Ladew, Donald P. Stradivarius. Jan. 1995. 291p. Carroll
& Graf, $21.95 (0-7867-0136-6). Galley.
Ladew's first novel is an adult fairy tale a celebration of the power of
creativity and love, of genius and integrity. In Italy, Cremona's master
craftsman finished the violin he dubbed Hercules in 1685; wounded and disoriented
in a brutal Korean War battle, Appalachian farm boy sergeant Martin Luther
Cole found the violin in the wall of a bombed out farmhouse and took it-and
a Congressional Medal of Honor-back to the hills of West Virginia. A quarter
of a century later, the reclusive veteran learns that his orphaned cousin,
toddler Ailey Parkman Barkwood, has a remarkable musical talent. Stradivarius
briefly traces Hercules' three-century journey around the world as counterpoint
to the tale of Ailey Barkwood's musical education, and of the adults-in
West Virginia and later in New York-who bridge major cultural, religious,
and geographical distances to ensure that Ailey's natural gift is properly
developed. Ladew treats his varied characters with profound respect, never
condescending to either mountain folk or musical elite. While his canvas
is less crowded than Frank Conroy's in Body & Soul (the Korean War is
the last historical event that has a serious impact on Ladew's plot), Stradivarius
is like the Conroy novel in capturing the passion music can inspire and
the integrity of which humans are capable.
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