Summary

The novel opens with an epigraph from a Charles Wright poem expressing the way all perception relies on the faith of the observer.

In May 1994, the Van Ness quartet plays Dvořák’s “American” String Quartet for their graduating recital. Their coach, the famous violinist Fodorio, had called the piece a love story. First violinist Jana admits it might be a love letter to the mirage of a country and its opportunity, but not to romantic love. She derides Fodorio’s simplistic interpretation. Henry, on viola, also thinks about Fodorio, who gave him his business card and promised a successful solo career instead of “this quartet business” (4). Daniel, the cellist, has no time for love of any kind; he must work and practice harder than the others in the absence of the safety net of money or the talent of a...