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Music Against the Night
'May well be the most perfectly constructed, moving, and beautiful novel I've ever read’ ANN PATCHETT
Acclaimed Pulitzer-Prize winner Yiyun Li, returns with a sweeping historical epic, following two extraordinary musicians on the rise.
In Dublin, as the eighteenth century nears its end, a young musical virtuoso comes of age. John Field is able to hear notes in the air, and his family aspires for him to become the next Mozart. His talent takes him far – to England, France, and then Russia, where he becomes a famous pianist and composes dreamy melodies that enchant the night air. John calls them nocturnes, but the prodigy who immortalizes them is Chopin.
Oceans away in Pondicherry, French India, Adelaide Percheron embarks on a startling rise of her own. Orphaned at a young age, she is raised by her enterprising grandmother. Without the luxury of riches, only marriage seems to offer prosperity – until she sets her sights on a pianoforte. Driven by her love of music, she engineers her exodus, escaping to Paris and later to Moscow, as Napoleon’s army sets out to conquer the continent.
Peopled by rival prodigies, irate tutors and begrudging guardians, Yiyun Li’s magisterial novel depicts two aspiring musicians – destined to be husband and wife – in pursuit of success. As John and Adelaide each try to chart a path between talent and genius, profit and passion, they must decide what, and even who, is worth sacrificing along the way.
Drawing inspiration from the past but finding entirely new forms, Music Against the Night is an exquisite, exhilarating epic from a writer at the height of her powers.
Acclaimed Pulitzer-Prize winner Yiyun Li, returns with a sweeping historical epic, following two extraordinary musicians on the rise.
In Dublin, as the eighteenth century nears its end, a young musical virtuoso comes of age. John Field is able to hear notes in the air, and his family aspires for him to become the next Mozart. His talent takes him far – to England, France, and then Russia, where he becomes a famous pianist and composes dreamy melodies that enchant the night air. John calls them nocturnes, but the prodigy who immortalizes them is Chopin.
Oceans away in Pondicherry, French India, Adelaide Percheron embarks on a startling rise of her own. Orphaned at a young age, she is raised by her enterprising grandmother. Without the luxury of riches, only marriage seems to offer prosperity – until she sets her sights on a pianoforte. Driven by her love of music, she engineers her exodus, escaping to Paris and later to Moscow, as Napoleon’s army sets out to conquer the continent.
Peopled by rival prodigies, irate tutors and begrudging guardians, Yiyun Li’s magisterial novel depicts two aspiring musicians – destined to be husband and wife – in pursuit of success. As John and Adelaide each try to chart a path between talent and genius, profit and passion, they must decide what, and even who, is worth sacrificing along the way.
Drawing inspiration from the past but finding entirely new forms, Music Against the Night is an exquisite, exhilarating epic from a writer at the height of her powers.
352 pages, Hardcover
First published October 22, 2026
About the author
Yiyun Li
82 books2,495 followersYiyun 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.
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October 8, 2026ann patchett said it's the best book of the year. that's all i need to know
(thanks to the publisher for the arc)
(thanks to the publisher for the arc)
October 13, 2026
In the opening of Music Against the Night, Yiyun Li claims, “If someone were to write John Field’s biography, it would be a meager volume, and Adelaide, his estranged wife, would occupy only a few lines.”
How brilliantly this historical novel exposes that lie.
You may not have any of Field’s songs on your iPhone, but halfway through War and Peace, Countess Rostova asks someone to play a Field nocturne on the harp. He was, for a time, hot. In the decades after the French Revolution, the Irish composer wowed audiences across Europe, inspired Chopin, and taught Mikhail Glinka, the founder of Russian classical music.
But history has dealt Field its cruelest blow — not opprobrium but oblivion. His reputation hung in the air only a little longer than his last chord. Asked about his faith on his deathbed, Field reportedly muttered, “I’m not a Calvinist, but a claveciniste.”
Hearing that quip, a sympathetic character in Li’s novel says, “The world will remember his wit.”
Strike two.
Music Against the Night, the first volume of a planned trilogy, is a story of tireless ambition told in the wake of implacable effacement. Its tragedy is foretold, but its pathos is no less moving, its verve no less astonishing.
The scene opens in Dublin during the 1780s. Young John has been identified early by his father and grandfather — both musicians — as a
How brilliantly this historical novel exposes that lie.
You may not have any of Field’s songs on your iPhone, but halfway through War and Peace, Countess Rostova asks someone to play a Field nocturne on the harp. He was, for a time, hot. In the decades after the French Revolution, the Irish composer wowed audiences across Europe, inspired Chopin, and taught Mikhail Glinka, the founder of Russian classical music.
But history has dealt Field its cruelest blow — not opprobrium but oblivion. His reputation hung in the air only a little longer than his last chord. Asked about his faith on his deathbed, Field reportedly muttered, “I’m not a Calvinist, but a claveciniste.”
Hearing that quip, a sympathetic character in Li’s novel says, “The world will remember his wit.”
Strike two.
Music Against the Night, the first volume of a planned trilogy, is a story of tireless ambition told in the wake of implacable effacement. Its tragedy is foretold, but its pathos is no less moving, its verve no less astonishing.
