Solo Variations — Cassandra Garbus

Deftly evoking the anxieties and ambitions of urban, female Generation Xers and the rich, demanding world of the performing arts, Solo Variations offers a hip, atmospheric look at an artist's search for identity and renewal. At twenty-six, Gala's promising career as a classical musician veers off track as her live-in lover achieves outstanding success in the competitive arena of Manhattan's Lincoln Center, and as her parents announce they are splitting after years of bitter marriage. While attempting to revive the relationship with the man she loves and cope with the discovery of a secret that has torn her family apart, Gala has a brief affair of surprising impact, which urges her to re-evaluate the ambitions, loyalties, and the future she has pursued. Elegant and fresh, Solo Variations is a moving story about the passion for music, the ambiguity of desire, and the fragility of love. •Like The Music Room by Dennis McFarland and Body and Soul by Frank Conroy, Solo Variations examines the lives and disappointments of aspiring musicians. •A debut novel by a young and talented author, which resonates with a generation of urban readers.