A Wild Rose - Fiona Davis - ★★★

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AUTHOR: Fiona Davis

SERIES: A Point in Time, #5
GENRE: Short Story, Historical Fiction
RATING: 3 stars.

In a Nutshell: An interesting short story but would have worked far better in a longer format.

Story Synopsis:
Gloria Banderas, a world-renowned pianist, is at the peak of her career, moving from one venue to another and one show to another. However, a strange ailment forces her to cancel on a special performance at Carnegie Hall, on what would have been the twentieth anniversary of her debut. As she is fiddling around on the piano in the hall the night before the performance, she meets a woman who lives above the theatre in the apartments meant for artists alone. With her career facing a question mark and her marriage too verging on uncertainty avenues, Gloria moves into an empty studio apartment above the theatre. Her interactions with the other resident artists make her question what’s important in life – career & fame or personal satisfaction.


At 36 pages long, this is a quick read. Keeping in spirit with the theme of the ‘A Point in Time’ collection, this tale also features a specific moment when the central character’s life pivots in a different direction. However, of the three stories I have read so far in this collection, this was the weakest in terms of impact, though it still provided plenty of points to ponder upon.

I enjoyed Gloria’s confusion over her life choices, as well as the free spirited artists who lives in the apartments above Carnegie Hall in the 1950s. (I never knew that there were residential facilities available about the famed theatre.) The quandary between career and personal satisfaction from an art is also touched upon interestingly.

At the same time, there are too many characters in this little tale who are interesting but cannot be explored in detail, simply because of the format of the story. The ending left me feeling as if I would have enjoyed knowing them better, but alas!

The author’s note at the end provides further details on Carnegie Hall and the many illustrious names it provided a shelter too in the 1950s. Having a novel based on this unknown aspect of Carnegie Hall would make for an entertaining read.

I haven’t read any novel by this author, but based on this little story, I think I would love to try her full-length historical fiction novels in future.

A one-time read, but not a must-read.

This is the fifth story from the ‘A Point in Time’ collection, available for free to Amazon Prime subscribers.

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