The scene opens in Dublin during the 1780s. Young John has been identified early by his father and grandfather — both musicians — as a
July 6, 2026
Not a perfect story, but how this story is told is absolute perfection.
October 18, 2026
This felt like reading a classic, which I mean in a good way. Love me some classics.
I got so sucked into this world of aspiring musician prodigies. John Field was a real-life Irish composer who was active during the time of the likes of Beethoven, Haydn, and Chopin. We follow his coming-of-age, as well as his eventual wife, Adelaide, who also was an aspiring composer (I’d say her chapters were truly fascinating).
This novel is exquisitely told. It showcases the highs and lows of being a musician. The novel has an interesting way of letting us know the fates of every character while filling in the blanks before we even get there, if we even get there.
FYI, this is the first book in a proposed trilogy, so we only go into details of the first thirds of John’s and Adelaide’s colorful lives.
But yeah, I’m on board. This book does not possess an explosion of addictive plot or anything like that, but I found it addictive just the same. It’s quiet, melancholic, poetic, disheartening and even hopeful at times, despite the fact that we know much of that hopefulness with be deflated.
Loved the stylized way Yiyun Li decided to tell this story. Bring on Book 2.
I got so sucked into this world of aspiring musician prodigies. John Field was a real-life Irish composer who was active during the time of the likes of Beethoven, Haydn, and Chopin. We follow his coming-of-age, as well as his eventual wife, Adelaide, who also was an aspiring composer (I’d say her chapters were truly fascinating).
This novel is exquisitely told. It showcases the highs and lows of being a musician. The novel has an interesting way of letting us know the fates of every character while filling in the blanks before we even get there, if we even get there.
FYI, this is the first book in a proposed trilogy, so we only go into details of the first thirds of John’s and Adelaide’s colorful lives.
But yeah, I’m on board. This book does not possess an explosion of addictive plot or anything like that, but I found it addictive just the same. It’s quiet, melancholic, poetic, disheartening and even hopeful at times, despite the fact that we know much of that hopefulness with be deflated.
Loved the stylized way Yiyun Li decided to tell this story. Bring on Book 2.
October 16, 2026
(There would come a time when John Field would be known as a carouser in Moscow, as an eccentric genius in Saint Petersburg, and, later, in Paris and Vienna, a virtuoso past his prime. All those years he would maintain his practice in the morning. Lovers would die or become other people’s lovers: Emilia, Hildegarde, Estelle, Johanna. A student would become a mistress, then a wife, then a rival: Percherette. Clotilde, a bit on the side, would become a lifelong companion. The unconquerable Grande Armée would melt in the Russian snow. Napoleon the Emperor would become Bonaparte the exile. The present has only one direction to go: to become the past, to be forgotten charitably or to be remembered incompletely, even, wrongly. And yet, in every life, there is bound to be one form of time that remains the present. For John, that was the five undisturbed hours of practice every morning. What did it matter if life outside those hours was never free from follies, disappointments, mishaps, and deaths? Bracketed within were forms to be improved upon, performance to be perfected. When music is life—it was for John, as it would have been for George, had he lived on—it is no longer about life. What’s placed above life has all the right to overwrite an individual’s feelings.)
Yiyun Li’s debut – the short story collection “A Thousand Years of Good Prayers” (2006) won both the Guardian First Book Award in the UK and the PEN/Hemingway award for Fiction in the US; in 2015 she won the Sunday Times Short Story Award, and in 2020 the lucrative Windham–Campbell Literature Prize for Fiction. That same year she first came to my attention for her novel “Where Reasons End” (which went on to win the PEN/Jean Stein Book Award) – a powerfully affecting auto-fictional exploration of tragedy through writing (and writing through tragedy) which featured a series of imagined dialogues between a Chinese-American author and her brilliant son who has recently committed suicide (as tragically did one of Li’s own sons in 2017). In 2023 her novel “Book of Goose” won the PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction and in 2024 her short story collection “Wednesday’s Child” – largely an exploration of grief - was a Pulitzer Prize for Fiction finalist (the same year the death of her second son was also ruled suicide).
This year (2026) her memoir “Things In Nature Merely Grow” about the death of both her sons won both the Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence and the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.
Now this novel feels like a departure in her work – from often sparse, painful and often personal fiction (and memoir) to more traditional historical fiction, one of what it said to be a trilogy of novels – the Nocturne Trilogy – exploring the true story of John Field (1782 -1837) the turn of the 19th century Irish composer, inventor of the Nocturne and perhaps more far more influential in his time and on other composers (and even writers – particularly Tolstoy) than necessarily known now; and equally of his wife Adelaide Percheron (est. 1790-1860) (nicknamed Percherette as child) born in French-Indian-born Pondicherry and herself a pianist.
The novel begins with a brief “Two Nightfalls” both Prelude to Novel and Coda to the Trilogy in which we are briefly told of their deaths – first Field (as reported to the then long estranged Adelaide) and then Adelaide.
And this sets one of the distinctive features of the novel – an omniscient and portentous narrative voice, often interrupting (albeit in parentheses) to inform us of the later fate of the major (or minor) characters and future events in their lives. I was reminded a little of Elizabeth Strout’s 2026 Booker longlisted “The Things We Never Say” but whereas the effect here was to remind us both of how little we know of others and ourselves (and more effectively how small gestures and actions can have lasting consequences) – here the aim I think is to deal with the issue with historically-based fiction that we can simply look up what happens to characters, and at least does have the affect of removing the Wikipedia-temptation to constantly abandon the book to do that.
