Glissando by Debbie Burke is a compelling story of love, lust, and jazz revolving around Ellie Greenberg. At 23, Ellie is love-struck immediately when she meets Rudy. She marries him, but their matrimony is short-lived when he steps out on her. Now, In her mid-fifties, juggling an amiable social life and a flourishing career as a paralegal at Schneider & Snee, Ellie joins a community jazz band where she meets and falls hopelessly for musician and somewhat jazz legend Vince Keyes. To her dismay, he is married to a much younger woman. Ellie starts dating co-worker Stan while contemplating whether to pursue Vince or not.

Debbie Burke has a way with words. It is impressive how she comfortably switches from one story to another and still carries the reader along. Ellie’s love for jazz illuminates the pages. Her character is relatable and intelligent enough to know what she wants. The fallibility and realistic portrayal of Ellie’s character, not to talk of her quirky soliloquies, will constantly make you laugh.

The story is fascinating, even without a lot of drama. It is the story of a successful divorced woman that is trying to figure out her own love life in her fifties. It is realistic in the sense that sometimes people don’t know what they want and have to work out in their own minds what is important and what they really want. However, I feel that some of the chapters seem to have a monotonous sound with many filler scenes that held no significance to the development of the plot. Glissando is still a book worth reading as Ellie is a great character to read about and get to know.

We all love a woman who has a mind of her own. Readers with a knack for resilient female protagonists will find Glissando enjoyable. I particularly loved how Ellie retained her youthful sensuality and imagination, proving that middle-aged women can still have fun.

Pages: 264 | ASIN : B08QR27H6F