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The Prague Sonata
Music and war, war and music—these are the twin motifs around which Bradford Morrow, recipient of the Academy Award in Fiction from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, has composed his magnum opus, a novel more than a dozen years in the making.
In the early days of the new millennium, pages of a worn and weathered original sonata manuscript—the gift of a Czech immigrant living out her final days in Queens—come into the hands of Meta Taverner, a young musicologist whose concert piano career was cut short by an injury. To Meta's eye, it appears to be an authentic eighteenth-century work; to her discerning ear, the music rendered there is commanding, hauntingly beautiful, clearly the undiscovered composition of a master. But there is no indication of who the composer might be. The gift comes with the request that Meta attempt to find the manuscript's true owner—a Prague friend the old woman has not heard from since they were forced apart by the Second World War—and to make the three-part sonata whole again. Leaving New York behind for the land of Dvorák and Kafka, Meta sets out on an unforgettable search to locate the remaining movements of the sonata and uncover a story that has influenced the course of many lives, even as it becomes clear that she isn't the only one after the music's secrets.
In the early days of the new millennium, pages of a worn and weathered original sonata manuscript—the gift of a Czech immigrant living out her final days in Queens—come into the hands of Meta Taverner, a young musicologist whose concert piano career was cut short by an injury. To Meta's eye, it appears to be an authentic eighteenth-century work; to her discerning ear, the music rendered there is commanding, hauntingly beautiful, clearly the undiscovered composition of a master. But there is no indication of who the composer might be. The gift comes with the request that Meta attempt to find the manuscript's true owner—a Prague friend the old woman has not heard from since they were forced apart by the Second World War—and to make the three-part sonata whole again. Leaving New York behind for the land of Dvorák and Kafka, Meta sets out on an unforgettable search to locate the remaining movements of the sonata and uncover a story that has influenced the course of many lives, even as it becomes clear that she isn't the only one after the music's secrets.
519 pages, Hardcover
First published October 3, 2017
769 people are currently reading
4537 people want to read
About the author
Bradford Morrow
149 books248 followersBradford Morrow has lived for the past thirty years in New York City and rural upstate New York, though he grew up in Colorado and lived and worked in a variety of places in between. While in his mid-teens, he traveled through rural Honduras as a member of the Amigos de las Americas program, serving as a medical volunteer in the summer of 1967. The following year he was awarded an American Field Service scholarship to finish his last year of high school as a foreign exchange student at a Liceo Scientifico in Cuneo, Italy. In 1973, he took time off from studying at the University of Colorado to live in Paris for a year. After doing graduate work on a Danforth Fellowship at Yale University, he moved to Santa Barbara, California, to work as a rare book dealer. In 1981 he relocated to New York City to the literary journal Conjunctions, which he founded with the poet Kenneth Rexroth, and to write novels. He and his two cats divide their time between NYC and upstate New York.
Visit his website at www.bradfordmorrow.com.
Visit his website at www.bradfordmorrow.com.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 548 reviews
September 24, 2017
This book contains several of my favorite things- history, music, a love story and a good mystery. Meta, a musicologist, is given the second movement of an unknown 18th century sonata by Irena, a Czech emigre, and charged with finding the first and third movements.
The story travels back and forth in time, between Otylie being given the sonata by her father at the end of WWI, to her divvying up the movements during WWII to keep it out of the hands of the Germans, to her later life and then to the present day as Meta attempts to find Otylie and re-discover the other movements.
The writing here is lush; the tale vivid. Descriptions of Prague read like a perfect travelogue, making you feel you are walking the streets. I know enough about classical music to be dangerous. The book does a great job of educating the reader without pontificating. It made me want to seek out some of the music mentioned.
The middle of the book falls into the typical problem with stories involving searches. How to transmit the lack of progress and sense of futility, the many false starts and wrong turns, without settling into tedium? It's a fine line and one this book doesn't completely manage. Luckily, just at the point where boredom was starting to set in, the book picks up again.
The book is told from multiple points of view, including the good and bad guys, which helps advance the story. I especially appreciated understanding Wittman. The story is fascinating. A little bit better editing to tighten things up would have helped move it along at a brisker pace.
