Early on, Jack hears a young girl sing and falls in love with both her and her voice and he knows that the only way he is going to find her is if he is allowed to go to school. Jack convinces Dr. Madeleine despite her best instincts, into letting him go. Jack immediately finds himself in trouble at school by announcing that he is looking for this girl with the most beautiful voice. Unbeknownst to Jack, there is another boy at the school who is also in love with the young girl, Miss Acacia.
Because of a horrible fight that he and the other young boy get into, Jack is forced to run away from home and from the police. He starts a journey to find Miss Acacia who he has heard has moved to Andalusia. He does find her and of course they fall in love. But as is true about the rest of this book, there is nothing typical about the love story. Through twists and turns in the plot and through to the very end, you don't really know if Jack will 'get the girl'. I personally loved the ending and thought it was true to the story line. I was surprised to find that there were many other book reviews out on the Internet decrying the ending. For me, I thought it was perfect.
This book is interesting because of the prose. The author is very descriptive and often uses similes to make his point. It does sometimes become a bit much, but for the most part, it is very beautiful to read. The book is Gothic and baroque and almost whimsical all at the same time.
I don't remember where I first heard about this book, but I was immediately interested in it because of the title. When I searched the Internet to find more out about it, I found the you-tube video below and I knew that I had to get the book! And frankly, I am glad I did.
Rating: 7 / 10
ISBN: 9780701183691
Publisher: Chatto & Windus
Year Published: 2009
Edition: 1st American / 1st Printing
Remainder: No