From there this volume takes place over four lengthy parts – two following John, two Adelaide/Percherette and (apart form brief fast forwards) taking place over the period up to 1807 so very much majored on both their childhoods.
We begin with Field in Dublin, before due to his teacher and violinist father’s ambition for him he moves briefly to Bath and then London, in both Dublin and more so London the prodigious pupil of well-known music teachers – briefly later we learn of his first steps to fame in his own right in Paris and then Moscow.
Percherrette’s story is more convoluted – her mother dying in childbirth, her military commander father dead three years later in the Siege of Pondicherry – she is moved around various close (or distant) relations, marked out (not always in a good way) more for her independence of spirit than as a prodigy before making her way to Paris – subject to predations and seduction at a young age.
Parallels in the stories and deliberate bought out – for example in the two journeys (Ireland to England, India to Paris).
An ending part in 1807 – “The White Night” – has the two finally meeting, as Adelaide demands entry to Field’s school, a section set up as a Coda to the Novel and Prelude to the next novel (and the characters relationship).
I have to say that the novel did not really work for me. I am not sure that a novel about a really famous classical musician’s life would really interest me – and my lack of interest in classical music also means I am sure I missed or failed to appreciate many ways in which musical techniques were woven in the text; a novel about a much lesser known musician and his wife even less so – particularly when I do not feel it made a strong case for their significance; and in this case it was not helped by a level of minutae and detail which reminded of a phenomenon more common in non-fiction than fiction, that the author puts in every detail they have found (in this case I assume also invented) – detail of much more interest to them than the common reader; and rendered in a slightly overwritten prose which added to my sense of languor; I think all of this might have worked for me as a 100 page novella but not as a 300+ page novel. And all of this of course made worse by the fact that this is only the first it would seem of a trilogy – so that really its probably a 1000 page novel.
Nevertheless Li remains an extremely talented writer (as witnessed by her prize wins) and in many ways I am pleased she has been able to find a way to bring her ability with words and her own personal familiarity with both prodigy and tragedy to bear on a project away from her own experience. I would not be at all surprised to see this novel featuring on the Walter Scott and/or Women’s Prize longlists next year and it would merit a place on both – particularly the former.
My thanks to 4th Estate for a paper ARC and an ARC via NetGalley
(…. Percherette and John had, as they discovered, missed each other by only a few months that year in Paris, where he stopped on his way from London to Vienna. They lived, it would occur to her long afterward, as two melodies in a piece of composition. The counterpoint worked at times, and at others created only dissonance, blurring the line between polyphony and cacophony. Yet the two melodies—the two lives—held on to each other. It would not matter that their marriage was the end of their love, or that its dissolution was the end of their collaboration. Some musician—divine or careless, who could tell—had placed them in the same composition. Even John’s death could only be a rest, and after it his melody would continue alongside hers, da capo, da capo. Only her death would put fine in place.)
September 8, 2026
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.
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.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
I was captivated by this novel about the composer John Field, who was born in 1782. I am not a classical music buff, but I loved the way Li elevated what could have been run-of-the-mill historical fiction into an enthralling literary novel about both John's childhood and his future wife, Adelaide Percheron. I also liked Li's use of "interludes from the future," to reveal the turns both their lives would take. This is not a biography of what happened but rather an examination of what formed them. I loved that the audiobook included selections from John Field's compositions between chapters, setting a mood while also educating me.
Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the advance audiobook.
Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the advance audiobook.
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
"Figures of the past find new life in Yiyun Li’s thrillingly imagined saga following two musicians as they mature, study, travel, love, grieve, and, above all, chase their ambitions."
It is the late 18th century and John Field and Adelaide Percheron pursue their musical ambitions oceans apart. John is thought to become the next Mozart as he chases his dreams from Dublin, England, France and Russia. He composes beautiful, enchanting melodies. John calls them nocturnes but the prodigy who immortalizes them is Chopin.
Raised by her grandmother as Percherette in Pondicherry (French India), Adelaide is talented at pianoforte and sets her sights on traveling the world. Without wealth or title, marriage seems to be essential for her success.She decides to pursue piano escaping to Paris and finally Moscow where she meets John Field.
Yiyun Li’s novel tells the tale of two musical prodigies who are destined to ultimately marry. It examines the struggle of chasing their dreams amidst political and artistic upheaval. It explores talent and genius, success and legacy, profit and passion. It shows the cost of a life in pursuit of artistic excellent based on the Romantic era with historic figures shown in a new light. It shows that often the creations of genius get credited to someone else.
The audiobook performance by Harriet Carmichael (12 hours 5 minutes) brings the characters ambition, genius and struggle to life.
Highly recommend for fans of historical fiction that explores music and art.
Many thanks to NetGalley, Farrar, Straus & Giroux, Macmillan Audio and Yiyun Li for the gifted advance reader's copy and advance listening copy. All opinions are my own. 📚🎧
It is the late 18th century and John Field and Adelaide Percheron pursue their musical ambitions oceans apart. John is thought to become the next Mozart as he chases his dreams from Dublin, England, France and Russia. He composes beautiful, enchanting melodies. John calls them nocturnes but the prodigy who immortalizes them is Chopin.