My thanks to netgalley and Grove Atlantic for an advance copy of this book
The story travels back and forth in time, between Otylie being given the sonata by her father at the end of WWI, to her divvying up the movements during WWII to keep it out of the hands of the Germans, to her later life and then to the present day as Meta attempts to find Otylie and re-discover the other movements.
The writing here is lush; the tale vivid. Descriptions of Prague read like a perfect travelogue, making you feel you are walking the streets. I know enough about classical music to be dangerous. The book does a great job of educating the reader without pontificating. It made me want to seek out some of the music mentioned.
The middle of the book falls into the typical problem with stories involving searches. How to transmit the lack of progress and sense of futility, the many false starts and wrong turns, without settling into tedium? It's a fine line and one this book doesn't completely manage. Luckily, just at the point where boredom was starting to set in, the book picks up again.
The book is told from multiple points of view, including the good and bad guys, which helps advance the story. I especially appreciated understanding Wittman. The story is fascinating. A little bit better editing to tighten things up would have helped move it along at a brisker pace.
My thanks to netgalley and Grove Atlantic for an advance copy of this book
October 6, 2017
What I liked?
The history, had read little before of the Nazi invasion of Czechoslovakia, and none at all of The Velvet Revolution of the nineties.
The tour of Prague, fascinating city with a long history.
A few of the characters, Otylie, Sam, Garrett, Tomas and Irena. All interesting and touching, living in hard times and trying to survive the best way they could. Their lives afterward, what happened to them.
What was mixed? Love music, find searching and identifying lost things fascinating, this was, however, quite lengthy,and it was difficult to maintain my interest.
What I had trouble with.
The less than smooth transition from past to present.
I felt this story went on too long, some parts seemed like they could have been done away with, making a tighter less lengthy read.
Musical villians. Turning a historical into or rather trying to make it a thriller didn't work for me, the historical aspect alone held more appeal to this reader.
Something happens that I felt was a little unbelievable considering the gap in time between present and past.
So, as you can see this for me was a mixed read. I'm sure others who look for different things will find some of what bothered me, more to their liking. Only way to tell is to try it and see.
Our October buddy read, always special with Angela and Esil.
ARC from Netgalley.
The history, had read little before of the Nazi invasion of Czechoslovakia, and none at all of The Velvet Revolution of the nineties.
The tour of Prague, fascinating city with a long history.
A few of the characters, Otylie, Sam, Garrett, Tomas and Irena. All interesting and touching, living in hard times and trying to survive the best way they could. Their lives afterward, what happened to them.
What was mixed? Love music, find searching and identifying lost things fascinating, this was, however, quite lengthy,and it was difficult to maintain my interest.
What I had trouble with.
The less than smooth transition from past to present.
I felt this story went on too long, some parts seemed like they could have been done away with, making a tighter less lengthy read.
Musical villians. Turning a historical into or rather trying to make it a thriller didn't work for me, the historical aspect alone held more appeal to this reader.
Something happens that I felt was a little unbelievable considering the gap in time between present and past.
So, as you can see this for me was a mixed read. I'm sure others who look for different things will find some of what bothered me, more to their liking. Only way to tell is to try it and see.
Our October buddy read, always special with Angela and Esil.
ARC from Netgalley.
October 4, 2017
I thought I would like this more since at it's core, this is story of courageous resistance against the Nazis during the German occupation of Prague. I’ve read stories before about how people have tried so hard under almost impossible circumstances, to save paintings. This time it’s a music manuscript. For a moment I ask why - when your life and the lives of others are so much more precious. But it is a matter of saving a part of history, a part of one’s culture, a part of oneself. Certainly meaningful, yet I felt like I've read this story before. Well, not this one in particular but stories like it. The structure is formulaic- alternating narratives between the past and present connecting characters, a common mechanism, but this felt somewhat disjointed. For me the older story is usually the most captivating and it was the case here as well. The modern story has a romantic relationship that isn't going well and the modern character could find the love of her life in the quest for the lost piece of art . The same story as some other novels.
