The Sound of Heaven

by Joseph Olshan

A powerful novel of family secrets, doomed passion, and the fragile love between a bisexual man and an emotionally damaged woman.

A talented musician, James arrives in Italy in 1983, just ahead of the panic in New York City caused by the burgeoning AIDS epidemic. In Rome, the Eternal City, he meets Diana. Their attraction is intense and immediate. A passionate relationship is born and soon they are inseparable, reveling in their shared love of art and Italian culture. But storm clouds hang over their union: dark secrets of abuse from his youth, her pain over her brother’s death, and James’s open admission that he has known other men sexually.

Back in New York, their relationship falls apart. For James and Diana, it is time to move on; to come to terms with the ghosts that haunt their lives and family histories; to find new paths and new lovers. But the darkness of their relationship is inescapable and persistent even though their love is gone. James has received news that will impact both their lives in devastating ways: He is HIV positive.

Joseph Olshan’s The Sound of Heaven is an extraordinary novel, at once romantic and troubling, terrifying and compassionate.

298 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 3, 1992

About the author

Joseph Olshan is an award-winning American novelist. His first novel, Clara's Heart, won the Times/Jonathan Cape Young Writers' Competition and went on to be made into a feature film starring Whoopi Goldberg. He is the author of eight novels, the most recent of which, The Conversion, will be published in 2008.

In addition to his novels, he has written extensively for newspapers and magazines, including the New York Times, the New York Times Magazine, The Times (London), The Guardian (London),The Independent (London), The Washington Post, The Chicago Tribune, the New York Observer, Harpers Bazaar, People magazine and Entertainment Weekly. During the 1990's he was a regular contributor of book reviews to the Wall Street Journal. For six years was a professor of Creative Writing at New York University where he taught both graduate and undergraduate courses.

Joseph Olshan's other novels include Nightswimmer and Vanitas, as well as The Waterline, A Warmer Season, The Sound of Heaven and In Clara's Hands, a sequel to his acclaimed first novel, Clara's Heart.

Joseph Olshan is published in the U.S. by Saint Martin's Press and Berkley Books; and in the United Kingdom by Bloomsbury publishing and Arcadia Books. His work has been translated into sixteen languages.

Reviews

[Heidi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked most of this book -- then found it became less cohesive as it neared its conclusion. The Sound of Heaven tells the story of two people who meet in Italy in the 80s. James, a musician, is bisexual and loves men and women, although due to a difficult childhood can really only be emotionally connected to women. He is quite damaged, with childhood abuse/incest. Diana is also escaping a childhood with its own trauma -- the suicide of her beloved brother. Years after the relationship ends, James comes to tell Diana that he is HIV positive. This is a time before cocktails and effective treatments. As we follow their stories, told through flashback, the book reaches its conclusion. I won't forecast the end, and can't even say what I expected, but just felt like after a great book the end was flat. I would recommend it though because of its interesting style and psychological insights.