The Rose Variations

by Marisha Chamberlain

Book Overview

Advance Praise for The Rose Variations " The Rose Variations is an elegant symphony of a novel, shaped by a lovely complexity, informed by humor and grace. Congratulations to Marisha Chamberlain for her fine debut."--Roxana Robinson, author of Cost "In this richly absorbing novel Chamberlain creates a heroine so vivid, so complex, so passionate that she walks right off the page and into the reader's mind and heart. I loved following Rose through her...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1569475385
• ISBN13: 9781569475386
• Release Date: February 2009
• Publisher: Soho Press
• Length: 352 Pages
• Weight: 1.42 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.3" x 1.3" x 6.5"

Customer Reviews

Finding Love and Self

Chamberlain, Marisha. "The Rose Variations", Soho Press, 2009. Finding Love and Self Amos Lassen Marisha Chamberlain's debut novel is a work of beauty with a powerful heroine, Rose McGregor, who is a complex and passionate addition to modern literature. Rose combines qualities that are both serious and funny and she is so real that I felt she was sitting next to me as I read. The novel is set in 1975 when Rose is 25. She has relocated to St. Paul, Minnesota with only a few books, her cello and a temporary appointment as a music professor at a nearby college. She is the only female in her department and is nicknamed by her male colleagues as "the girl composer". This doesn't really bother her because she believes that she has a wonderful composing career ahead, Her music is her life but she also wants to be loved but because of her strong independence, she does not seem to have the time to become involved romantically. Her strong ambition hinders her chances of finding love and her sense of loneliness depresses her. Ultimately she becomes involved with another faculty member, a lesbian cellist, who has troubles of her own as well as a younger sister who can't seem to conform to society. Rose, while exploring within herself as to who she is, becomes a revelation of a character. She wants a relationship but has no idea how to go about achieving and maintaing one and her sense of ambivalence is her own worst enemy. We read about her as she comes to terms with herself. Rose has grand dreams. She knows she wants to compose music and she dreams of fame. Her life has been sheltered because she spent her days before graduate school caring for her younger sister but when she gets to Minnesota, she opens up and she does fall in love but that romance was not to be. In the novel we are taken back to the beginning of feminism in the United States and we see, through the character of Rose, how far women have come, Rose years to be self-sufficiency and to be in love and to achieve this she must give of herself. How she does this is for you to discover. Chamberlain writes with poetic and eloquent prose that borders on poetry. In giving her view of contemporary sexuality, Chamberlain has created a character and a novel that I will not forget anytime soon.

Remarkable Rose MacGregor

In THE ROSE VARIATIONS, a young woman named Rose MacGregor, just out of graduate school, arrives in a new city to assume her first real job and to look for love in all the right and wrong places. Freud famously asserted that "Love and work are the cornerstones of our humanness." As Rose explores her creativity, sexuality, relationships with other women, and ambivalence about commitment, her story grows more lively, complex, and surprising. Rose -- passionate, talented, strong-willed, and big-hearted -- strides through the pages of the book and into the pantheon of fiction's remarkable characters. The author's skill as poet is evident in the novel's beautiful language, just as her background as a playwright is shown in the vitality of the dialogue.

enjoyable historical character study

In 1975, following her graduation at a Philadelphia school in which she was the only female in her class, twenty-five-year-old Rose MacGregor accept a temporary position as the token "Girl Composer at a St. Paul, Minnesota college. She arrives with almost nothing beyond a few T-shirts and her cello. Her only feminist ally in the music department is the secretary Frances Dupree. She dreams of becoming a famous composer and finding true love; having spent her pre-graduate days growing up in New Hampshire and taking care of her younger sister Natalie. Rose blossoms in St. Paul as she falls in love although the romance ends sadly. She joins cellist Lila Goldensohn's all-female musical group and enjoys her time on her mentor's farm composing. That ends abruptly when a despondent pregnant Natalie arrives. After doing what comes naturally which is taking care of Natalie, Rose's music thrives while she continues her quest for love. This is an enjoyable historical character study that takes the audience back to the early days of the feminist movement; affirming we have come a long way baby; if you have doubts look at sports with women dunking. The story line is owned by the appealing Rose who seeks musical accomplishments in her professional life and an interesting combination of self sufficiency with a love of a lifetime. Her eccentricity that flourishes with growing confidence due to her musical achievements make for an engaging tale in which the late 1970s have become historical. Harriet Klausner

Great Read

This novel has salt-of-the-earth charm, an unflinching eye, vulnerability and stout vision. I think it resembles a Jon Hassler novel, set in Minnesota, seemingly modest, but well worth the adventure. Incredible and seemingly true twists and turns of a young woman deeply desiring love and to bring her art to the world, maybe not in that order. A work that encompasses the feminist awakening but with a deadpan that transcends any doctrine, and that just might be a love song. It's like I'm living inside the story. Highly recommended.

Rose Variations

This is a wonderful novel. The characters are complex and quirky. The story drew me in and it was difficult to put down. As a young woman growing up in the 70's, Rose's coming of age and difficulties as the sole woman in the music department really resonated with me. However, I know my daughter and son will enjoy this novel as much as I did. Lesley