Accordion Crimes

Personally loved this book. My husband is a third generation Finn and one of the most capable and resilient people I have ever met. Yet he had a secret. He had spent several years of his tender childhood saddled with the responsibility of learning not just the accordion but classical accordion studies under a very demanding maestro. He struggled with it, his parents desire for him to play- perhaps remembering their own romance dancing to accordion music in Finnish dance halls before the war. He excelled however, winning top awards in competitions, his strong character and conscientious nature never allowing him to fail. When his siblings got together to do jam sessions at Christmas, the accordion was never to appear—locked in its case over over 5 decades now. Now 72, he likes studying the Finnish language that his parents spoke whenever they did not want the kids to understand. He has studied tango for several years now and when we come to the point when we can all breath on each other, look forward to dancing again. Many thanks to Annie Proulx for this compelling reflection on the immigrant experience. It was a beautiful read.