Raised by her grandmother as Percherette in Pondicherry (French India), Adelaide is talented at pianoforte and sets her sights on traveling the world. Without wealth or title, marriage seems to be essential for her success.She decides to pursue piano escaping to Paris and finally Moscow where she meets John Field.
Yiyun Li’s novel tells the tale of two musical prodigies who are destined to ultimately marry. It examines the struggle of chasing their dreams amidst political and artistic upheaval. It explores talent and genius, success and legacy, profit and passion. It shows the cost of a life in pursuit of artistic excellent based on the Romantic era with historic figures shown in a new light. It shows that often the creations of genius get credited to someone else.
The audiobook performance by Harriet Carmichael (12 hours 5 minutes) brings the characters ambition, genius and struggle to life.
Highly recommend for fans of historical fiction that explores music and art.
Many thanks to NetGalley, Farrar, Straus & Giroux, Macmillan Audio and Yiyun Li for the gifted advance reader's copy and advance listening copy. All opinions are my own. 📚🎧
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Review to come….massive book hangover incoming. I absolutely loved this.
November 4, 2026
Music Against the Night is historical fiction about two real musicians most readers won’t know. John Field (1782-1837), an Irish child prodigy, is credited with inventing the nocturne, which Chopin later made famous. Adelaide Percheron (1790-1869) was born in Pondicherry, French India, orphaned young, and raised by her grandmother. She became Field’s pianoforte student, and they married in 1810.
The book opens at the end of both their lives, then goes back to their childhoods and alternates between the two. Their stories are told separately until the very end. Each misses out on childhood: John to his talent and his father’s demand for perfection, and Adelaide to being passed from one relative to another before she landed with her grandmother.
Both families lived with constant death. Field’s parents lost other children and gave their names to the babies who came after. Adelaide lost both her parents. Music is how John and Adelaide push back. In an interview, Li describes Adelaide’s music as an argument with finality, and that idea gives the book its title. It reminded me of Dylan Thomas’s “Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night,” though the fit is loose. Thomas’s poem is a burst of anger at one death. Li’s characters feel its steady presence across their whole lives.
The opening already told us they would marry, so I spent the book waiting for the two stories to come together. They finally meet in Moscow toward the end. in one of the book’s most memorable scenes. John won’t even agree to see her, but Adelaide persists and talks him into taking her on as his student, and we get a good idea of their personalities. Li plans a trilogy about these two, which may explain why this book felt a little unfinished to me. I look forward to the next two.
The book opens at the end of both their lives, then goes back to their childhoods and alternates between the two. Their stories are told separately until the very end. Each misses out on childhood: John to his talent and his father’s demand for perfection, and Adelaide to being passed from one relative to another before she landed with her grandmother.
Both families lived with constant death. Field’s parents lost other children and gave their names to the babies who came after. Adelaide lost both her parents. Music is how John and Adelaide push back. In an interview, Li describes Adelaide’s music as an argument with finality, and that idea gives the book its title. It reminded me of Dylan Thomas’s “Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night,” though the fit is loose. Thomas’s poem is a burst of anger at one death. Li’s characters feel its steady presence across their whole lives.
The opening already told us they would marry, so I spent the book waiting for the two stories to come together. They finally meet in Moscow toward the end. in one of the book’s most memorable scenes. John won’t even agree to see her, but Adelaide persists and talks him into taking her on as his student, and we get a good idea of their personalities. Li plans a trilogy about these two, which may explain why this book felt a little unfinished to me. I look forward to the next two.
October 28, 2026
This is the first book in a trilogy about two musicians, their lives, their tumultuous relationship and the role of music in all of it.
I really liked the way Li wrote about music and the inner thoughts of the two characters. It was interesting to see them develop and observe the contrast in their thinking about music and life goals. Simultaneously the interludes from the future helped contextualise what we were reading in the "present" and it was executed very well.
Something was missing that would make this an exceptional read for me, despite the polished writing. I had hoped to be swept away by the musical descriptions but the character portraits prevented the feeling of being mesmerised. A certain magic was lacking, perhaps due to the very pragmatic and sometimes cynical nature of the characters - so it may have been a deliberate choice on the part of the author. Though she was as insightful as ever, I felt at times that Li was holding back and being cautious. Of course this could be because of what is to come in the next two volumes but I can only judge the text that is available to me right now.
I am sufficiently curious to continue with the series but not in a "I need to read Book 2 the moment it comes out" way.
I really liked the way Li wrote about music and the inner thoughts of the two characters. It was interesting to see them develop and observe the contrast in their thinking about music and life goals. Simultaneously the interludes from the future helped contextualise what we were reading in the "present" and it was executed very well.
Something was missing that would make this an exceptional read for me, despite the polished writing. I had hoped to be swept away by the musical descriptions but the character portraits prevented the feeling of being mesmerised. A certain magic was lacking, perhaps due to the very pragmatic and sometimes cynical nature of the characters - so it may have been a deliberate choice on the part of the author. Though she was as insightful as ever, I felt at times that Li was holding back and being cautious. Of course this could be because of what is to come in the next two volumes but I can only judge the text that is available to me right now.
