The Minimalist

Weeks before celebrated classical composer Ryder Wakefield dies, he presses his 30-something protégée, Mia Voss, to complete his work-in-progress, precipitating her plunge into the agony and ecstasy of the creative process in this harrowing psychological thriller from Pedersen (Sacrificial Animals). When a grief-numbed Mia returns to Ryder’s modernist Santa Fe mansion after burying him next to his son, Oliver—a piano prodigy and Mia’s former lover who died by suicide—she soon becomes overwhelmed by the enormity of the challenge ahead and the memories that haunt the house’s now silent rooms. She forgets just about everything else, including sleeping, eating, and her girlfriend back home, as her sanity suffers and she starts to fantasize about self-mutilation. Meanwhile, she reflects on the time she spent with Ryder and Oliver, all three supremely talented musicians who were never able to shake feeling like misfits: Ryder as a self-hating gay Jew, Oliver and Mia as Asian adoptees. Like the minimalist compositions that made Ryder famous, this disturbing exploration of identity, genius, and madness will not appeal to everyone, but it rewards close attention and resonates long after striking its final chord. Strong-nerved readers will be intoxicated. Agent: Paul Lucas, Janklow & Nesbit Assoc. (Aug.)