Music Against the Night: A Novel

by Yiyun Li

Yiyun Li, in this sweeping epic, brings us two unforgettable characters based on two extraordinary musicians on the rise.

John Field was born in 1782 in Dublin and went on to become one of the leading musicians of his era in Russia. He coined the term “nocturne” for the form that would later be popularized by his contemporary—who is now much more famous—Chopin. His wife, Adelaide Percheron, born in French Pondicherry in India, eventually came to train alongside Field as a pianist. Her extraordinary life was fueled by her limitless ambition—though her path to success as an artist would meet with greater frustration.

Their story spans seventy years and multiple continents, from Dublin to England to France, Russia, and India. Music Against the Night explores the cultivation and exploitation of artistic talent, the ambition of artists and the ways in which art is commercialized, and themes of history, politics, and migration. Yiyun Li brings a period of strife and change to vivid life in a thrilling, absorbing saga.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Music, India, Literary Fiction, Historical, Art

352 pages, Hardcover

Expected publication October 22, 2026

About the author

Yiyun Li is the author of seven books, including Where Reasons End, which received the PEN/Jean Stein Book Award; the essay collection Dear Friend, from My Life I Write to You in Your Life; and the novels The Vagrants and Must I Go. She is the recipient of a MacArthur Fellowship, Guggenheim Fellowship, and Windham-Campbell Prize, among other honors. A contributing editor to A Public Space, she teaches at Princeton University.

Reviews

[Liz Hein]

Not a perfect story, but how this story is told is absolute perfection.

[Kamila Kunda]

I am terribly out of my comfort zone when I read classics. I’ve read enough of them in my life to know they are not my cup of tea. Reading Yiyun Li’s “Music Against the Night” felt like being held safely while experiencing something uncomfortable. The novel resembles an old classic novel but it is written very much in Li’s style, thus familiar and may I say… cosy?

This is a biographical novel about John Field - Irish composer and pianist, who rose to moderate fame, invented the nocturne, travelled in continental Europe and died in Moscow in 1837 - as well as Adeline Percheron, known as Percherette - his wife, who moved to Paris after childhood spent in Pondicherry, southern India, and who was a very talented pianist herself. The construction of the novel is perfectly balanced and elegant, while the characters and their experiences, their hopes, disappointments, curiosity, grief, and much more, are described with extraordinary depth and insight Li is famous for.

“A child’s death can never feel natural to a parent; a child’s death is a negation of time, which no longer has now and then, now and again, now and later, only now and now and now and now.”

What I always appreciate most in Yiyun Li’s books, whether novels, short stories or non-fictions, is precision of language and the way she translates nuanced feelings into words. Feelings I assumed were untranslatable due to their complexity. I am mesmerised by her wisdom, which is almost tangible in the pages of all her books, including this one. To be honest, I didn’t care much about the life of John Field, but I still read captivated because of Li’s style and sheer beauty of her writing.

I received an advance copy from the published on NetGalley.

[Laura]

Just started this novel. Favorite lines from first few pages:

Adelaide, a musician, on her estranged husband and son, also musicians:

"They had been men of prodigious talents, their ambitions more prodigious, but their failures had been greater still. If she felt any disappointment, it was in how little they had known her, how little they had cared to know."

Thank you Farrar, Straus and Giroux for the ARC.

[Margot]

Interesting enough historical fiction about the rise and fall of two musicians. The characters are very unlikable and I found myself not particularly engaged in their lives. I much preferred The Book of Goose. Li is a very good writer but I think this novel will have a limited audience.

[Kerri D]

My friend Ann(Patchett) said this was the best contemporary novel she’s read so I read it. And while I was totally into it, I thought it was missing a lot. Then I found out it’s the first in a trilogy and I’m much more settled. An interesting way to tell a story. Look forward to reading more.

[Rebecca]

Review of an advance copy received from NetGalley.

I had a feeling I was going to love Music Against the Night. The premise immediately caught my attention, and I’ve heard so many good things about Yiyun Li, so my expectations were sky high. It ultimately didn’t quite become the five-star read I was hoping for, but there was still plenty here that I enjoyed.

The novel follows two extraordinarily ambitious musicians, John Field and Adelaide Percheron, as they navigate the worlds of music, travel, love, and ambition in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. I found the drive to become a great musician to be one of the most compelling aspects of the book. There’s something fascinating about watching these characters devote so much of themselves to their craft while trying to determine the difference between talent, genius, success, and legacy.

Of the two main characters, I connected much more with Adelaide/Percherette. I found her story and determination particularly interesting, especially her desire to use music as a way to escape the limitations placed on her and see more of the world. John, on the other hand, was harder for me to connect with, and I found his sections a little less engaging.

The pacing was probably my biggest struggle. There were stretches where the story moved more slowly than I would have liked, and I occasionally found myself wishing for a little more momentum. But even when I wasn’t completely absorbed in the story, I could appreciate how much thought and ambition went into creating it.

