appConfigEntityId

bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

isVideo

articlePageQuery

article

articleSchemaContent

content

hooksArticlePageAdvertisementConfigArticle

appConfig

filter

json

liveArticle

Charmaine Chan

Gone: A Girl, a Violin, a Life Unstrung
by Min Kym (read by Rebecca Yeo)
Penguin
This memoir should be rewritten so it starts with the greatest loss Min Kym would face as a violinist – the theft, in 2010, of her 1696 Stradivarius. But even when the instrument was found three years later, she would not own it again, its insurer and dealers making sure the violin, then worth £450,000, would go to the highest bidder. The linear progression of Kym’s story lacks the drive that saw her become a world-class violin soloist at 10. We are given a glimpse of her life as a child prodigy and told of her discomfort early in life standing out in a community with no other Koreans. What we are not privy to, until the end, is her showdown with her parents, and her problem with anorexia (spurred by the warning: “Nobody wants to see a fat performer”). Gone tells when it should show.




What was the book Taylor Swift listened to in The End of an Era? All you need to know about The God of the Woods

Why steamy romance novels are making a comeback beyond BookTok, from It Ends with Us to Bridgerton

Want a fashion lesson from ‘the menswear guy’? This podcast episode on Sean Carroll’s Mindscape is for you

From Music Blocks to Mission Responsible, 5 family-friendly podcasts that are smart and educational – without boring the adults

E-books and audiobooks

True story of a stolen Stradivarius is a window on to a driven world

Korean child prodigy Min Kym’s frustratingly linear account of the theft of her £450,000 violin lacks narrative energy and pacing

Min Kym

Magazines

PostMag

Culture

Books

Korean child prodigy Min Kym’s frustratingly linear account of the theft of her £450,000 violin lacks narrative energy and pacing


An assessment or critique of a service, product or creative endeavour.  Film reviews, restaurant reviews, reviews of art exhibitions. (Eg. Crazy Rich Asians: an important film, yes, but a good one?)


Review

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Korean child prodigy Min Kym’s frustratingly linear account of the theft of her £450,000 violin lacks narrative energy and pacing

Korean child prodigy Min Kym’s frustratingly linear account of the theft of her £450,000 violin lacks narrative energy and pacing