Odylie and her husband Jakub, try to save themselves during the occupation of Prague. Odylie trying to save a valuable music manuscript left to her by her father, divides it in three parts. She takes one and gives one to her husband Jakub, and one to her friend Irena. Meta in the present day is at a time of uncertainty in her life, deterred by an accident from becoming the concert pianist she was destined for. She connects with Irena and becomes engaged in the search for the rest of the sonata. Sounds like a moving story so why just barely three stars? While I enjoyed the early stories of Otylie and Jakub, the descriptions of Prague, the courage of the resistors and the meaning of saving the music from the Nazis, it was too long , too drawn out and the journey was like a wild goose chase with bad guy musicologists after the sonata as well. The story, just the story of finding the pieces of the sonata , the stories of Otylie and Jacub would have been enough. The execution of it was just too much.
This was the monthly buddy read with Diane and Esil. We gave up in our original choice but managed to stay the course with this one . I think we always hope for one we will all love so we're trying again next week with another book.
I received an advanced copy of this book from Atlantic Monthly Press through NetGalley.
October 8, 2017
2.5 stars. As I read The Prague Sonata, I kept thinking "Please let this book end..." What a terrible reaction to what should and could have been a really good novel. The Prague Sonata is a good idea left untamed. It takes place throughout the 20th and early 21st century, and focuses on a found musical manuscript that is suspected of being by a famous composer. Just at the beginning of WWII, Prague resident, Otylie, who has inherited the manuscript from her father, must find a way to keep it safe during the war. In later years in New York, Meta comes into possession of part of the manuscript and goes on a quest to figure out its origin. The historical backdrop includes Prague as the Nazis were taking over and later as communism was coming to an end. Sounds pretty good, right? Unfortunately, rather than refining this idea into a tight readable narrative, the author and editors allowed it to flounder and wallow. The timelines and perspectives are choppy and disjointed. There are far too many uninteresting unnecessary bits and pieces -- especially in the contemporary timeline -- such as Meta's failing relationship in New York and her new romance in Prague. And there is a ridiculous contemporary intrigue amongst competing musicologists. But mostly, it's just way way way too long. How could an editor allow this one to be published without far more cutting and refinement? I am usually so happy to read books set in 20th century Eastern Europe, but this one was especially disappointing because it promised so much but failed to deliver. The only reason I'm not rating it a flat 2 stars is because I really liked the parts depicting Otylie and some of the older Czech characters. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an opportunity to read an advance copy.
This was another monthly buddy read with Angela and Diane. Thanks to both of you for making this tedious journey so much more tolerable.
This was another monthly buddy read with Angela and Diane. Thanks to both of you for making this tedious journey so much more tolerable.
February 18, 2019
I absolutely loved this book! It had all the aspects I love - historical detail, mystery, complex characters and scholarly research. Perhaps because I love music and have had many years of piano instruction, the preservation of a previously unknown sonata by a master such as Beethoven was mind-boggling. I do enjoy lengthy books as they make me feel connected to the story and the characters.
I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a "meaty" and well-written book.
"Being a survivor meant you live to some degree in a chronic state of mourning like a low-level fever that waxes and wanes but is never truly eliminated."
"Understanding was a fluid thing because, like music, it flows and shifts and reinvents itself with every passing moment. Worthy of reaching toward, yes, but always capricious, too unstable to rely on as a sturdy truth."
I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a "meaty" and well-written book.
"Being a survivor meant you live to some degree in a chronic state of mourning like a low-level fever that waxes and wanes but is never truly eliminated."
"Understanding was a fluid thing because, like music, it flows and shifts and reinvents itself with every passing moment. Worthy of reaching toward, yes, but always capricious, too unstable to rely on as a sturdy truth."
August 31, 2017
Lush, lovely, and lyrical would be an accurate way to describe Mr. Morrow's twenty year journey in researching and writing The Prague Sonata.