There’s no denying the scope of this novel. Li creates a sweeping historical story filled with music, artistic ambition, complicated relationships, and political and social upheaval. I especially appreciated the way the novel explores the tension between creating art for the love of it and pursuing the recognition, success, and legacy that can come with it.

Music Against the Night is an ambitious and beautifully written novel about music, genius, and the sacrifices we make in pursuit of what we want most.

[Stephanie Webb]

I was thrilled to get an advanced digital copy of Music Against the Night after hearing Ann Patchett say it was the best novel of 2026. I had never heard of Yiyun Li and I'm so happy to have found my new favorite author. Ann was right--this is the best book of the year!

Based on the lives of real musicians from history, the book follows John and Adelaide Field through their childhoods and their paths through life. We never actually get to see them together, but get little peeks into their futures from the narrator woven in throughout the book. It explores the themes of legacy, success, and what art demands of its creators. I found myself searching people (like Muzio Clementi, his wife Emma Clementi, and Joseph Haydn, among others) to see paintings of them, as described in the novel. I was blown away at the depth and breadth of research this book must have taken into obscure musicians who deserved more fame than they ended up with. 

I don't know if I've ever highlighted so many passages in a novel before--the prose is absolutely breathtaking on a line level. The whole thing is sad and beautiful and I will absolutely be reading it again to continue absorbing it. Cannot recommend this book highly enough! I don't think the cover comes close to portraying the beauty inside.

Thanks to NetGalley and Farrar, Straus and Giroux for the advanced copy--it made my year!

[Judi]

I got so wrapped up in the audiobook that I didn't realize it was over until it was. Li is a storyteller of the highest degree. Her characters are fully three-dimensional, and the plot she weaves is deeply moving and true-to-life.

[Brian Shevory]

