The Prague Sonata, Bradford Morrow
The Prague Sonata, Bradford Morrow
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The Prague Sonata

Author: Bradford Morrow

Narrator: Christina Delaine

Unabridged: 18 hr 45 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 10/03/2017


Synopsis

In the early days of the new millennium, pages of a worn and 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 commanding, 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 caveat 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 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 after the music's secrets.

About Bradford Morrow

Bradford Morrow is the author of nine novels, including The Forgers, The Diviner's Tale, and The Prague Sonata, as well as a short-story collection, The Uninnocent. He is the founding editor of Conjunctions and has contributed to many anthologies and journals. A professor of literature and Bard Center Fellow at Bard College, he lives in New York City.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Angela M on October 04, 2017

I thought I would like this more since at it's core, this is story of courageous resistance against the Nazis during the German occupation of Prague. I’ve read stories before about how people have tried so hard under almost impossible circumstances, to save paintings. This time it’s a music manuscri......more

Goodreads review by Esil on October 08, 2017

2.5 stars. As I read The Prague Sonata, I kept thinking "Please let this book end..." What a terrible reaction to what should and could have been a really good novel. The Prague Sonata is a good idea left untamed. It takes place throughout the 20th and early 21st century, and focuses on a found musi......more

Goodreads review by Barbara on February 17, 2019

I absolutely loved this book! It had all the aspects I love - historical detail, mystery, complex characters and scholarly research. Perhaps because I love music and have had many years of piano instruction, the preservation of a previously unknown sonata by a master such as Beethoven was mind-boggl......more

Goodreads review by David on May 08, 2019

This is such a long novel, perhaps longer than it needs to be. It is rather slow, but the story unfolds in a nonlinear fashion. It starts out just after WWI, then continues to WWII, then to modern times, back and forth, back and forth. The Velvet revolution, modern times, back and forth again and ag......more

Goodreads review by Cindy on October 01, 2017

3.5 stars 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......more