Counterpoint

The nameless main character sets herself a task: to master all thirty-two Goldberg Variations by Bach, at the keyboard and on paper. By practising and taking notes she hopes to rein in her hands, the music and her mind. Bach, she reflects, tried to hold on to a dead son in his canons and fugues; in the same way she seeks the bond she shared with her own child, a daughter who died. Thirty-two chapters alternate reflections on the music with episodes of family life and the joys and griefs of motherhood.

AI-generated summary

About the book

Form

Novel

Length

205 pages in the original

Genres

Family (assigned by AI)

First published

2008 by De Arbeiderspers

Author's age

63 when first published

ISBN

9789029572132 (original)

9781921401602 (UWA Publishing, Australia)