Many thanks to Farrar, Straus and Giroux and NetGalley for sending me an advanced copy of Yiyun Li’s exquisite new book Music Against the Night. Li, among the most gifted and lauded novelists and short story writers today, doesn’t just craft a compelling world of two artists learning the vocabulary and instrumentation of their art, but rather orchestrates a world where these two characters’ stories converge after their exiles and journeys from modest, if not precocious, beginnings. Luckily, readers are able to inhabit this world that Li composes much like they were immersed in a symphony hall, beset by the emotional timbres of the various sections, eliciting a range of emotions as John Field and Adelaide Percheron struggle against social, financial, and imposed expectations, using music as their lingua franca.
I wasn’t familiar with John Field, who was a real Irish composer, credited with creating the nocturne, although Chopin is more recognized for this style of composition. Field was born in Dublin, and due to his musical family, was touted as a prodigy, with his father and grandfather hoping that he would become the next Mozart. As a result, the family moved to England to further his musical development, recognizing that common theme about escape and exile from Ireland, and seeking artistic growth and development in England and the continent. The first part of the book, which consists of four alternating sections that examine the early lives of John and Adelaide, focuses on John’s life and the undue expectations of being a child prodigy. These were some of the most sensitive and touching moments in the book, where we encounter John as a child, who struggles against the memories of an older brother, also named John, who didn’t survive infancy. In fact, we learn as much about John’s family dynamics and the high infant mortality rates of 18th century Ireland, discovering how these dead siblings remain a part of the family, like a broken chord pattern sustaining the melancholic, rhythmic foundation of a nocturne. One of my favorite parts of this section is when John discovers the hidden music in objects, finding that crosses in a nearby cemetery evoke a music only he can hear. He finds similar inspiration in the soot-o-sweep songs that young chimney sweepers in Dublin cry to advertise their work, listening above the city’s din as their cries gradually recede into a “weep”, possibly a reference to Blake’s “Chimney Sweeper” poem. I loved the way Li has Field find inspiration among his daily Dublin life, finding meaning and emotion in everyday occurrences. It made me wonder whether Li also experiences as a similar feeling of seeing the extraordinary in the everyday, but it’s also a reminder in how we may often overlook what is sublime and pleasurable in what others neglect to notice.
The sections of the book alternate between John’s journey from Dublin to England and Adelaide Percheron’s challenges growing up as an orphan under her shrewd grandmother’s care in Pondicherry, a coastal city in southern India under French colonial rule. Just as we learn about John Field’s family’s tragedies, we also learn about the tragedies of Adelaide’s mother, who also seemed to be haunted by a lost child like John’s mother. However, Adelaide, who eventually acquires the nickname Percherette, was descended from a grandmother whose “tangled web of Portuguese, Dutch, Arab and Tamil” seemed to mark Percherette as neither French nor Indian, leaving her identity and future somewhat ambiguous and predetermined. “Adelaide was often reminded by her aunts and the ayahs that she was not French but a mixed-blooded girl. Her hair was course and unruly, her eyes neither blue like a French girl’s nor dark and deep like her cousin’, but a blend of brown and green, dirty and lusterless.” Although she Percherette grows up to inhabit and use her ambiguity to redefine herself, eventually moving to Paris, she sees others attempts to label and limit her opportunities in Pondicherry as a kind of death or paralysis, where escape is the only option. Her grandmother, Leonora, also sees something in Percherette that is different, whether it is her intelligence or appearance, that prompts Leonora to devote more attention and special conversations to Percherette. While Leonora has meeting times with all the grandchildren under her care, it seems that her time with Percherette is more instructional, devoted to lessons in communication, expressions, and finding ways to extract information or concessions from others. Like John managing the burdens of expectations that come with being labeled a prodigy, Percherette is battling with the consequences of low expectations as a woman and someone who is not fully European. I enjoyed these sections as well, as they provide a kind of counterpoint in the novel to John’s experience, where we see how despite the difference in expectations, we recognize the unfair burdens often foisted on children that can impact their futures in ways we may not intend. Despite the differences, Li’s development of the characters and world building for Pondicherry establishes a harmonic relationship between Percherette and John, where they both escape their seemingly provincial backgrounds for greater expectations.
Parts three and four both focus on John and Percherette as they journey to England and Paris respectively and develop new friendships and tutelage that leave them with indelible experiences. John eventually ends up studying with Muzio Clementi in England, while Percherette ends up on a ship bound for France with colleagues of her father, despite the disapproval of Leonora. Again, the characters act as a counterpoint, with John devoting himself to his studies with Clementi and Percherette defying the standards and expectations to gain escape to the excitement of Paris. Clementi, who like John and Adelaide, was a real person, was one of my favorite characters in the book. I knew of him from my kids’ piano studies, along with Carl Czerny, who also appears in the book as almost the antithesis of Clementi. Both Clementi and Czerny were musicians and educators, but where Clementi comes across as an innovative and enterprising musician, recognizing the importance of developing both a name and a persona, Czerny seems to have established more of a mechanical, soulless production line of etudes, which my kids can attest are truly the bane of piano studies. John visits Czerny in a later incident when he is seeking some respite after being away from Russia. I wasn’t sure if anything in Li’s own piano studies, which she describes in her recent book Things in Nature Merely Grow, helped her characterize these two different noted piano educators. While I found it humorous in some ways, Clementi is the one character who truly nurtures the brilliance and talent in John, enabling him to not only become a skilled and notable performer at a young age, but also to develop the compositional skills that allowed him to establish nocturnes. These later chapters also detail the time away from their homes and families, and how John and Percherette establish new companionships, John with the composer George Pinto and Percherette with a girl named Fortunée. The similarities and differences in their experiences further the counterpoints of love and loss that motivate and haunt John and Percherette.
While I haven’t read everything by Yiyun Li, the novels that I’ve read are an immersive experience where I feel fully attuned to the worlds she’s composed. Whether it’s the cold, harsh world of The Vagrants that evoked chill and isolation of a small village in Cultural Revolution era China or the complicated intensity of childhood friendships in The Book of Goose, Li composes powerful narratives that function as counterpoints, harmonizing two emotionally complex stories to creative a cohesive relationship that is established with the prelude or coda, announcing John’s death to his estranged wife Percherette. Like Agnès in Book of Goose, we see how expectations and precociousness can have a conflicting impact on one’s development. John, who is encouraged to lie about his age and whose grandfather co-authors his earliest musical compositions with him, reminded me a lot of the challenges that Agnès experienced in becoming a published writer and having more opportunities. Similarly, we see how the complicated and intense relationships we have as children, like Agnès and Fabienne, John and George, and Percherette and Fortunée. I also thought about the nature of identity throughout this book, as both John and Percherette have their identities shaped largely by others when they are younger, choosing their names and ages, while also seeking out opportunities and futures for them, much like Mrs. Townsend is for Agnès, as more of a dictator seeking to impose an identity on her rather than allowing her identity to develop and emerge naturally. I felt like both John and Percherette deal with the burden of expectations, both great and limited, in how others perceive them. However, it’s Li’s writing, all aspects of her writing, that made this book so immersive and evocative, like the cross’s that call out to John and inspire him to hear what others cannot. It’s a sadness, but also the recognition of the beauty in the everyday experiences and observations, especially those that others may fail to notice. Furthermore, Music Against the Night also has a throwback feel to it in that it feels like a classic novel from Dickens or Dostoyevsky, filled with ancillary family members and characters (and lots of wonderful parenthetical asides that provide further insight into these often historical figures). I was initially upset that the book ended, wanting more from John and Percherette’s relationship, but then I realized that Music Against the Night is only the first part in a trilogy, so I’m hopeful that the next two parts will help explain how John ended up in Russia, tutoring Tolstoy’s mother in piano, and how he and Percherette progressed in their relationship from piano student and teacher to lovers, spouses, and then estranged. We get some information from the interludes between the alternating parts of the novel, but I’m anticipating more to the story of John and Percherette.
Yiyun Li mentioned that it was through reading Tolstoy’s War and Peace that she first learned about John Field, and Music Against the Night is an ambitious and immersive look into the world of his development as a forgotten innovator in music. We also learn about the artistic development of his wife, a woman who was able to compose and play the pianoforte without any formal musical training. Music Against the Night also explores the theme of escape and exile, and how these can often be necessary for further artistic development or even survival. Music Against the Night is a wonderful read that I couldn’t put down, wanting to continue to learn more about how John and Percherette ended up together and estranged. I’m eagerly anticipating the next movements in this trilogy, yet this is a book that I could see rereading to find other melodies that emerge from Li’s exquisite prose. Highly recommended!

