{"product_id":"the-blue-house-sky-gilbert-9781770867529","title":"The Blue House","description":"\u003cp\u003eWhat is the cause and drive of the impulse to create art? What happens to an individual gifted with talent, but finds himself thwarted? Does that creative spark become some kind of death wish? These are the questions Sky Gilbert explores in \u003ci\u003eThe Blue House\u003c\/i\u003e. \u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eTaking the form of a memoir, the novel relates the story of Rupert Goldmann, a cello virtuoso by the age of twelve, who becomes a composer, and whose life collapses into depression and possible madness when no orchestra will perform his symphonies. Rupert's musical life includes years of lessons from the great pianist Vladimir Horowitz, who flirts awkwardly and ineffectually with Rupert, and a full-fledged romance with the celebrity composer and conductor Leonard Bernstein. \u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eBut as his life narrows, Rupert finds himself immersed in dreams and fantasies, which are interrupted by a superficial and talentless gay rights activist and theatre director, and Simon Reycraft, an early explorer of artificial intelligence, who offers the suicidal Goldmann a legacy of computer-generated music ― posing a significant question for our times: can art be created by a machine, technology without a soul?\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Sky Gilbert\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 177086752X\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781770867529\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Cormorant Books\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 06\/21\/2025\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 300\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback","brand":"Sky Gilbert","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":46767345795327,"sku":"9781770867529","price":24.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_cb20df53-fa1a-4e0c-8a98-db921cc1c660.jpg?v=1744169547","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/the-blue-house-sky-gilbert-9781770867529","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}