Wayfaring Stranger by Emma John
Emma John trained as a classical violinist but abandoned any plans for a music career in her twenties when she realised she wasn’t quite good enough to play at the very highest level. She became a journalist and sports writer living in London and making the most of a young and active lifestyle in the city. Her violin spent years in its case gathering dust in the corner.
Then by a series of chances she stumbled across the bluegrass music of the American South. Bluegrass is fast-paced, played in small groups of string instruments – in its purest form a banjo, mandolin, guitar, bass and fiddle (violin). Cutting to the point of the story she decided to immerse herself in this music and learn to be a bluegrass fiddler.
So ‘Wayfaring Stranger’ is the story of how she fell in love with the music, people and landscapes of the Bluegrass. It’s heartwarming and funny; a travelogue, musical coming-of-age drama and social anthropological study all in one. Emma John writes honestly about how she struggled with disappointment and self-doubt as her efforts to overcome the inhibitions of her classical training seemed hopeless.
Along the way she writes about the history of bluegrass and the characters who defined the music. For them, and the people she meets who (mostly) willingly give her their time, encouragement and support, bluegrass is not just a musical genre. It is embedded in the culture of the region; it is part of them and they are part of it.
I enjoyed this book and recommend it.
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