[Tina Panik]

Reviewed for Library Journal; full review appears there.

[Matt Tiu]

Many thanks to Farrar, Straus and Giroux, Yiyun Li and NetGalley for the Advanced Readers Copy.

I would describe this book as brilliance in every word, a masterpiece that deserved to be immortalised and admired on its own. In anime terms, this is “Your Lie in April” and “Nodame Cantabile” with a European theme of historical retelling of two prodigies. This is also my first encounter with Yiyun Li’s work of fiction, which indeed left a great impression with me to also become curious with her other literary works.

Since I am a reader that focuses first on style, I’d say that the author’s choice of words and use of figures of speech, even the third-person point of view narration, were carefully crafted which converged into a brilliant narration of a story set in the late 18th and early 19th century. We follow a story of two musical prodigies, starting with an introduction to John’s origins, an explanation of the societal climate during that time in Ireland and the archaic expectations on family members’ roles. The story then explained John’s peculiarities and how he learn from his grandfather’s tutelage about music and life in general. Following the Field’s household dynamics added charm to the narrative of bringing young John’s childhood to the readers. The story also depicts how a child’s first education transpires not in a classroom but in home.

After putting a backstory to John’s early childhood till their move to England, Adelaide’s story unfolded. Unlike the more fortunate John, Adelaide was orphaned at a very young age and has been raised with contempt by her relatives. Like John, Adelaide’s life lessons mostly came from a guardian one generation away from her: Leonora (her grandmother), primarily driven by her concern for Adel. At a young age, Adel has her own peculiarities, too, although it was more of how she thinks and view things in a contrarian yet logical way. Things went better as the story unfolds after the Leonora taught her some valuable life lessons.

The starking contrast between John and Adel/ Percherette’s childhood is skillfully written and it also shows a very realistic depiction of imperfect experiences as a human figuring things out for the first time. For Adel, it was how to become always sharp and always bringing her best foot forward to stay desireable and to overcome the unfair treatment of her relatives. For John, it is how he has to overcome his low self-esteem and how to handle the weight of being a child prodigy while at the same time being held accountable as a grown-up (because of their family’s decision to uproot their origins from their hometown and explore the world for the sake of John’s career) while being dismissed as a child.

At the first 50% mark, what I enjoyed the most are Percherette and Leonora’s dialogues because it perfectly depicts the injustices of being a woman in society and how they should always be more clever by putting extra efforts just to stay afloat from the fate they are born with as a woman.

I also grew fond of the older characters which helped shaped the two young prodigies, especially John’s granpa Old Mr. Field, Muzio Clementi, and Percherette’s grandma Leonora. Their words of wisdom really resonated with me as a reader, thereby elevating the reading experience due to the life lessons embedded within the novel.

The central themes of fierce competition, humbling experiences due to the existence of other prodigies, the envy caused by comparison, the tendency of seeking validation from other musicians, and the repeated mentions of other prominent names who are considered elites in the classical music industry all blended together to set the overall tone of how music mattered a lot to John and Percherette. As a go-getter and achiever, I can relate on a spiritual level with the main characters’ passions in proving themselves they are ace players on their own rights.

Bear in mind, though, that majority of the novel focused on delving at John’s backstory which might tire down some readers who are more into plot-driven, fast-paced unfolding of events. However, for readers who wanted to stay for the richness of conversations, the reward comes from various quotes and lines which are impactful and filled with wisdom. The narration also didn’t dwelled that much on the technicalities or musical jargons which could intimidate readers who are unaware of classical music language. Instead, readers could expect a more human approach in this work. Since this is a historical fiction, the plot is already known beforehand. However, the masterful retelling is what made this work become relevant in today’s era and we could still see certain societal norms and injustices which remain unfazed even after centuries have passed.

With this type of societal discourse that is reminiscent of classical literature, as well as the level of research and efforts poured into this craft, I am seeing that this book would soon become part of those modern day classics which need to be taught in schools and become a matter of academic discourse. I am also envisioning this book having a film adaptation especially the key themes of classical music and personal struggles bear substantial entertainment value.