I was captivated from the beginning by the story of two women, born almost sixty years apart, in their quest to preserve, and then recover a sonata of unknown authorship but of unmistakable beauty and originality. A sonata is a composition written in three sections known as an exposition, a development, and a recapitulation
Otylie Laska’s father gives her an eighteenth century manuscript of unknown provenance and authorship the night before he leaves to die in World War I. Music is war and war is music he tells her. She takes this to heart and refuses all contact with music although she treasures and cares for this manuscript because she recognizes the beauty and rarity of this music.
World War II comes to Prague in 1939. By then she has married a Jewish antiquarian, Jakub Bartsova who leaves Prague for the underground as the Nazis march into Prague. Otylie is determined to protect the sonata while at the same time keeping it from the Nazis. She divides the three sections of the sonata between herself, her husband Jakub and her very best friend Irena.
The year 2000 and Irena is dying. She manages to deliver a section to and fascinate a young musicologist, Meta Taverner, with the story of the sonata. Meta had been on her way to an illustrious career as a concert pianist. A car accident which damaged her hand has removed her far from the ranks of a first class pianist and into a career as a musicologist.
Meta is determined to travel to Prague and to find and unite all of the sections, plus determine the author of the sonata. The main drawback in determining authorship is the sonata is in a copyist’s hand, not the original composer’s hand.
If Meta’s crazy theory of authorship is proven, the music world will be set on its head and years of research will ensue.
What I don’t know about music can be told in one word: everything. Yet I did not find my ignorance much of a drawback. Yes, I occasionally wished for a better understanding of some of the terms, but Marrow helped me past those problems with his explanations and metaphors.
The story flows beautifully between different keepers of the sections and different historical times from World I through The Velvet Revolution. Prague is sometimes described as the most beautiful city in Europe. After reading about Prague during the time of the Nazi’s and communists one begins to understand the miracle of Prague’s survival.
There is a villain who loses all sense of himself in his quest to retrieve and own the sonata, but Marrow already knows this story is dramatic as it stands and the added drama is mild and well handled.
Most of the characters, even the one that appear for just a short while are multi-layered and fascinate with their own stories, the exception being a boyfriend, Jonathan, who was just a pleasant, then sad distraction.
The writing is just beautiful and I could give example after example, but let me end with this stunning quote “Impatient to experience the music off the page and set it free in the air”
Thank you to NetGalley and Grove Atlantic for an ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.
I was captivated from the beginning by the story of two women, born almost sixty years apart, in their quest to preserve, and then recover a sonata of unknown authorship but of unmistakable beauty and originality. A sonata is a composition written in three sections known as an exposition, a development, and a recapitulation
Otylie Laska’s father gives her an eighteenth century manuscript of unknown provenance and authorship the night before he leaves to die in World War I. Music is war and war is music he tells her. She takes this to heart and refuses all contact with music although she treasures and cares for this manuscript because she recognizes the beauty and rarity of this music.
World War II comes to Prague in 1939. By then she has married a Jewish antiquarian, Jakub Bartsova who leaves Prague for the underground as the Nazis march into Prague. Otylie is determined to protect the sonata while at the same time keeping it from the Nazis. She divides the three sections of the sonata between herself, her husband Jakub and her very best friend Irena.
The year 2000 and Irena is dying. She manages to deliver a section to and fascinate a young musicologist, Meta Taverner, with the story of the sonata. Meta had been on her way to an illustrious career as a concert pianist. A car accident which damaged her hand has removed her far from the ranks of a first class pianist and into a career as a musicologist.
Meta is determined to travel to Prague and to find and unite all of the sections, plus determine the author of the sonata. The main drawback in determining authorship is the sonata is in a copyist’s hand, not the original composer’s hand.
If Meta’s crazy theory of authorship is proven, the music world will be set on its head and years of research will ensue.
What I don’t know about music can be told in one word: everything. Yet I did not find my ignorance much of a drawback. Yes, I occasionally wished for a better understanding of some of the terms, but Marrow helped me past those problems with his explanations and metaphors.
The story flows beautifully between different keepers of the sections and different historical times from World I through The Velvet Revolution. Prague is sometimes described as the most beautiful city in Europe. After reading about Prague during the time of the Nazi’s and communists one begins to understand the miracle of Prague’s survival.