I am sufficiently curious to continue with the series but not in a "I need to read Book 2 the moment it comes out" way.
October 17, 2026
A very well researched book about a musician few have known. Epic historical fiction beginning with two young prodigies and taking us through their lives. Begins at the end with one of them dying and goes through dreams, talents, successes, and downfalls. For some reason, I wasn’t captivated but it was a good story overall. Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
In Music Against the Night, Li collapses the past and the present, or the present and the future. Her story of the two musicians begins with their early childhoods set in the late 18th century, and the future result or thought that interprets the past inundates the present-day timeline. This pushes readers to view the story from a sympathetic angle when the characters are children and irritation when the characters are grown almost synchronously. Li regularly commentates with sentences that begin with “In later years,” “Years later,” and “Even as a child, she should have known.” The events and experiences are viewed objectively, insofar as a character can view their history objectively; a sense of clarity is ever-present. This form suggests that the author focuses on how life is lived and that it is lived.
I have lacked a sense of closeness to the main characters of the hefty novels I’ve recently read, which, as I noted in a review the other day, requires readers to connect with them. I think. Additionally, I may have struggled with the general premise of musical prodigies. I suppose with the characters' giftedness, Li makes the point that the thrill of a promising future can easily dull, and this diminishment in the thrill is as common as things in nature merely growing (a phrase Li reuses in Music Against the Night).
My thanks to Farrar, Straus and Giroux and NetGalley for an ARC.
I have lacked a sense of closeness to the main characters of the hefty novels I’ve recently read, which, as I noted in a review the other day, requires readers to connect with them. I think. Additionally, I may have struggled with the general premise of musical prodigies. I suppose with the characters' giftedness, Li makes the point that the thrill of a promising future can easily dull, and this diminishment in the thrill is as common as things in nature merely growing (a phrase Li reuses in Music Against the Night).
My thanks to Farrar, Straus and Giroux and NetGalley for an ARC.
October 19, 2026
3.5 ⭐️ Interesting story of a pair of married musicians at the turn of the 18th century, Irish John Field and Adelaide “Percherette” Percheron from Ponticherry, India. Based on two historical figures.
The different sections describe each of their early years, families, ambitions, and musical careers spanning the locations of Ireland, England, Paris, France, and India, and Moscow. There are very in depth descriptions of the culture and customs of the times and how different for a man and a woman to have success in the field and what each sacrificed for their quests. I did enjoy Adelaide’s chapters more than John’s and found her to be smart, cunning, and a very complex character.
The pacing was slow in parts and I lost interest in some of the lengthy chapters.
Thanks to NetGalley and Fourth Estate Publishing for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
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.
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.
October 16, 2026
“𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘶𝘥𝘦; 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘶𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘩𝘺𝘱𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘴. 𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘰𝘯𝘦’𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘱𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘫𝘰𝘺, 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘴 𝘴𝘢𝘺: 𝘠𝘰𝘶 -- 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥, 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘤𝘬𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘴 -- 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘯𝘰 𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶. 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘸, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵.”
It’s interesting to have read Li’s nonfiction right before this because I think a lot of the topics that overlap in her real life show up in her fiction. Of course, glazed over with different thematics, but, at its core, it’s very much a book about her and everything that she has gone through.
In its wafting course through a very thin plot, we learn how love gets displaced in the work. Not just the work that keeps our creativity intact, but the labor of love, or lack of it when we live. Really, this is a book about the diminuendos and crescendos of how we love. The novel, in itself, a song, one sweet and sad, sometimes not always there in my own selective attention, but it is there, fragrant, and stills time when I need to slow down most.
“𝘓𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘯 𝘦𝘯𝘥; 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘥. 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘺, 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘵𝘦𝘳, 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘺 𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦; 𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳, 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘷𝘦 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘢 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘣𝘦 𝘢𝘴𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘶𝘭𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘪𝘯 𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘤, 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴: 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘐 𝘥𝘰 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘯𝘰𝘸, 𝘴𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘐 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢 𝘱𝘪𝘢𝘯𝘰𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘦, 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘤, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴?
𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯?”
It’s interesting to have read Li’s nonfiction right before this because I think a lot of the topics that overlap in her real life show up in her fiction. Of course, glazed over with different thematics, but, at its core, it’s very much a book about her and everything that she has gone through.
In its wafting course through a very thin plot, we learn how love gets displaced in the work. Not just the work that keeps our creativity intact, but the labor of love, or lack of it when we live. Really, this is a book about the diminuendos and crescendos of how we love. The novel, in itself, a song, one sweet and sad, sometimes not always there in my own selective attention, but it is there, fragrant, and stills time when I need to slow down most.
“𝘓𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘯 𝘦𝘯𝘥; 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘥. 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘺, 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘵𝘦𝘳, 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘺 𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦; 𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳, 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘷𝘦 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘢 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘣𝘦 𝘢𝘴𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘶𝘭𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘪𝘯 𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘤, 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴: 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘐 𝘥𝘰 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘯𝘰𝘸, 𝘴𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘐 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢 𝘱𝘪𝘢𝘯𝘰𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘦, 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘤, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴?
𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯?”