[Wisegirl Wiser]

It is the moment in time between the French Revolution and the Napoleonically bold declaration of Empiric title, sure to inspire politics, war, and migration. Things are shifting in all levels of society. From Dublin, a young and gifted (but awkward ) John Field’s talent is noted. Oceans away, Adelaide Percheron in Pondicherry of French India, is seen to be a prodigy, but also a genius at working her way from the outs of society into the spaces of her dreams. Independently, but at times in parallel, the two travel to Paris and with a plethora of complicated and diverse migratory experiences in between, eventually meet in Moscow.   This novel joyfully expands beyond the prodigies and peers through the lens of those connected to the world of musicians and the piano forte.   I believe I was a Cheshire Cat cozily resting invisibly in a foreverly hidden available corner, listening in. What a delight to observe the intimate cross cultural coming of age day to day inner workings from those stealth spaces ‘en residence’  from Paris to London to Moscow. My time travel into these Renaissance era private pantries and empty entryways allowed me to feel the soul burn of these experiences that inevitably resulted in success or in the heartbreaking  banishment of those who needed to be sacrificed. Not just the music. This includes all of the rest of it.  Along with these orphaned, abandoned,or even put out to the pastures of apprenticeship hopeful prodigies and their tutors and attendants, I could feel the strain of the striving for more than simple marital pairings or sanely secure incomes or out of reach inheritances from the faithful who became spares to the incidental who became nobility.  More than the usual nine lives were needed for me to absorb the wealth of the wisdoms acquired by these inspiring youth, as they conquered the twists and turns of their yearnings toward a well balanced life and love experience. Thank you Yiyun Li for the unforgettable warmth and immersive draw you bring to your novel, Music Against the Night. Although it may not turn every reader into a time traveling cat (my personal explanation for the believable and fully absorbed experience ‘being there’ became in the reading of this novel) I highly recommend that you read and create your own personal experience between the covers of this novel. Thank you NetGalley and Firar, Straus, and Giroux  for the ARC of this novel to be released 1022/2026.

[Jenni Ogden]

It took me a while to become immersed in this historical story but once I did I found it extraordinary, especially in terms of its literary excellence, and the mind-boggling structure—crossing time and countries as the two main characters, John Field from Dublin and Adelelaide Percheron, nicknamed Percherette, from French India, both piano virtuosoes, grow up far from each other, with flashbacks making it clear they would one day be married (although not happily!) But the main story is not about their marriage but about their separate lives as they grow from childhood to adulthood. Fopr a long time I did not know if John Field and Adelaide Percheron were based on real people as it is stated clearly that this is fiction and even in the Author's acknowledgements at the end only one glancing mention, easy to miss, is made of the John Field being a real histiorical figure. Obviously the mentions of Chopin, Mozart and many other real figures made me wonder and gradually I decided Field and Percheron must also be real hisotirical figures but so immersed was I in their story I didn't check until I had finished the novel! And yes they were real figures and did marry, and many of the 'events' were likely based on historical 'facts''. For example, John Field was known for his composing of nocturnes, later made immortal by Chopin as Field faded into the shadows of history. Both John and Adelaide end up in Moscow in the historical records and in this novel.

I recommend it highly to readers of literary historical fiction, especially classsical music lovers. It is also a masterclass in creative writing! Not that many writers could equal Yiyun Li's brilliance and uniqueness, but perhaps we writers could learn something...!! eg: Yes protagonosts who are not necessarily likeable or even, in some ways especially interesting (eg: John Field) can draw the reader in. Percherette was a marvellous figure; a feminist before her time, and while some readers may not like her (I did) most would find her fascinating.

Thankyou to NetGalley, Yiyun Li and the publisher for an advanced digital copy.

[Castille]

I requested this on Ann Patchett's recommendation, and I am profoundly grateful it came into my life. Yiyun Li is an underrated literary force—the kind of hidden gem you want to fiercely guard but simultaneously can't wait to share with the world.

This is a novel to be savored rather than sped through. The prose is so deliberate, precise, and poetic that I found myself building a color-coded highlighting system just to track it all: yellow for extraordinary passages, blue for exemplary details, pink for further research, and green for sheer structural beauty.

From the outset, the book establishes its core philosophy: "a woman easy to love was never truly loved."
This perfectly explains why some reviewers have balked at the cast of "unlikable" characters. I, however, prefer a difficult woman. Adelaide is a bold, unflinching protagonist who is preyed upon by the world, yet actively preys upon it in return. While the children in the narrative are undeniably precocious and unrealistically wise, Li has rendered this environment so skillfully that you happily suspend your disbelief to luxuriate in her unapologetically literary, admittedly somewhat pretentious, yet gorgeously accessible writing.

Thematically, it is a brilliant meditation on the nature of the artist—the idea that a masterpiece is only achieved through a tumultuous, unrelenting pursuit of excellence, and that to be a true artist is to be forever tormented by a goal just beyond reach. Despite this heavy, grief-stricken framework, the novel is not entirely bleak; it is anchored by a profound sense of hope and the courage to keep moving forward despite the numerous obstacles.

As I neared the end, I realized this was the first in a trilogy and braced myself for an unsatisfying cliffhanger (especially since the main characters hadn't even met yet). Astonishingly, Li manages to wrap up the narrative in a way that leaves you wanting more, without feeling cheated out of a complete story. A masterpiece that deserves widespread acclaim.

