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In the early days of the new millennium, pages of a weathered original sonata manuscript--the gift of a Czech immigrant living out her final days in Queens--come into the hands of Meta Taverner, a young musicologist whose concert piano career was cut short by an injury. To Meta's eye, it appears to be an authentic eighteenth-century work; to her discerning ear, the music rendered there is hauntingly beautiful, clearly the undiscovered composition of a master. But there is no indication of who the composer might be. The gift comes with the request that Meta attempt to find the manuscript's true owner--a Prague friend the old woman has not heard from since the Second World War forced them apart--and to make the three-part sonata whole again. Leaving New York behind for the land of Dvořák and Kafka, Meta sets out on an unforgettable search to locate the remaining movements of the sonata and uncover a story that has influenced the course of many lives--even as it becomes clear that she isn't the only one after the music's secrets. Magisterially evoking decades of Prague's tragic and triumphant history, from the First World War through the soaring days of the Velvet Revolution, and moving from postwar London to the heartland of immigrant America, The Prague Sonata is both epic and intimate, evoking the ways in which individual notes of love and sacrifice become part of the celebratory symphony of life.… (more)
User reviews
I loved the base story line in The Prague Sonata; it was completely engrossing, clever and unique. My one complaint, which altered my overall thoughts on the book significantly, was that the book was WAY too long and included too much extraneous information. I ended up having to skim pages
The history, had read little before of the Nazi invasion of Czechoslovakia, and none at all of The Velvet Revolution of the nineties.
The tour of Prague, fascinating city with a long history.
A few of the characters, Otylie, Sam, Garrett, Tomas and Irena. All interesting and touching,
What was mixed? Love music, find searching and identifying lost things fascinating, this was, however, quite lengthy,and it was difficult to maintain my interest.
What I had trouble with.
The less than smooth transition from past to present.
I felt this story went on too long, some parts seemed like they could have been done away with, making a tighter less lengthy read.
Musical villians. Turning a historical into or rather trying to make it a thriller didn't work for me, the historical society alone held more appeal to this reader.
Something happens that I felt was a little unbelievable considering the gap in time between present and past.
So, as you can see this for me was a mixed read. I'm sure others who look for different things will find some of what bothered me, more to their liking. Only way to tell is to try it and see.
ARC from Netgalley.
Meta's part of the story is set near the turn of the 21st century. Otylie's story begins during the First World War and continues throughout the 20th century. The pace of the parallel stories is uneven, and the narrative is weighed down with too much detail. I was reminded of Hyacinth Bucket and her white slimline telephone with last number redial facility and her sister Violet with a Mercedes, swimming pool, and room for a pony. Do we really need all that information? The premise of the novel is intriguing, but it didn't deliver enough in return for the time it took to read it.
This review is based on an electronic advanced readers copy provided by the publisher through NetGalley.
I received a review copy of "The Prague Sonata" by Bradford Morrow (Grove Atlantic) through NetGalley.com.
Overall, I enjoyed this book. Meta was an interesting and well developed character. I did find Whittman to be a poor villain, he could have been developed in a much more fluid way, leaving Meta with real challenges and obstacles. I did find the constant switching of people and timelines to be distracting. It would have been nice if the past timeline was done in a chronological manner. 4 out of 5 stars.
Some books have one or two
The story is rich and complex, but also full of music and visual references that made me think, I can't wait to see the movie.
Protagonist Meta Taverner had dedicated her life to becoming a concert pianist when a fatal accident damaged her hand. Therapy has restored her ability to play only with "competence." Meta performs at an outpatient cancer facility, attracting the notice of patient Irena, who summons Meta to visit.
Irena has held the partial score of a piano sonata since her friend Otylie gave it to her to protect during the Nazi occupation of Prague. Irena also tasks Meta with returning the score to Otylie, hoping the entire manuscript will be reunited.
Mesmerized by the sonata, and hoping to find the missing sections and perhaps solve the mystery of who composed it, Meta takes up the quest. She puts aside her job and boyfriend to journey to Prague. There, she learns the tragic history of Czechoslovakia under the Nazi and Soviet regimes, encounters threats and intrigue, and discovers love.
The novel expands with reading, moving from the narrow academic world of musicologists to the deprivations of war and the occupation of Prague, to the refugee experience. What starts as a mild mystery turns into a quest, with elements of a thriller at the end.