November 2, 2026
The first in a planned trilogy, a truly wonderful book that charts the childhood of John Fields, romantic composer and inventor of the nocturne, as he rises from Ireland to Bath to London before establishing himself in Russian society and his future bride Adelaide Percheron from the French colonies in India to society in France before eventually appearing at the stoop of Fields. Asides throughout the book provide colorful backstory to many of the (very real!) characters we meet. Overall, we are left to ponder what it means that a boy constantly pegged for greatness and on the path of Mozart is now little known and mostly lost to history. And what does it mean that his family, remarkable people with their own remarkable stories, are mere footnotes in a now forgotten story?
November 4, 2026
Painfully slow, I'm tired of waiting for a book to grab me, if not 100% in the first 5' I'm no longer lingering...
Review of advance copy received from Edelweiss+
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.
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.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 5, 2026
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.
October 31, 2026
I am never without a fantastic audiobook thanks to @macmillan.audio #MacAudio2026 !
MUSIC AGAINST THE NIGHT by Yiyun Li is a lyrical tale of two people who trek across the late 18th Century to pursue their passions. John's arc begins in Dublin as a prodigy but not without trials as he grows into a master pianist who travels through Europe and into Russia with his Mastercraft. Percherette comes from the French Indies and discovers her love for the pianoforte, crafting a way for her to pursue its magic.
This feels like the biggest prequel for a love story, and it was incredibly engaging. The audio was narrated by Harriet Carmichael who did an outstanding job bringing these two stories together. The musical interludes added a lovely experience to listening. I was expecting something a little different, but as I let the story become its own, I found it a beautifully told tale.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
MUSIC AGAINST THE NIGHT by Yiyun Li is a lyrical tale of two people who trek across the late 18th Century to pursue their passions. John's arc begins in Dublin as a prodigy but not without trials as he grows into a master pianist who travels through Europe and into Russia with his Mastercraft. Percherette comes from the French Indies and discovers her love for the pianoforte, crafting a way for her to pursue its magic.
This feels like the biggest prequel for a love story, and it was incredibly engaging. The audio was narrated by Harriet Carmichael who did an outstanding job bringing these two stories together. The musical interludes added a lovely experience to listening. I was expecting something a little different, but as I let the story become its own, I found it a beautifully told tale.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
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.
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.
October 30, 2026
I’m afraid this one didn’t particularly work for me, despite Ann Patchett apparently thinking it is so perfect that everyone should read it. Yiyun Li has clearly put an enormous amount of work into the research, and there is plenty to admire in the way she brings the musical world of John Field and Adelaide Percheron to life, weaving their stories together against the backdrop of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries.
However, I found it rather overlong and, at times, it does go on somewhat. There is an awful lot of detail, and I occasionally found myself wishing the story would just get on with it. And don’t get me started on Adelaide when she was a child. I found those sections particularly hard going.
The writing is undoubtedly accomplished and the research impressive, but somehow the whole thing felt like rather more effort than enjoyment. And just to add insult to injury, this is only the first book in a planned trilogy. I’m not sure I have the stamina for two more.
However, I found it rather overlong and, at times, it does go on somewhat. There is an awful lot of detail, and I occasionally found myself wishing the story would just get on with it. And don’t get me started on Adelaide when she was a child. I found those sections particularly hard going.
The writing is undoubtedly accomplished and the research impressive, but somehow the whole thing felt like rather more effort than enjoyment. And just to add insult to injury, this is only the first book in a planned trilogy. I’m not sure I have the stamina for two more.
Currently Reading
May 27, 2026Just 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.
P.S. I'm shamfefully behind on my reading, but I just want to share a lovely conversation between Yiyun Li and Jennifer Egan hosted by the New York Public Library. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BbK4J...
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.
P.S. I'm shamfefully behind on my reading, but I just want to share a lovely conversation between Yiyun Li and Jennifer Egan hosted by the New York Public Library. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BbK4J...
October 19, 2026
When Ann Patchett tells you a book is beautiful, one of the most amazing books she's ever read, you tell yourself it's a must-read. You conduct a deep search on Libby until you find it, then put it on hold months before its release date. You patiently wait for this epic tome to become available. And when that notification finally arrives, you're elated.
I had just finished Partita by Barbara Kingsolver, so I was desperately in need of another extraordinary work of fiction. Unfortunately, I don't think I would put Music Against the Night by Yiyun Li in the same category as Partita, nor can I describe it as a great reading experience.
I did love the final few chapters, especially the very last one, when husband and wife John Fields and Adelaide Percheron are FINALLY introduced together. And I do mean finally, because the preceding chapters attempt to slide in and out of their early lives as Li gradually introduces them to the reader.
That is what this novel felt like to me: a sliding. I think Li made a Herculean attempt to capture the extraordinarily eventful lives of both Fields and Percheron. Unfortunately, she moves through history, across time, and between numerous locations so frequently that I struggled to find my footing. The short chapters, presumably intended to hold the reader's attention, ultimately felt like a disservice to the story. We get bite-sized snapshots of these characters' lives, but the pieces never quite come together into a cohesive whole.
