Gone: A Girl, a Violin, a Life Unstrung

Author/Guide: Min Kym

Why a Booktrail?

2ooos (2010) The true and poignant bond between a girl and her violin

ISBN: 978-0241263150
Genre: Autobiography/memoirs

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What you need to know before your trail

At 7 years old Min Kym was a prodigy, the youngest ever pupil at the Purcell School of Music. At 11 she won her first international prize. She worked with many violins, waiting for the day she would play ‘the one’. At 21 she found it: a rare 1696 Stradivarius, perfectly suited to her build and temperament. Her career soared. She recorded the Brahms concerto and a world tour was planned.

Then, in a train station café, her violin was stolen. In an instant her world collapsed. She descended into a terrifying limbo land, unable to play another note.

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Travel Guide

The Purcell School of Music

At seven years old, she was a prodigy, the youngest ever student at the famed Purcell School in the centre of London. At the age of eight, Ruggiero Ricci -a violin great – called her the greatest violinist they had ever taught. She went on her win her first international prize. by the grand old age of 21, she discovered the violin she would play in her role as soloist – rare 1696 Stradivarius. The story, her story was about to go global.

The power of music – the London Symphony Orchestra

The curious thing about music is that there is telepathy in the air. When you’re playing, you’re completely in tune with the subtle signals that are going around, some auditory, some visual. You absorb them all. When an orchestra is really in tune with one another, they become as one body, like I became as one body when with my violin”

It was in London’s Euston Station where the violin was stolen and where the horror began.

The story when the violin was recovered

Booktrailer Review

Susan: @thebooktrailer

This book sang to me – what a joy to read and an honour to be inside Min Kym’s world. Despite the relatively short length of the story, this is just the written story – like a page of written music is really an entire concerto. The story of Min Kym’s journey to the violin maestro she became is something to marvel at long after you’ve finished.
The writing is warm and friendly – I was Min Kym’s friend from the start. Her passion for music, for her violin stands out – it shines. But she is aware of her Korean background and the difficulties she and her family are going to go through so that she can find her rightful place in the world. At times this was so personal, I felt as if Min Kym was confessing this to me in whispers, pouring out her heart as to the journey she’s been on and the world of music she had now made her own.

Have you ever thought about child prodigies? What it means to actually be one? I was captivate and chilled as she poured out her most intimate thoughts, the day she played with Yehudi Menuhin (the only one of two times she doesn’t mind when someone takes her violin) and plays for her. The humour and self awareness of this young girl is amazing and she is humbled – as I was reading her words.

This story really is an amazing journey in every sense of the word. I used to play the violin myself and now marvel that Min Kym’s story is how that instrument can really sing if you are the one to teach it. A remarkable story which music lovers will connect with and readers of all kinds will rejoice at.