A long book of 528 pages but very readable and a real page-turner. The writing is rich and thrilling and the story, swinging between the past and present, between Meta and Otylie, is clear and engaging. It involves the preservation of an early, presumed to be, Beethoven sonata which, to protect it from the Nazis’ confiscation in 1939, is split into three parts. One is retained by its owner, Otylie, one she gives to her friend Irena and the third she sends to her husband who has joined the resistance. All three eventually lose touch. In the present day Meta, a musicologist meets the now very old Irena and learns of the story. Irena gives her the movement and so begins the hunt for the other two parts. I don’t think there is any doubt as to the outcome of this but the point of the story is the search and that provides tension, drama and suspense with the last hundred pages changing gear and racing to its conclusion. There are a lot of music references which not all readers may understand but I don’t think that will spoil their enjoyment for it is a lovely read, highly recommended. It would make an excellent film. ~ Sarah Broadhurst
Pages of a weathered original sonata manuscript - the gift of a Czech immigrant living in Queens - come into the hands of Meta Taverner, a young musicologist whose concert piano career was cut short by an injury. The gift comes with the request that Meta 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 Dvorák 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 seeking the music's secrets.