[Marina]

As a fan of John Field’s graceful nocturnes that are perhaps not as well-known or appreciated as those of the more famous Frederic Chopin, I was eagerly looking forward to this novel, that finally an author had seen the potential in giving readers a chance to discover his dramatic life through historical fiction, from his beginnings as a child prodigy in Ireland to his eventual acclaim in the aristocratic circles of Russia. Half of the novel is also about his wife, Adelaide Percheron, a shrewd and talented mixed-race pianist who came from the French enclave of Pondicherry in India.

One has to admire and appreciate the author’s research and insight into the pressures and price of fame with its echoes of what happened to Mozart and other musical prodigies, but it gets sidelined in literary pretension, with rambling swathes of immaterial or implausible dialogue (Adelaide’s precociousness and sly interaction with adults at the age of only seven is especially grating). There are historical digressions and info-dumps about numerous individuals from Napoleon to Beethoven, and flash-forwards to the future, leaving no surprises for any reader unfamiliar with the Field story. We are told almost from the beginning that the marriage between John and Adelaide is doomed, that he never fulfills his promise, is a womanizer, short, fat, alcoholic, dies forgotten, etc. Even if readers are already aware of all of this, more light or positivity could have enhanced the reading experience.

Also on the downside for readers keen to know the historical truth behind novels, there are no author's notes detailing the background or primary sources and it is difficult to know how much of Adelaide's story in particular is based in fact. I thank Edelweiss for the ARC, but have to be honest with these comments. It appears this may be the first in a trilogy but doubt I'll be reading the sequels. In the meantime, I’ll just keep listening to Field’s music – ultimately his uplifting legacy.

[Sarah W Bowers]

When I saw Ann Patchett proclaiming Music Against the Night by Yiyun Li as the best literary fiction novel of the year, I knew I had to read it. And the book does have a lot of beautiful parts to discuss.
I appreciated receiving this ARC from Netgalley and Farrar, Strauss, and Giroux in exchange for my honest review.
What I loved:
Yiyun Li painted immersive pictures of all of the locations in this novel whether it was following John Field from Dublin to Scotland and London or following Adelaide Percheron from Pondicherry, India to France and Russia. All of the people and places in these areas were beautifully described so it felt as if the reader were walking the streets or practicing the piano forte with the characters.
I also learned so much about the culture and training of musicians in the late 1700s and early 1800s. The push to find the next Mozart or become a child prodigy was very interesting.
I found myself more interested in Adelaide's story than in John Fields', but the background that Li provided gave substance to the connections and eventual issues between them both.
What didn't work for me, was my inability to connect with John Fields in particular. Initially during his early childhood I found some understanding, but overall I was unable to really care about the choices he was making, or I was angered at the choices or thoughts he was having. The fact that these characters are real people made certain outcomes inevitable to align with the historical record, but I still wasn't happy about them. I know this seems vague, but I don't want to spoil it for people like me that were not familiar with the musicians that make up this novel.
In short, this was a beautifully written novel about a topic I knew little about and in the end do not care to continue to pursue. If you love classical music already, this novel may prove to be for you exactly what Ann Patchett described in her review.

[Janet]

Thank you Farrar, Straus & Giroux and NetGalley for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review. This beautifully written book of historical fiction traces the lives of two real life musical geniuses from the late 1700s through the mid 1800s, John Field and Adelaide Percheron. After both of their extensive travels, they ended up married to each other in Russia. Field was from Ireland and the book gives you much of his backstory, traveling through Europe to Russia, and the sacrifices he and his nuclear family made for his musical career. Although he is not remembered much today, in his time he was quite accomplished, and apparently invented the nocturne (although Chopin gets the credit for it.) Percheron was an orphan originally from French India, and makes her way to France and then to Russia. Her musical gifts are on par with Field's, although since she is a woman who is part Indian and part French, she has less of an entree into European society and the world of music than does Field.
Although Field and Percheron marry, the book is largely comprised of their separate stories, how they got to Russia, and what their lives were like after they separated. (This is not a spoiler...you learn it at the beginning.) Percheron is the more interesting of the two in my view, although her life is more constrained because she is a woman and a minority. However, she makes great inroads, and was a feminist before her time. The book is structured into various parts and has several interludes, referencing a musical piece.
The book is beautifully written with rich prose. It delves into the minds of the characters and is a monumental feat. My only criticism is that Field and Percheron are portrayed as separate characters and one doesn't sense much connection between the two. That made the book less satisfying for me. All in all a wonderful read.

[tc]

This is my first of Li Yiyun’s books. Her wistful and poetic account of John Field, the musical prodigy and overlooked father of the Romantic nocturne (a musical form inspired by the night which was later developed and popularised by Chopin), and his wife Adelaide Percheron, made me feel like I whisked back to the late 18th century and traversing a monet painting.