There is a villain who loses all sense of himself in his quest to retrieve and own the sonata, but Marrow already knows this story is dramatic as it stands and the added drama is mild and well handled.
Most of the characters, even the one that appear for just a short while are multi-layered and fascinate with their own stories, the exception being a boyfriend, Jonathan, who was just a pleasant, then sad distraction.
The writing is just beautiful and I could give example after example, but let me end with this stunning quote “Impatient to experience the music off the page and set it free in the air”
Thank you to NetGalley and Grove Atlantic for an ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.
May 9, 2019
This is such a long novel, perhaps longer than it needs to be. It is rather slow, but the story unfolds in a nonlinear fashion. It starts out just after WWI, then continues to WWII, then to modern times, back and forth, back and forth. The Velvet revolution, modern times, back and forth again and again.
So why do I like it so much? A few reasons. First, the novel is a mystery/detective story. The reader simply does not know how it will end, and there are a few surprises scattered along the way. A partial music manuscript is from around 1800, give or take a few years. Who is its composer? Is it authentic or is it a very good hoax? How did it arrive in Otylie's father's hands?
Also, the novel is about music and about musicologists. Meta, the main character, is given the middle movement of a piano sonata. She is amazed by the beauty of the music, and simultaneously perplexed by the sudden jumps between different styles. Her character, as well as all the others, come alive. At the same time, the unraveling of the mystery involves understanding the music in the composition. It could have been written by any number of composers from that time period. And, where are the missing parts of the manuscript; how can one possibly find them, given the many decades that have passed since the manuscript was separated for safe-keeping?
The novel is simultaneously about multiple romances, involving the first, 20th century character, Otylie, and the modern-day musician Meta. Both of them fall in love, and ... well, there will be no spoilers here. But both of them understand the potential significance of the manuscript.
I was thoroughly engaged by the story, even though I don't really like romances. The writing is never sentimental, and it flows deliciously through the entire novel. Musical metaphors are scattered throughout, but don't seem to add much or to distract from the story. I raced through the book, because ... it is enjoyable.
So why do I like it so much? A few reasons. First, the novel is a mystery/detective story. The reader simply does not know how it will end, and there are a few surprises scattered along the way. A partial music manuscript is from around 1800, give or take a few years. Who is its composer? Is it authentic or is it a very good hoax? How did it arrive in Otylie's father's hands?
Also, the novel is about music and about musicologists. Meta, the main character, is given the middle movement of a piano sonata. She is amazed by the beauty of the music, and simultaneously perplexed by the sudden jumps between different styles. Her character, as well as all the others, come alive. At the same time, the unraveling of the mystery involves understanding the music in the composition. It could have been written by any number of composers from that time period. And, where are the missing parts of the manuscript; how can one possibly find them, given the many decades that have passed since the manuscript was separated for safe-keeping?
The novel is simultaneously about multiple romances, involving the first, 20th century character, Otylie, and the modern-day musician Meta. Both of them fall in love, and ... well, there will be no spoilers here. But both of them understand the potential significance of the manuscript.
I was thoroughly engaged by the story, even though I don't really like romances. The writing is never sentimental, and it flows deliciously through the entire novel. Musical metaphors are scattered throughout, but don't seem to add much or to distract from the story. I raced through the book, because ... it is enjoyable.
October 1, 2017
3.5 stars
I loved the base story line in The Prague Sonata; it was completely engrossing, clever and unique. My one complaint, which altered my overall thoughts on the book significantly, was that the book was WAY too long and included too much extraneous information. I ended up having to skim pages and pages to pick up the next section on the sonata story line. I thoroughly enjoyed the tale regarding the missing manuscript, and the resolution of that tale brought tears to my eyes. The Czech history was interesting too, but I felt it should have been briefer. Thanks to Grove Atlantic for my ARC; all opinions are my own.
I loved the base story line in The Prague Sonata; it was completely engrossing, clever and unique. My one complaint, which altered my overall thoughts on the book significantly, was that the book was WAY too long and included too much extraneous information. I ended up having to skim pages and pages to pick up the next section on the sonata story line. I thoroughly enjoyed the tale regarding the missing manuscript, and the resolution of that tale brought tears to my eyes. The Czech history was interesting too, but I felt it should have been briefer. Thanks to Grove Atlantic for my ARC; all opinions are my own.
