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Title details for Gone by Min Kym - Available

Gone

A Girl, a Violin, a Life Unstrung

by Min Kym
Rebecca Yeo
Audiobook
1 of 1 copy available
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The spellbinding memoir of a violin virtuoso who loses the instrument that had defined her both on stage and off — and who discovers, beyond the violin, the music of her own voice
 
Her first violin was tiny, harsh, factory-made; her first piece was “Twinkle Twinkle, Little Star.” But from the very beginning, Min Kym knew that music was the element in which she could swim and dive and soar. At seven years old, she was a prodigy, the youngest ever student at the famed Purcell School. At eleven, she won her first international prize; at eighteen, violinist great Ruggiero Ricci called her “the most talented violinist I’ve ever taught.” And at twenty-one, she found “the one,” the violin she would play as a soloist: a rare 1696 Stradivarius. Her career took off. She recorded the Brahms concerto and a world tour was planned.
Then, in a London café, her violin was stolen. She felt as though she had lost her soulmate, and with it her sense of who she was. Overnight she became unable to play or function, stunned into silence.
In this lucid and transfixing memoir, Kym reckons with the space left by her violin’s absence. She sees with new eyes her past as a child prodigy, with its isolation and crushing expectations; her combustible relationships with teachers and with a domineering boyfriend; and her navigation of two very different worlds, her traditional Korean family and her music. And in the stark yet clarifying light of her loss, she rediscovers her voice and herself.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    April 25, 2017

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9781524773977
      • File size: 234024 KB
      • Duration: 08:07:32

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • Library Journal

      October 1, 2017

      By her first or second lesson, Kym knew playing the violin "was not simply for me, but it was me." Asthma attacks caused by the bow's rosin couldn't deter her. A prodigy by seven, Kym hopped among countries, teachers, and instruments until she found her "soulmate" at 21 in her 1696 Stradivarius--which enabled her, she's convinced, to achieve solo recordings, worldwide bookings, and international acclaim. When her Strad was stolen from a London cafe, the thieves took not only her instrument, but her voice, even her sanity. She spent years "unstrung," until she finally believes what a pianist friend insists: that she is the artist, not the violin. Listeners who recall Kym's appearances on the news might find Rebecca Yeo's younger-sounding voice somewhat jarring in comparison to the deeper-toned Kym. More disconcerting is Yeo's unfamiliarity with Korean, evidenced by mispronunciations of Korean words peppered throughout British Korean Kym's story. VERDICT For audiences previously unaware of Kym's experiences, Yeo's narration proves serviceable; for music or language aficionados, print might prove preferable.--Terry Hong, Smithsonian BookDragon, Washington, DC

      Copyright 2017 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

    • Publisher's Weekly

      May 1, 2017
      Kym, who discovered the violin at just seven years old, quickly began outperforming her peers and teachers and soon became a featured soloist at orchestral concerts. In this beautiful memoir, she shares the juxtaposition of what it means to be unique and special while also learning to be a good Korean daughter: seen but not heard, subservient to her elders, and never able to forget that simply being a girl makes her lesser. At 21, she found a rare 1696 Stradivarius that would musically complete her. Then, in 2010, her violin was stolen, and Kym sank into a depression that forced her to come to terms with the love and loss of her childhood, the control that stifled her, and the opposite lives she was forced to live. Kym’s story sings with the music of Bach, Brahms, Mendelssohn, and the many other composers who wrote the score of her life. Kym’s descriptions of playing music will bring readers as close to the experience as they can get without picking up an instrument. This work of love, loss and redemption is sure to connect with many.

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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