Counterpoint: Dylan's Story

5 Hearts Reviewed by Pixie

This book had me twisted in knots and devastated. By the time I was half way through I had to walk away and compose myself and then jump back in (while praying) that the devastation was over and that everything would be easier for Dylan from that point on.

This book is about Dylan who when we first meet him is 18yrs old. He is a student at The Venerable Bede School for Young Gentlemen and he is completely arrogant and sure in the fact that he will be the premiere composer of the coming twentieth century and will change composing forever. Laurence Northcliff is one of Dylan’s Masters at the school and he encourages Dylan to become a great composer and to ignore what others say. When he realizes that his feelings and Dylan’s have crossed a forbidden line, he flees to France to realize his dream to become a great novelist.

This story grabs you by the throat and drags you in when you least expect it. You end up loving these men and hoping that they get what they want and when tragedy strikes you will find it hard to hold in the sobs. You sit there dumbstruck as you wonder what will happen next. How can this story continue? But, Ruth Sims draws us back into the story and we are given a glimmer of hope. This is a story that will take your emotions on a rollercoaster ride and just like on a rollercoaster you want to get off early sometimes but this story just won’t let you, it drags you up and down and around and around.

The descriptions are breath-taking, you can imagine being there listening to the anger and frustration, to the love and hope and the despair and grief. The description of the music was incredible, I actually at one point thought I could really hear it (and believe me I am really musically challenged) the description and passion was that intense.

The love between the men is just as passionate and loving and really does go beyond words. My recommendation is this…Why haven’t you already read this book? It’s incredible…go read it, stop wasting time.

Counterpoint: In music, counterpoint is the relationship between two or more voices that are independent in contour and rhythm and are harmonically interdependent.*
Dylan Rutledge is a wild colt - brash, bold, and unbroken to bit and bridle. But he's also very talented. His trouble is making others see that. He is his own worst enemy because of his refusal to conform or to follow the rules at the Bede School for Young Gentlemen. But he knows what he wants - to be the best composer he can be, to play his own music and to have others play it. For that he is willing to risk everything, including almost sure expulsion, when he steals the key to the school organ, just to have a decent instrument to play his music on. Master Laurence Northcliff agrees with him - he sees something in Dylan, something that resonates inside of himself. But it's more than the boy's music, God help him.
*Wikipedia
Dylan's father is incensed when his son is expelled - again - and sent home. He wants him to get this musical nonsense out of his head, to follow in his brother Marion's sensible footsteps. To that end, he has procured a position for Dyl as a clerk with his brother's firm. Dylan is outraged and utterly refuses. All he wants to do is compose music, that's all. It is his life! His die seems hopelessly cast, though, until divine intervention, in the form of a tumble by the choirmaster, leaves Bede short one director/organist just before the visit of the bishop to the school! Laurence convinces the school to bring Dylan back for that purpose. The young whippersnapper, rejoicing at this turn of events, assumes that due to the time required for the preparation of the bishop's visit, he will be excused from classes, but such is not the case. He is to have a tutor - he requests that it be Laurence Northcliff. The more that Dylan and Laurence are together, the greater their attraction to one another grows - an attraction which Laurence fights, but Dylan does not. He fantasizes about being in Laurence's arms, and Laurence has similar dreams. When Dylan kisses the master, just before the Christmas break, Laurence realizes he cannot stay - he leaves the school, and heads to Paris to work on his writing - and to stay away from the beautiful boy that tempts him so. He doesn't take into account the headstrong nature of this talented young colt - Dylan bides his time until he graduates from Bede, receiving the Grand Tour, which is the staple gift for young wealthy schoolboys upon their leaving their places of matriculation. He is determined to have both his composing career, and Laurence!
Counterpoint is more than a romance, more than an historical novel, more than a tale of two men who fancy one another at a time when societal pressure attempted to crush their feelings - Counterpoint is an intricate composition, one whose main themes are of life and love, and being who you are. It is inevitable that Dylan and Laurence come together in their mutual need and desire for one another. Dylan's defiance of his father - and in his actions, also defying convention and accepted mores - begins a new melody for them, whereas prior to this their tunes were harmonic but separate, now they are intertwined. Dylan works on his composition, as Laurence writes. While Laurence finds acceptance for his works in their publication, Dylan's music is frowned upon as too discordant and too different, to his frustration. Laurence arranges for him to study with virtuoso violinist Adler Schonberg, where he meets his strange Gypsy violinst/protoge, Geoffrey Dohnányi. Laurence encourages Dylan, even as he keeps quiet concerning the afflction he suffers from, which is only getting worse. The ensuing tragedy rocks Dylan's world to the point where he wishes to gives up his dreams.
Counterpoint is an exceptionally well-written story, of love, of youth, of ambition and the price that must be paid to attain one's goals - nothing comes easy in this life, nothing, but giving up is never an option. Dylan is the main theme around which the variations are played, following his life for a number of years as he matures and grows, trying to come into his own. Can he rise above his personal tragedy, and find another harmony for his own melody, or will he always play solo? Ruth Sims will make you smile, make you cheer, and make you cry in turn, but most of all she will make you feel. She tells her story so beautifully, that you feel as if you are there. Her language is exquisite, without being explicit - she takes you there, then allows you to paint in those details for yourself. She shows us what we should already know - that the love of two men for one another is no different than that of any two people. It's not the parts that matter, it's the hearts.
The cover of Counterpoint, done by the talented m/m author Alex Beecroft, is beautiful, and was nominated for a cover art award. I feel that anyone who enjoys history will enjoy this novel. To simply write it off as a romance novel is to do it an injustice. Would you say that about The Great Gatsby? Gone With The Wind? No, they aren't pidgeonholed in that way, and neither should this be. Its writing ranks it alongside other great historical works, to be enjoyed on their own merits. Ultimately it is a love story, yes - a classic one, which will leave you with a soft sigh when you turn the final page and place it back among your treasured reads on your bookshelf.