Italy itself, where makers of stringed instruments from around the world get together. This novel is full of charm and will delight even the most jaded reader. Recommended.
My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

What a beautiful, elegantly written story this is. It has been an utter delight to read and one I shall very much look forward to rereading in the future. While Grace is very much the star of this show she has an able support cast in her teenage shop assistant Nadia and elderly customer Mr Williams.
I was utterly absorbed in Grace’s journey from a brilliant but painfully private musician and instrument maker. Revealing her final triumphs would spoil this story for others but I cheered like mad at her success both in terms of her career and in terms of her personal development.
Entwined in Grace’s journey is her relationship with David, her long-standing part time lover. As with all relationships this one has its ups and downs, some of them monumental, and all of this contributes to Grace’s story as well.
I would like to say I rushed through this story but I didn’t. I savoured the early part in small, delicious bites though by about three quarters of the way through I simply had to know what would happen at the end. I’m happy to say that when I finally got there I was not disappointed.

‘The cello is one of the few instruments with the vocal range of a human.’

What a wonderful new release to start the year with!

‘The themes of art, of classical music, fly through my mind. Man against man. Man against nature. Man against himself. For each theme, I see a piece of my life fly away; I am flayed by the loss of my career, my children, my future.’

This novel sings with its gorgeous prose. Grace is a character I instantly warmed to. When we meet Grace she is in her late 30s, in love with a married man and living year to year on a shoestring promise that ‘their time will come when the children are grown’. She is an accomplished cellist and luthier, who owns her own shop repairing (and making) violins, violas and cellos. Grace’s extraordinary talent as a cellist was brought to a halt after only one year at the conservatory of music on account of an appalling abuse of power on the part of her quartet teacher. The impact this has on Grace’s life is profound, and more than twenty years later, she cannot play in front of anyone, only losing herself in her music when she is alone at home. I felt that Grace was leading only half a life, both professionally and personally. When her quiet existence is turned on its head, she is not at all equipped to deal with the upheaval, her reactions consequently making things worse for herself, compounding her inability to put together the broken pieces of her life. It’s sad, what happens to Grace, so much repressed pain brimming to the surface in one swift blow.

‘It dawns on me, like daybreak, that there are no winners in love affairs, however well meaning.’

This novel is built upon the foundations of music and the way this translates onto the page is sublime. I loved the imagery conjured up from the descriptions of Grace’s work as a luthier, particularly the sections pertaining to the baby cello she was creating, such a breathtakingly beautiful concept. There was so much love infused into the narrative, so much appreciation for the instruments themselves. It was almost as though each cello, each violin, and each viola was a living, breathing creation, endlessly growing and developing over time. It was just beautiful. And then there were the scenes where Grace would play her cello. It was almost as though you could hear the music lifting off the pages. The trio of Mr Williams, Nadia and Grace playing together was sublime, especially that scene in Italy when they inspired an impromptu street strings orchestra. It’s such a rare talent, to write about music in a way that lifts it from the page. Anstey Harris has this talent in spades.

‘All this wood is yet to stretch and wake. Each one of these instruments will improve over the years to come and, the thought dwarfs me, some of them will be being played hundreds of years from now. I feel part of something amazing.’

The Truths And Triumphs of Grace Atherton is a novel about losing yourself in order to find yourself. It’s about friendships in unlikely places with people who share your passions instead of your demographics. It’s about thwarted dreams and new beginnings. I really loved this novel, it’s filled with a beauty and depth that caught me completely by surprise. Highly recommended.


Thanks is extended to Simon and Schuster Australia via NetGalley for providing me with a copy of The Truths and Triumphs of Grace Atherton for review.

This novel could be summed up as when life gives you a broken string instrument, make your own extraordinary cello.

The shy and somewhat recluse Grace Atherton is a luthier, who loves to make and repair string instruments. She herself is an accomplished cello player, not that anyone close to her has heard her play. Not even her lover of eight years, the charming David, who happens to have a wife and kids in Paris. Grace is always ready to drop whatever she's doing to meet with David whenever and wherever he's available. The crumbs he's offering are delicious. He was in many ways almost perfect - good-looking, generous, knew her very well and made her feel special. Due to a brave act by David, their lives turn upside down. Grace is devasted to find out all sort of unsavoury things about David.

Luckily, she's got two unlikely friends to help her through her heartbreak: an eighty-something gentleman, who comes by her shop for coffee and a chat and her spirited, angst-ridden teenage assistant, who's becoming a very good violin player.

While the story itself has been done before, what made it special, for me anyway, were all the details about playing music, instrument making, Cremona and its string instrument awards.

On finishing The Truths and Triumphs of Grace Atherton I dearly wanted to stand up and shout, ‘Bravo! Bra-vooo!’, clap wildly and whistle as though I were at an orchestral concert.

But I would have woken up everyone in my house. So I settled for a mental fist pump instead.

