- Title:
-
The Gustav Sonata
- Written by:
-
Rose Tremain
- Read by:
-
Mark Meadows
- Format:
-
Unabridged CD Audio Book
- Number of CDs:
-
8
- Duration:
-
9 hours 4 minutes
- Published:
-
October 28 2016
- Available Date:
-
October 28 2016
- Age Category:
-
Adult
- ISBN:
-
9781489362193
- Genres:
-
Fiction; Contemporary Fiction
- Publisher:
-
Bolinda/Audible audio
Qty
Format
Price
Bolinda price
Shortlisted Costa Book Award / Novel 2016
Longlisted Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction 2017
'Tremain has the painterly genius of an Old Master, and she uses it to stunning effect ... Glorious.'
The Times
The heartbreaking new novel from the bestselling author of The Road Home: a story of betrayal, the struggle for happiness and the healing power of friendship.
Gustav Perle grows up in a small town in Switzerland where the horrors of the Second World War seem distant. He adores his mother, but she treats him with bitter severity, disapproving especially of his intense friendship with Anton, the Jewish boy at school. A gifted pianist, Anton is tortured by stage fright; only in secret games with Gustav does his imagination thrive.
But Gustav is taught that he must develop a hard shell, 'like a coconut', to protect the softness inside – just like the hard shell perfected by his country to protect its neutrality. But despite this hard shell, nothing in Gustav's life can be called neutral. Older and increasingly curious about his absent father, Gustav discovers the traces of an erotic love affair – traces which still glow white-hot even now.
'This is a perfect novel about life's imperfection ... Tremain is writing at the height of her inimitable powers ... Remarkable and moving novel.'
The Observer
'The Gustav Sonata is a magnificent novel, heartbreaking, unsentimental and beautifully written, and it reinforces my opinion that there are few writers out there with the dexterity or emotional intelligence to rival that of the great Rose Tremain.'
The Irish Times