School of Velocity
CBC Books | CBC | Posted: March 16, 2017 4:34 PM | Last Updated: May 9, 2017
Eric Beck Rubin
Jan de Vries is a virtuoso pianist who would be in the prime of his career but for the crippling auditory hallucinations that have plundered his performances and his mind. As the disorder reaches its devastating peak, the walls Jan has built around him crumble, rendering him unable to repress the overwhelming flood of memories and the troves of unspoken words that linger between him and his childhood best friend, Dirk Noosen, with whom he lost touch long ago. He is faced with only one recourse: to head home and confront him. With a singular voice and a masterful balance of emotional resonance and restraint, Eric Beck Rubin tells the tender story of Jan's obsessive friendship with the charismatic, irreverent raconteur Dirk as the reader breathlessly awaits their reunion. (From Doubleday Canada)
From the book
I was watching the pianist closely, waiting for that first note. And in that moment of expectation, as the pianist was lifting his arms and leaning towards the keyboard, my mind flashed to a memory of Dirk: the first time he'd come to one of my shows. It was a "Young Musicians" performance held at Vlijmen town hall. He'd been making fun for weeks leading up to it. "Do you want me to wear my culottes? What do we say when we are greeted by the king? When the harp plays, do we automatically cry? What do you mean, there's not going to be a harp?"
From School of Velocity by Eric Beck Rubin ©2016. Published by Doubleday Canada.