Li explores ideas of originality, ambition, reverence and commodification surrounding classical music during the period that saw the rise of some of its most influential composers. In many ways, she draws attention to those willing to “play the game” - Field’s mentor Muzio Clementi is one of them. Music is no longer simply music for music’s sake but something packaged and marketed to appeal to an audience.

This book is about music, yes, but Li keeps it accessible without packing it with toooo much musical terminology or jargon. She instead focuses on the inner worlds of characters - on what it meant to study, make and sell music back then which I’m sure still applies in many ways today.
Both John and Percherette experience the pressures of this world with people in their lives steering them towards success, competitions or companionship, though it is sad to say the outcomes depended heavily on whether you were a man or woman, regardless of talent. Percherette’s story especially captures the limits placed on women in the musical world.

The book is on the slower side of things as Li takes her time to set the context and peel back the layers of each character. Nevertheless, it has such beautiful prose reminiscent of a classic. I can see how this book would appeal to anyone who loves or has studied music!

ARC received from Times.reads & Harpercollinsinternational

[Micha]

This had been lauded by Ann Patchett (on CBC's The Next Chapter) as the best contemporary novel she'd ever read. Two musicians, historical fiction, human sweep of emotion and ambition. Sounded good to me. I must not have read past the logline, because it wasn't until I got started that I was like, "Oh wait this is about John Field? Mr. Nocturnes?" thinking that should have been the leading info. But in a way, it doesn't matter that it's about John Field because it's truly not about the nocturnes and not really about the man but about coming into a creative life. About young artists and the particular places and times that they may have come out of which are specific but also are incidental, mere vagaries of fate and circumstance. The culture of the time shapes them, from restrictions of gender or nationality or race to developments in instrument-building and the trends in music and entertainment. But at heart is the creative impetus that strikes true to anyone who has known or seen the childhood of an intensely creative person, differently driven than their brethren.

It's bittersweet. We know that their musical careers won't be what they dream of. We know their marriage and their eventual lives aren't either. That's never hidden from us, but very little time is given to their adult lives. Much of that comes in parenthesis, less important to the development than as the development. What they are doing here will bring them there, inevitably perhaps, but here are the present desires, here are the present trials. This is a very carefully constructed book that does not depend upon you knowing the musicians at play. If you're familiar with music history, you will, however, find your place in it more easily.

[Lori]

In "Music Against the Night", author Yiyun Lee weaves a story across the lives of musicians John Field and Adelaide Percheron, who grow up at the cusp of the 19th century. John is born in Dublin, where his musical talents and aptitude for the pianoforte soon become the foundation for his family, even while he's ostracized by his peers and misunderstood by his siblings. Adelaide grows up in the French Pondicherry in India as an orphan from an young age. Despite her difficult beginnings, she's determined to make something of her life, and her efforts soon lead her to cross paths with John Field. The two experience their share of success, competition, friendship, and even love - and those shared memories carry through the decades that follow.

I feel incredibly conflicted about this novel - Li is an experienced author, and her prose is one of the most descriptive and elegant ones I've encountered. The story is expertly told, with an immersive setting and an incredibly well-researched history; the extent of training, the musical technique, and the detail in the world-building was all expertly done. However, I couldn't help but feel a certain level of detachment in the storytelling, and never felt connected to either of the protagonists. There were periods throughout the novel, especially in the beginning, where the pacing was sluggish and I really struggled to continue reading.

I think this will be well-received by fans of Li's writing, but I don't personally think this is her best work.

[Kim]

I requested an ARC of this book because Ann Patchett has raved about it.

This is a beautiful coming of age story featuring the real historical musicians, John Field and Adelaide Percheron. I have to admit I’d heard of neither and it was only about halfway through the book that I started looking things up.

I always gravitate to stories featuring music and this one has such lyrical prose. I underlined a lot of passages.

One theme explored is the peril of being a prodigy. John is pushed to play the pianoforte because he comes from a family of musicians. He has talent but he is expected into instantly turn out new music when he would rather be a child and explore other things.

Adelaide is also a talented pianist, but she struggles because she is a girl, then woman, then wife of a prodigy. She struggles to be seen in her own right and this is hard for someone who is very ambitious and very intelligent and attuned to emotions.

Being a musician isn’t romanticized in this story, rather it is portrayed as a life shaped by loneliness, sacrifice, financial problems and a lack of personal connection.

The story spans decades and continents and is a remarkable achievement in my opinion. My on,y issue is that in parts it was very detailed and it slowed the pace a bit.

This book publishes October 13, 2026

Thank you to Farrar, Straus and Giroux for the ARC.

