Book Review: "Musical Chairs" by Amy Poeppel

There's a moment in every Amy Poeppel novel where everything starts to go off the rails. Secrets are revealed, things which have remained unsaid for years are finally said, and confrontation and breakdown are brewing.

In lesser hands, this situation can become farcical, melodramatic, almost ridiculous. But in Poeppel's hands there's a balance of pathos and clarity, hysteria and humor, and you realize why her books are so great (but I don't know why she's not famous).

Bridget and Will have been friends since college. They're so perfectly attuned to each other in so many ways, everyone always assumes they're a couple, but they've never had any more than a platonic, brother-sister relationship. And that's fine with both of them.

The two are two-thirds of the Forsyth Trio, a classical musical chamber group of mild renown, which they formed during college at Juilliard. Their original third member, Gavin, who was the most talented of the three (and boy, did he know it), has gained some fame in the classical music world, but Bridget and Will have had group members come and go over the years, garnering modest recognition and playing small venues. It's not ideal, but it's always been just enough for the two of them.

This summer Bridget is looking forward to spending time at her country home in Connecticut with her novelist boyfriend, Sterling. But Sterling's ex-wife has other ideas, and suddenly Bridget is facing a summer alone, as her house becomes increasingly shabbier. And then her grown twin children both show up from different places in the world. Both of their lives are in flux, so they seek the comfort of their family home to help ride the storm out.

But by no means is this going to be a peaceful, relaxing summer. In addition to dealing with her children, Bridget and Will are in the midst of delicate negotiations with another musician to join the trio. At the same time, her famous father, now in his 90s, is getting married again, something she and her sister are utterly unprepared for. Throw in the reemergence of an old acquaintance and a whole lot of uncertainty about the future, and it's enough to make anyone crazy.

I love tales of family dysfunction, and Musical Chairs has that in spades. But it also is an examination of the boundaries of friendship and how easy it is to intertwine your life with someone even if you have no interest in them romantically. It's also the story of how easy it is for secrets and things which remain unsaid to get in the way of relationships, and hamper you from moving forward with the rest of your life. And above it all, it's the story of the integral role music plays in the life of one extended family.

As I mentioned at the outset of this review, I love the way Poeppel tells a story, the way she breathes life and heart into flawed characters you root for and empathize with even as you want to shake them for not telling the truth or telling someone how they really feel. There are things in the book which border on silly but somehow they work in Poeppel's hands. I really just enjoyed this story so much, even though there is a lot going on.

I'd also encourage you to read Poeppel's earlier books, Small Admissions and Limelight. You'll see that her mixture of humor and heart isn't something she just stumbled into in this book.