Ray’s heirloom Stradivarius violin is the driving force of the novel. Many of the central characters have a connection to it, real or imagined, and it comes to mean different things to different people. To Grandma Nora, it’s a connection with her grandfather and with the tragic realities he, and many like him, had to face. To Nicole, it represents an opportunity to elevate herself above her small, limited life. To Ray’s mother and her siblings, it represents commercial value. To the Marks siblings, it represents self-validation and the imposition of control over others. To Ray, above all, it represents connection to his family heritage. He treats the violin as a partner and friend rather than a tool. When he starts performing with the violin, he begins a tradition of holding it out to the audience and treating it as a fellow performer, allowing it—and his ancestors—a moment of glory and gratitude:

He extended his left arm, hand firmly grasping the violin’s neck, held out the instrument as if he were showcasing a fellow performer: giving it full credit, extending it like a sword in the spotlight. He kept it there a moment.