Uncommon Measure: A Journey Through Music, Performance, and the Science of Time

(Paperback)

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NATIONAL BOOK AWARD LONGLIST
NPR BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR SELECTION
NEW YORK TIMES EDITORS CHOICE

A virtuosic debut from a gifted violinist searching for a new mode of artistic becoming

How does time shape consciousness and consciousness, time Do we live in time, or does time live in us And how does music, with its patterns of rhythm and harmony, inform our experience of time

Uncommon Measure explores these questions from the perspective of a young Korean American who dedicated herself to perfecting her art until performance anxiety forced her to give up the dream of becoming a concert solo violinist. Anchoring her story in illuminating research in neuroscience and quantum physics, Hodges traces her own passage through difficult family dynamics, prejudice, and enormous personal expectations to come to terms with the meaning of a life reimaginedone still shaped by classical music but moving toward the freedom of improvisation.

Reviews

National Book Award Longlist
NPR Best Books of the Year selection
Smithsonian Magazine Best Books of the Year selection
Marginalian Favorite Books of the Year selection
New York Times Editors Choice selection
Poets & Writers Page One selection

Uncommon and genre-defying. Alexandra Jacobs, New York Times

Incandescent. Kat Chow, New York Times Book Review

Hodges undertakes a captivating study of the science of timephysics and musicin this very special memoir that defies categorization. NPR

[Uncommon Measure] will resonate with both music and science lovers alike, who will appreciate the bridges Hodges draws between scientific disciplines, music theory and her life. Shi En Kim, Smithsoniam Magazine

Hodges considers the elemental truth pulsating beneath our experience of music and of our very lives. Maria Popova, Marginalian

This is one those rare books that inspires one to go back time and again to re-read a sentence simply because of the elegance and penetrating insight with which it is written. . . . Unputdownable. Julian Haylock, The Strad

Uncommon Measure is a memoir in essays, but twists the genre by infusing it with neuroscience, physics and intoxicating descriptions of music. . . . Relatable and elegant. . . . An enchanting look into the world of classical music and beyond. Hana Zittel, Birdy magazine

With carefully wrought lyricism, Hodges provides music history and mature insight. Martha Anne Toll, Electric Literature

Korean American violinist Hodges debuts with a literary mosaic of invention, inquiry, and wonder that interrogates classical music, quantum entanglement, the Tiger Mother stereotype, and the fluidity of time. . . . In restrained yet lyrical prose, Hodges . . . offer[s] a luminous meditation on the ways in which art, freedom, and identity intertwine. This impresses at every turn. Publishers Weekly (starred review)

Masterful. . . . [Hodgess] writing is deeply intelligent and exquisitely personal, expertly balancing emotional vulnerability with trenchant analysis, and her lyrical prose and clarity of thought render each page a pleasure to read. Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

Bridge[s] the time-space continuum in musical terms. . . . A book to savor. Shelf Awareness (starred review)

A dazzling look at memory and the universe. . . . Hodges ponders these puzzles with intellectual depth, unique perspectives, and an artistic, eloquent, and inspiring voice. Booklist

Poignant. . . . [Uncommon Measure] makes a valuable contribution to the ever-expanding universe of works addressing science and music. Library Journal

Natalie Hodges is a musician with a poets soul and a writer with a musicians heart. Her prose partita, Uncommon Measure, is an extraordinary translation of music, devotion, and sorrow into the literary, recounting her relinquishment of a performance career and her continued love of music. In these pages, if no longer on the stage, she is brilliantly making us hear. Susan Faludi, author of Backlash and In the Darkroom

Uncommon Measure is astonishingly assured and inventive. Mixing personal reflection, reportage, literary criticism, music theory, neurology, even evolutionary studies, Hodges has pulled off something singular and wonderful. From the first page to the last, the book rides on the high wire of Hodgess virtuosic voice. It is shot through with a sinuous, luminous energy. Darcy Frey, author of The Last Shot: City Streets, Basketball Dreams

There is not a sentence in Hodgess Uncommon Measure that does not illumine, not a single insight that doesnt lead on to a still greater one, not a moment that does not open us to wonder. In searching and visionary prose, Hodges comes close to creating a new language, one of continual questioning and delight. This is an exquisite book to be read and reread, a treasure. Richard Hoffman, author of Half the House and Love & Fury

Hodges is a new, valuable voice in the world of music making and music writing. She moves with elegance from her own experience as a violinist to the scientific underpinnings of her subject: from math, physics, and neurology to quantum mechanics, biology, and entanglement theory. Uncommon Measure is a welcome debut from a wonderfully talented writer. Annik LaFarge, author of Chasing Chopin

Author Bio

Natalie Hodges has performed as a classical violinist throughout Colorado and in New York, Boston, Paris, and the Italian Piedmont, as well as at the Aspen Music Festival and the Stowe Tango Music Festival. She is a graduate of Harvard University, where she studied English and music, and currently lives in Boulder, Colorado. Uncommon Measure is her first book.