Nonfiction: Sounds Like Titanic by Jessica Chiccehitto Hindman

First off, some honesty: When I originally picked up Jessica Chiccehitto Hindman’s Sounds Like Titanic, I thought it was fiction. The premise just did not sound like it was something that actually happened, even though we all know many instances where it was discovered that musicians and singers were not in fact playing their instruments or actually singing live on stage during an event. So alas, today’s selection is in fact nonfiction, and it is a hell of a story.

Genre, Themes, History: This is a nonfiction book that mainly focuses on the time in the author’s life when she worked for someone she will only refer to as The Composer. As one of The Composer’s violinists, Hindman will perform on PBS, QVC, in malls and concert venues all across the U.S, and even in China. Of course, saying that she “performed” in all of these places is being extremely generous. There is only one moment during one performance when she played her violin and the microphones were actually on. All of the music Hindman and her fellow musicians played was prerecorded by other musicians, and then blasted from a portable CD player, while musicians mined the act of performing. Hindman grew up in rural Appalachia, dreaming of becoming a professional violin player. While she knew that dream was not going to pan out by the time she began working for the composer, she still did not take the job knowing the performances would be faked. This part of her life would be a larger theme surrounded by the smaller, but also important ones of reconciling growing up upper middle class, while still barely being able to pay for college, and what she referees to as "life in the body." Life in the body is that unfortunate phenomenon that women usually first find out about in their middle school years. Girls suddenly hate their bodies, and in their attempt to beat it into submission, not for themselves, but for others, they end up jeopardizing their physical, mental, and emotional health. The book is a memoir in the true sense, even touching on Hindman’s aspirations to be a war correspondent stationed in the Middle East.

My Verdict: This book turned out to be much more fascinating than I thought it would be. Sure, it was interesting reading about Hindman’s experience of performing in front of dead microphones while music that sounds eerily seminar to the music from the Titanic soundtrack played from a CD player. But I did not expect for the book to touch on the issues encountered by females in their middle and high school years; or the issue of college student loan debt; or the uselessness of a degree in Middle Eastern studies, even in the U.S. immediately after 9/11. What was strange for me is that the book explores these relatable issues, and yet I did not feel as if I could relate that much. It was weird. But still interesting, and incredibly well written. And naturally, there is already much speculation as to who The Composer could be, but Hindman did not write an exposé. She simply focused on a time in her life that was stranger than fiction.

Favorite Moment: It is in the beginning of the book when the reader learns that The Composer cannot identify Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony, even by its famous da da da duh opening, possibly the four most easily recognizable notes in music, ever.

Recommended Reading: Tara Westover’s Educated is a different kind of memoir, but is written by a woman who ends up following an unconventional road to college and graduate school.