Flashbacks fill in the story. Otylie's father was on leave from The Great War for her mother's funeral when he gave her the piano sonata. He told her, guard it with your own life; one day it will bring you great fortune. He soon after died.
Otylie is grown and newly married when Prague gives the keys of the city to the Nazis. Otylie wanted to keep the score out of the hands of the Germans so she divided it into three parts, distributing a section to her beloved husband, who was a part of the underground resistance, and another to her dear friend Irena. She kept the first section for herself. At the end of WWII, Otylie's husband is dead and Irena has left the country. Otylie first immigrates to England and then to America.
The sonata's beauty and innovation is amazing. In a copyist's hand, the score appears to be a true antique, but there is no indication of the composer. Is a lost work by Mozart, or C.P.E. Bach, or Hayden? The score ends with the beginning measures of the next movement, a Rondo.
Thirty-year-old Meta is naive and honest. She is driven by love of music and her pledge to reunite the sonata with it's rightful owner. Her mentor has connected her with Petr Witman, a musicologist contact in Prague, who endeavors to undermine Meta by saying the sonata is a fake, hoping to get his hands on it. He sees fame and dollar signs. Witman is a man with shifting allegiances, doing whatever it took to stay afloat under the Nazis, the Soviets, and the new Federal Republic. He has no moral code.
Meta is supported by many people in Prague, including a journalist who falls in love with her. On their quest to find the third part of the score, they must keep one step ahead of Witmann. Meta's journey takes her across America, too, pursued by Witman.
I enjoyed learning about Prague and Czechoslovakia. In the 18th c it was the hub of culture and music, a city that loved Mozart.
I loved that music informs the novel and musical language is used in descriptions. Meta knows that the sonata represents a new chapter in her life. "If her own thirty years constituted a first movement of a sonata, she sensed in her gut that she was right now living the opening notes of the second."Morrow describes the second movement of the sonata given to Meta so well, one understands its "staggering power and slyness," the "quasi-requiem tones of the adagio" followed by the promise of joy indicated in the opening measures of the rondo in the second movement.
When I started reading The Prague Sonata I was unhappy I had requested such a long book. What was I thinking? As I got into the story, I was actually drawing out my reading, unwilling to end the experience too soon. And that's about the best thing a reader can say about a book!
(Read more about Mozart in Prague in Mozart's Starling by Lyanda Lynn Haupt. Devastation Road by Jason Hewitt concerns Czechoslovakia after WWII. The Spaceman of Bohemia is sci-fi that also addresses life under the Soviets.)
I received a free ebook from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.
The novel piqued my interest because it was about a lost music manuscript from the time of the Holocaust. I read everything I can about that time, fiction and non-fiction.
Although the book may be a very good print read, as an
The author’s writing tends to the poetic and feels overdone with description and dialogue that seems extraneous and unnecessary much of the time. Had I not known the author was male, because of the flowery language, I would have thought it was stereotypical of a female author. On the positive side, there seemed to be a great deal of research devoted to this book, and that is very obviously commendable. Still, the information gets lost in the presentation by this narrator who reads facts as if they were written by Keats or a classical poet.
After listening to about half of the book, I realized that I was dreading it, each time I returned to it. Perhaps I will try the hard copy, because this was definitely a turn off. Water would boil faster than the tempo of the reading. The investigation into the manuscript seemed to promise more than was delivered.
The writing is beautifully descriptive, especially the details about life in Prague. The storyline encompasses many timeless themes, such as family relationships, friendship, the far-reaching impacts of war, love, sacrifice, betrayal, idealism vs. pragmatism, and music as a source of inspiration and motivation. The story spans multiple time lines, including WWI, WWII, 1989, and 2000, and tends to jump backward and forward frequently. It is extremely detailed in places and includes musical jargon that may not be familiar to all readers. The upside of this use of musically descriptive language is the author’s ability to present an almost audible quality to the work. In addition to being an entertaining reading experience, I thought the author skillfully conveyed a message about the importance of preserving art and music for the enjoyment of future generations.
Recommended to classical music lovers and those interested in Czech history or culture. I requested and received an advance copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in return for a candid review. It is scheduled to be released on 10/3/17.