I did find the glimpses into life among the social classes of the 18th century fascinating. The fact that John Fields' family sacrificed so much to support and nurture their musical prodigy was remarkable. Their devotion also created resentment among his siblings, effectively pulling John away from his family until he was left with no meaningful relationships with them. An awkward exchange between John and his sister Grace in a London park would be the last time they ever saw one another.
Adelaide, known as Percherette, experiences a similarly unconventional life. Orphaned at a young age and raised by her grandmother, she eventually seeks to escape the confines of her home in the French colony of Pondicherry. She leaves to become the goddaughter—and, more accurately, the courtesan—of a much older man. It was fascinating, if sometimes startling, to see what these people endured to survive and what they were willing to sacrifice in pursuit of their craft.
But the constant sliding between stories made for a frustrating reading experience. I struggled to pay attention to what was happening and frequently lost track of who was who. Many of the characters were also difficult to like, which made it hard to care about their lives or what happened to them. I found myself repeatedly checking to see how much more I had to read before the book would finally be over.
And that's always disappointing. It's sad when a book is described as a beautiful experience by so many readers, yet you struggle to see its value yourself.
As I mentioned, I genuinely enjoyed the ending. There were plenty of moments when I considered giving up, but I'm glad I stuck with it because those final chapters made the journey feel at least somewhat worthwhile. Still, I can't say I would recommend this book to others.
I also find myself wanting to investigate further to understand what Ann Patchett and so many other readers found so extraordinary about it.
And here's the thing: when Ann Patchett says a book is one of the best she's ever read, and you finish it wondering what you missed, it's hard not to question your own literary judgment.
Maybe I'll come to appreciate this book differently with time. For now, though, I have to trust my own reading experience, even when it doesn't align with the opinions of readers I admire.
I had just finished Partita by Barbara Kingsolver, so I was desperately in need of another extraordinary work of fiction. Unfortunately, I don't think I would put Music Against the Night by Yiyun Li in the same category as Partita, nor can I describe it as a great reading experience.
I did love the final few chapters, especially the very last one, when husband and wife John Fields and Adelaide Percheron are FINALLY introduced together. And I do mean finally, because the preceding chapters attempt to slide in and out of their early lives as Li gradually introduces them to the reader.
That is what this novel felt like to me: a sliding. I think Li made a Herculean attempt to capture the extraordinarily eventful lives of both Fields and Percheron. Unfortunately, she moves through history, across time, and between numerous locations so frequently that I struggled to find my footing. The short chapters, presumably intended to hold the reader's attention, ultimately felt like a disservice to the story. We get bite-sized snapshots of these characters' lives, but the pieces never quite come together into a cohesive whole.
I did find the glimpses into life among the social classes of the 18th century fascinating. The fact that John Fields' family sacrificed so much to support and nurture their musical prodigy was remarkable. Their devotion also created resentment among his siblings, effectively pulling John away from his family until he was left with no meaningful relationships with them. An awkward exchange between John and his sister Grace in a London park would be the last time they ever saw one another.
Adelaide, known as Percherette, experiences a similarly unconventional life. Orphaned at a young age and raised by her grandmother, she eventually seeks to escape the confines of her home in the French colony of Pondicherry. She leaves to become the goddaughter—and, more accurately, the courtesan—of a much older man. It was fascinating, if sometimes startling, to see what these people endured to survive and what they were willing to sacrifice in pursuit of their craft.
But the constant sliding between stories made for a frustrating reading experience. I struggled to pay attention to what was happening and frequently lost track of who was who. Many of the characters were also difficult to like, which made it hard to care about their lives or what happened to them. I found myself repeatedly checking to see how much more I had to read before the book would finally be over.
And that's always disappointing. It's sad when a book is described as a beautiful experience by so many readers, yet you struggle to see its value yourself.
As I mentioned, I genuinely enjoyed the ending. There were plenty of moments when I considered giving up, but I'm glad I stuck with it because those final chapters made the journey feel at least somewhat worthwhile. Still, I can't say I would recommend this book to others.
I also find myself wanting to investigate further to understand what Ann Patchett and so many other readers found so extraordinary about it.
And here's the thing: when Ann Patchett says a book is one of the best she's ever read, and you finish it wondering what you missed, it's hard not to question your own literary judgment.
Maybe I'll come to appreciate this book differently with time. For now, though, I have to trust my own reading experience, even when it doesn't align with the opinions of readers I admire.
October 31, 2026
What a unique experience this book turned out to be!
First of all, I read this at the recommendation of our lord and savior, Ann Patchett. Before I bought it, I read the first ten pages in Powell's and was immediately compelled to read on.
However, I thought this book would tell the story of the youth, young adulthood, courtship, and marriage of John Field and Adelaide Percheron. In actuality, we see only their youths and young adulthoods--the story concludes on the day these two musicians meet.
I think most writers would have focused more on their relationship than everything that came before--that seems more obvious to me, anyway. As such, the plot here is meandering, and sometimes reads like a biography--a bit dry, cluttered with the very real bumps and false-starts of life. It's the kind of plot that would normally have me running for the hills, bored to tears. There's some kind of magic sauce in the writing, though. Li's magnetic prose and short chapters had me feverishly turning the pages, eager for more of her characters' reflections on music and life. I was convinced that this was headed for 5 star territory, but the final third lost some steam. Nevertheless, I'm glad I read this. I enjoyed it VASTLY more than I did Yiyun Li's memoir writing, which I slogged through earlier this year.
