The Glass Harmonica
Louise Marley’s novel The Glass Harmonica tells two parallel stories. The first begins in 1761 and concerns a young orphan named Eilish Eam, who earns her keep by playing music on water-filled glasses on the streets of one of London’s poorer districts, until she is discovered by Dr. Benjamin Franklin. Impressed with her talent, he offers her a proper place to stay in exchange for her services in developing and playing his own similar invention, which he calls his glass armonica.
The other, which occurs in 2018, follows Erin Rushton, a professional musician whose specialty is an instrument that evolved from Franklin’s original device. Erin’s brother, the composer of much of her repertoire, is undergoing experimental sound therapy so that he can recover some of the mobility that he has lost through the degenerative condition called Friedreich’s Ataxia (FA). As the novel progresses Erin realises that her glass harmonica may provide the key.
The two tales run concurrently in roughly alternating chapters, converging when each character glimpses or feels the ghostly presence of the other.
Although the reader learns very little about Erin’s twin brother Charlie, his frustration with his disability is palpable. It is also somewhat disheartening that in the world of the novel (2018) a cure for FA is still eluding the medical profession. That said the great strides being made in scientific research around the world give us great hope for the future, and anything that raises awareness about the condition is good for the world of FA.
