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, Novels, Literary Fiction, Adult, Art, Book Club

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 · Rating 5 out of 5]

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

[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 · Rating 3 out of 5]

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.

[Tina Panik · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reviewed for Library Journal; full review appears there.

[Jenni Ogden · Rating 5 out of 5]

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.

[Marina · Rating 2 out of 5]

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 · Rating 4 out of 5]

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.

[Serene Books · Rating 4 out of 5]

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 · Rating 4 out of 5]

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.

[Annie Tate Cockrum · Rating 3 out of 5]

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.

[Chris Chanona · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well written but I just found the story/history boring. I was not interested beyond what I could read in 5 minutes on Wiki.
I think it is me as I don’t like retellings of real people’s lives and the lives here were not that remarkable. If you are interested in classical music, Chopin in particular, you might enjoy this.
I received an ARC from NetGalley and the publisher for which I am grateful.

[Ronnica Fatt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautifully told…I was sucked into this world. I struggled at first, because one of our two main characters, John, is unlikeable. Then I realized that was the point…John gets credit and recognition for his lackluster genius due to his privilege, but Percherette never does though her talent exceeds his.

Thank you FSG for the eARC.

[BookstagramETC]

Ann Patchett called it the best book to be published in 2026