Overall: I've read a lot of books, but I've never had a reading experience quite like this one. Cool.
P.S. Na Kim is the best cover designer working today and no one can convince me otherwise.
First of all, I read this at the recommendation of our lord and savior, Ann Patchett. Before I bought it, I read the first ten pages in Powell's and was immediately compelled to read on.
However, I thought this book would tell the story of the youth, young adulthood, courtship, and marriage of John Field and Adelaide Percheron. In actuality, we see only their youths and young adulthoods--the story concludes on the day these two musicians meet.
I think most writers would have focused more on their relationship than everything that came before--that seems more obvious to me, anyway. As such, the plot here is meandering, and sometimes reads like a biography--a bit dry, cluttered with the very real bumps and false-starts of life. It's the kind of plot that would normally have me running for the hills, bored to tears. There's some kind of magic sauce in the writing, though. Li's magnetic prose and short chapters had me feverishly turning the pages, eager for more of her characters' reflections on music and life. I was convinced that this was headed for 5 star territory, but the final third lost some steam. Nevertheless, I'm glad I read this. I enjoyed it VASTLY more than I did Yiyun Li's memoir writing, which I slogged through earlier this year.
Overall: I've read a lot of books, but I've never had a reading experience quite like this one. Cool.
P.S. Na Kim is the best cover designer working today and no one can convince me otherwise.
October 14, 2026
I should have loved Music Against the Night more than I did. Yeyun Li’s novel follows two real musicians at the turn of the 19th century: John Field, born in Dublin and raised under the weight of being “the next Mozart,” and Adélaïde Percheron, born in India, whose nickname “Percherette” suffers from lack of e oration. Short chapters alternate between them as they grow from children into gifted young adults, while a reflection from an older Adélaïde tells us from the start that she married John and outlived him.
The structure is the book’s most interesting choice and my biggest struggle with it. Their paths don’t cross until roughly 98% of the way through. That delay could have built anticipation, but for me it drained momentum. The prose is gorgeous, but Li packs in so much historical detail that it often felt disconnected from the story, and both main characters felt fragmented at times. As a lifelong lover of classical music, I wanted the music itself to take center stage, and I wanted to feel it more than I did.
Still, I’d happily recommend this to readers of lyrical historical fiction who are patient with a slow, immersive pace.
The audiobook is where the book really sang for me. I read the first half on an advance digital copy and listened to the second half on audio, and it’s beautiful. A John Field nocturne plays between each chapter, and the narration is perfect. Since finishing, I haven’t stopped listening to his nocturnes, which may be the highest compliment I can give the book.
Rating: 4 stars
Thank you to NetGalley and Farrar, Straus & Giroux for the advance copy.
The structure is the book’s most interesting choice and my biggest struggle with it. Their paths don’t cross until roughly 98% of the way through. That delay could have built anticipation, but for me it drained momentum. The prose is gorgeous, but Li packs in so much historical detail that it often felt disconnected from the story, and both main characters felt fragmented at times. As a lifelong lover of classical music, I wanted the music itself to take center stage, and I wanted to feel it more than I did.
Still, I’d happily recommend this to readers of lyrical historical fiction who are patient with a slow, immersive pace.
The audiobook is where the book really sang for me. I read the first half on an advance digital copy and listened to the second half on audio, and it’s beautiful. A John Field nocturne plays between each chapter, and the narration is perfect. Since finishing, I haven’t stopped listening to his nocturnes, which may be the highest compliment I can give the book.
Rating: 4 stars
Thank you to NetGalley and Farrar, Straus & Giroux for the advance copy.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
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!
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!
October 21, 2026
I have to say, I was nearly halfway through, reading short bits at a time, and wondering what all the hoopla was about...and then, I had a couple hours to immerse myself and immersed I was. I love the way that Li's narrator enters into the story. I love the way that the future parenthetically makes its way into any given scene. I love the way that Li portrays childhood, avoiding the pitfalls of romanticization. Some of the observations and reflections are stunning enough that it is one of the few times I've wished to own a book that I checked out from the library, so I could go back and read some passages. But I was a responsible library patron and returned it as soon as I finished, thinking of all the other people who have it on hold. Savor it.
November 1, 2026
“Music Against the Night” by Yiyun Li, is so beautifully written that I couldn’t take my eyes of it. I would go so far as to say that the prose is flawless.
Li tells us the (largely forgotten) story of the once famous composer John Field, and his musical prodigy wife Adelaide Percheron. The story of how sixteen-year-old Adelaide, from Pondicherry, India, and twenty-five-year-old John from Dublin, end up meeting in Moscow in 1807 is truly remarkable.
Throughout reading the novel I listened to several of John Field's compositions. The great gift of the internet is that music is available to all.
Li tells us the (largely forgotten) story of the once famous composer John Field, and his musical prodigy wife Adelaide Percheron. The story of how sixteen-year-old Adelaide, from Pondicherry, India, and twenty-five-year-old John from Dublin, end up meeting in Moscow in 1807 is truly remarkable.
Throughout reading the novel I listened to several of John Field's compositions. The great gift of the internet is that music is available to all.
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