Grace Atherton inhabits the edges of life, convinced she is living a full life, but she is not. She has an eight year relationship with a married man who lives in a different country. He promises he’ll leave his wife once his children are old enough. He even has the backstory of a sad and neglected childhood to explain why he won’t leave now.

It’s easy to understand Grace’s attraction to David. He is everything she is not:

"He is, in one of my few French phrases, totally bien dans sa peau: happy in his skin."

Then again, Grace lives her life in perpetual fear, so living at the edges has probably suits her.

Grace justifies her relationship to herself because she knows David and his wife “have an agreement of silence, a contract of behaviour that puts their children first.” And yet, they are both lying to their children. What of that?

The near death of a pregnant woman on a Paris train track sets in motion a chain of events which will blow Grace out of the stasis in which she finds herself. Slowly – nudged along by old Mr Williams and her Saturday teenage shop girl, Nadia – Grace learns to prioritise her present life over a vague future vision.

This includes trying to overcome her decades-long fear of playing ‘cello in front of an audience. Though she sells, makes and restores ‘cellos in her small-town shop, and plays for hours each day in the privacy of her own apartment, Grace hasn’t even played in front of David – the person she trusted most in the world.

Her performance anxiety stems from the trauma she suffered on being thrown out of a prestigious music college twenty or so years ago:

"Nikolai Dernov was the last person I played in front of. He would wholly approve of my terror at playing for an audience, any audience. In my darkest dreams on the loneliest of nights, I still hear the rasp of him clearing his throat in disgust."

Grace has tried everything, including therapy, but nothing has worked. However, the simplistic world view of a teenager may be just what she needs:

"‘So what? You’re fucking awesome. Play anyway.’ Nadia is away with the idea. She is too young to understand that life doesn’t always let you have what you want."

I’ve had my own share of enthusiastic choir masters and musical directors scream threats at myself and fellow musicians to cancel shows if we didn’t perfect our notes. It’s pretty much par for the course in performance art, as far as I can tell. But never anything like the ritual humiliation Dernov put Grace through.

It made me wonder – why do people do that? Why is it not enough to make beautiful art? Why must we crush the confidence of those who are less than perfect to the extent that they stop making art altogether? And yet, it is true in a way that incredible art is often born through suffering. Also – to be fair – we did always improve after a good high-volume pre-concert ‘pep talk’.

There is plenty of story in The Truths and Triumphs of Grace Atherton but my favourite parts were when the narrative would suspend to make way for the music. At those times it felt like the story was simply a vehicle for the true purpose of the novel – the music.

The literary descriptions of the making of ‘cellos, writing music and performing it, were simply magical. Elsewhere, the turns of phrase themselves are so lyrical:

"I accept the fact slowly, in drips that mottle all of our previous conversations like mould."

All the characters (even David the adulterer, annoyingly) are very relatable and likeable. But I have to give a special shout out to Mr Williams, whom I absolutely adored. An eighty-something-year-old monied gentleman, he is a regular client of Grace’s as well as a great support to her. He tells her:

"‘You have to grasp life by the balls, Grace,’ he says, ‘and don’t bloody let go until you have to.’"

Freaking amen to that.

Grace Atherton has a violin shop and a workshop where she makes and repairs violins and cellos. When Grace is alone, she plays beautiful music on her cello, but is afraid of playing for an audience.
Nadia also loves music and playing her violin. Nadia helps Grace in the violin shop and in her spare time she is writing a symphony.
Grace is restoring a precious violin for Mr Williams. Mr Williams is elderly and lonely and likes to spend time with Grace talking about music and his life.
Three lonely people brought together by their love of music. This was a feel good story about families and relationships.

Thankyou to NetGalley, Simon and Schuster ( Australia ) and the author, Anstey Harris, for the opportunity to read a digital copy of The Truths and Triumphs of Grace Atherton in exchange for an honest and unbiased opinion.
I thought this book provided a good read. It was beautifully written with well drawn characters. Very thought provoking. 3.5 stars.
Worth a read.

This is an unforgettable book about love, romance, heartbreak and friendship. Most of all, it is about resilience. Although it is extremely miserable at times, the luminous writing and carefully constructed story will keep you reading from the dramatic start to the end. The settings are also beautifully described - I am sure that Cremona can look forward to more visitors!

The leading character Grace has a successful life as a 'cello and violin maker with her own shop and she also enjoys her romance with the seemingly wonderful David but the problem is that David is married with children and waiting for the right time to leave his wife. Grace doesn't feel very guilty - David's wife knows that he has a girlfriend - but she is growing tired of waiting and travelling between England and France is also a strain at times. Although lonely, Grace is friendly with a troubled teenager who works for her and a dapper, elderly customer.

Haunted by the death of her parents and having to forsake her musical career, when Grace faces a crisis, she can't deal with it...

I loved this almost perfect book and I am looking forward to more books by Anstey Harris. Her website is also great, and provides a list of music that is important to the story.

I received this free ebook from Net Galley in return for an honest review.