cover image The Last Encore

The Last Encore

Julia Butler. Creative Vision, $15.95 trade paper (288p) ISBN 978-0-9911509-0-8

With a 19th-century literary aesthetic that belies the nominally modern setting, Butler evokes a sweeping sense of souls entwined by fate. Red-haired Russian piano virtuoso Katherine Konova and stifled German writer Daniel Adler emerge from unsatisfying marriages and embark on a passionate connection after they meet at a California artists’ salon. The transformative power of music is a strong theme, and each chapter is named for a musical term. Though the foreshadowing is often clumsy, the feeling of inevitability is enhanced by histories of the lovers’ families, leading the reader to see Katherine and Daniel drawing together even before the complex family connections become clear. Minor characters are over-stylized in service to the plot’s complexity and drama, and sex scenes get caught awkwardly between a lyrical vagueness and the modern desire for erotic detail. Butler shows the potential to shake off her heavy-handedness and develop into an evocative storyteller. (BookLife)