[Linda Grana]

I have read everything by Yiyun Li, both fiction and non-fiction, and always enjoy her writing. As someone who once played classical piano, I went into this book thinking it would most likely be my favorite of hers yet. As expected, the writing was gorgeous, lyrical and illuminating. This is a novel based on two somewhat lesser known pianists from the 1700's--John Field and his wife Adelaide Percheron. It's a book about life and death, art and music. Many of the more famous composers and musicians of the time were referenced--Beethoven, Chopin, Mozart, Haydn and others, and were expertly woven into the historical aspect of the book. Though I found the story to be rather slow moving and sometimes difficult to follow with timelines changing within a chapter, those that appreciate this time in history, as well as classical music and art in all its forms, will be the perfect audience for this well-written historical novel.
Many thanks to FSG and NetGalley for the digital advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

[Serene Books]

Arc received from Netgalley, thank you

This is a historical fiction novel revolving around the life of pianist John Field and his wife, Adelaide Percheron.

At the beginning, I found the story a bit slow, but the beauty of the writing captivated me from the very first sentence. The novel then follows the life of our two musicians, from their childhood through their youth , until they finally meet.

I really loved how time is treated in this work, how the author seamlessly shifts from the future to the past and back again in a very smooth and beautiful manner.

The book discusses themes such as talent, and the pressure imposed by others on talented people to achieve more, it also highlights the difference in opportunities and circumstances. And, most of all, it talks about music in with such passion that I kept highlighting nearly every sentence.

[Elizabeth Weaver]

When I read in an interview with Ann Patchett that this was her best book of 2026, I couldn’t request the galley fast enough. Huge thanks to the publisher for providing me with an advance copy. The writing was beautiful and I spent longer reading it than I expected to because of that. My brain didn’t want to or couldn’t rush through the sentences. I don’t love flowery writing and this wasn’t that; it was expressive and purposeful. The story follows two real musical prodigies largely lost to history. I found it slightly slow, but maybe that was because I didn’t understand going in that it wasn’t going to feature much at all of their life together but the journeys that led them to each other. I suppose this plays into the musical parallels of the author’s structure.

[Beth (covergirlbooks)]

Oh for the love of Ann Patchett…

I’m not lamenting, that’s the reason why I had to try this novel. When Ann hugs a book and implores you to read it, you see if you can get your hands on it.

Yiyun Li’s writing asks of me a Tolstoy level of attention, and I couldn’t give it more than a thimble in its present state. The writing is beautiful, but incredibly wordy, and the mood is damp and grey.

The story physically dragged me along with a lot of description outweighing very little plot, and I checked the page number an embarrassing amount of times.

I think reading it in a digital format tested my patience and found it lacking, but dearly hope to return to it when the rest of the world welcomes it in print.

[Annie Tate Cockrum]

Set in the late 18th century in Dublin/London and Pondicherry, India/France respectively, we follow the parallel childhoods of two musicians (pianists) who eventually marry each other. The book is love story in many forms - about music, friendship, family, and least of all romantic love. It’s really interesting getting to know these characters so well individually without getting very much of the relationship between them. The story is very well set up and I’d be curious to read more about these characters.

I’m going to dive deeper into my thoughts about the book on my substack this week https://annietatecockrum.substack.com...

Thank you to FSG for the advanced copy of Music Against the Night it’s out on October 13th.

[C Reed]

Thank you Net Galley for lending me this exquisite novel. Historical fiction, literature, beauty and philosophy all wrapped in one. A 5 star read for musicians, artists, literary readers, but a 4 star for readers similar to me, needing historical background of the 2 protagonists and a faster pace. The author is an amazing writer and weaves two timelines and past and present together, what appears effortlessly.
PS I don’t care Ann Patchett recommended it. The work stands on its own merits. Let the reader decide if it is for them. If you can’t finish it still read the last chapter. That alone offers a philosophy worth hearing.

[Mary B.]

There's no doubt that Yiyun Li is a skilled writer. In fact, I loved Things in Nature Merely Grow. But Music Against the Night felt like a slog every step of the way. The plot seemed disjointed, and it was difficult to engage with the emotionally stunted and inherently unlikeable characters. Perhaps this story would have benefited from a restructuring or better editing. Perhaps I just wasn't in the mood for a moody dual timeline (1700s-1800) walk through the lives of sad and suffering piano child geniuses and their equally sad and suffering families and colleagues. Perhaps you will enjoy it more that I did. Perhaps not.

[Annie Waddoups]

When Ann Patchett proclaims a novel the best she's read this year, I put it on the top of my list! And she's right--there is much to love in Li's story of real life musical prodigies, John Field and Adelaide Percheron ("Percherette"), whose separate and contrasting lives and loves we follow through the novel. Lyrically written with beautifully astute observations about life and human nature throughout. There were times it dragged a bit for me but ultimately a satisfying read.

To be published in October 2026

[Santiago Nocera]

When Yiyun Li writes, I read! In Music Against the Night, Li paints portraits of two young artists, unraveling their parallel lives until their eventual crossing. This novel sweeps effortlessly across decades of European history, lifts notes from the pianoforte right off the page, and spans the globe from India to Ireland, all guided by a narrative voice that signals a literary master. Music Against the Night is full of all the pleasures and pains, the costs and gains, of life, love, and art. It's an immensely satisfying read.