Oh yes, this is a multifaceted story! It is simultaneously realistic and fairytale-like. It is realistic because the action takes place in a musical theater, and the reader is told in detail how everything works: the orchestra, backstage, the scenery, and even how music itself works. For example, the difference between mere notes and a musical score. Or why a conductor is needed. Or why the same melody might seem festive to one listener and tragic to another. The theatrical component here is not just plausible, but, one might say, encyclopedically accurate, because Nina Dashevskaya, the author, is a professional musician (and music in one form or another is present in many of her literary works).
But there is always room for a fairytale in the theater. And so it is here: Theo, the main character, is a theater mouse. He loves music, but he still dreams of breaking out of the familiar walls because he yearns for the sea with all his heart. Theo is friends with a musician from the orchestra. The musician feeds him, warns him about roundups, scolds him when the mouse family sharpens their teeth on theater property, and one day even organizes a trip for the little mouse. Where would you think? To the sea, of course! Theo doesn't remain in his debt. He gets a lucky chance during a concert to save both his friend's good name and the honor of the entire orchestra to boot. And I won't tell you how he did it, because it is a very tense moment in the book that will be interesting to read for yourself.
What else awaits you?
A percussionist in love, a bearded double bass player, a nibbled ballet tutu, fragrant parmesan, and even smuggling!
After this book, you’ll want to go to the theater. And to the sea. And have some cheese, too.
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