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October 7, 2017 Thanks to NetGalley for an advanced ebook in exchange for an honest review.
I have decided to not give this book a rating. I dragged my feet on the reading of it and at the 34% mark admitted defeat. This was perhaps the first NetGalley that I felt was assembled in a mismatch way because I could never make head nor tails of which dual storyline was unraveling. Although I am really disappointed that this book didn't hold my interest, I can see that I am safely in the minority.
I have decided to not give this book a rating. I dragged my feet on the reading of it and at the 34% mark admitted defeat. This was perhaps the first NetGalley that I felt was assembled in a mismatch way because I could never make head nor tails of which dual storyline was unraveling. Although I am really disappointed that this book didn't hold my interest, I can see that I am safely in the minority.
May 21, 2017
An anonymous piano sonata of unknown provenance and Prague, one of the most enchanting cities in the world – I simply loved the premise and read The Prague Sonata in great anticipation.
In brief, I was disappointed. The characters are not especially developed and the “bad guy” is not especially bad – just another vain, narcissistic academic. In places, it felt the author was simply copying off notes for a plot outline, and in others, the narrative was overwritten with flowery or five dollar words.
Mr. Morrow, the author, I found, I had written other novels, is a noted editor of a literary journal, and an academic. And I see his novels have enjoyed varying degrees of success in the past. So, perhaps it is I, for as I see from other reviews of the Prague Sonata Goodreads that I may be one of the dissenters.
On a positive note, I think the novel has great potential as a motion picture, complete with a lush musical score and stunning visuals of Prague, to seduce the senses.
My thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for permitting me to read an advance copy.
August 1, 2021
I have read a couple of books from this author in the past and was happy to find this one available through Kindle Unlimited. Reading this book requires a good chunk of time and is well worth it as the reader becomes intensely involved in the quest of a young American woman musicologist striving to find the other two movements of a Sonata with intriguing history.
Prague is the scene for much of the tale, but the history of the documents from one young girl's gift from her father, her strife during war as adult, her husband's need to fight, the improbability of gathering the three movements that she had separated to protect from Nazis...Much to overcome!
It will take time to read this book but it is a very rewarding read.
Kindle Unlimited
Prague is the scene for much of the tale, but the history of the documents from one young girl's gift from her father, her strife during war as adult, her husband's need to fight, the improbability of gathering the three movements that she had separated to protect from Nazis...Much to overcome!
It will take time to read this book but it is a very rewarding read.
Kindle Unlimited
April 27, 2017
5 plus stars
Our story starts out in Czechoslovakia just after the ending of WWI. A little girl named Otylie is told by her father that there is music in war. He describes even the various types of military music, including the music that accompanies the start and finish of a battle. The young girl ponders this and decides she doesn’t want this haunting her. He leaves her a three part musical score. For Otylie this is the only thing that remains of her father.
It is now the late 1939 and Czechoslovakia is invaded by the Germans. Otylie knows she must guard the sonata from the avaricious Germans. They are destroying everything in their path – buildings, businesses and people. Neighbors are telling on neighbors in order to curry favor and to survive. Otylie gives one-third of the score to her friend Irene and cautions her to guard it with her life. She hopes that by splitting it up, the Germans won’t know what she has or think that it is of any value. The other third she gets to her husband, Jakob. Jakob is on the run from the Nazis.
During the present day a part of an unattributed manuscript is given to Meta Tavener. She is a woman whose piano career was cut short be a devastating injury to her hand. The musical score appears to be authentic. It appears to have been written in the 18th Century. She meets Irena Svobodova Dorfman an elderly and very ill lady who has one-third of the musical score. She pleads with Meta to see if she can learn find the real owner and the other two parts of the score.
Meta travels to the former Czechoslovakia to see if she can locate the woman who Irena in New York hasn’t seen since WWII.
What follows is a remarkable story of discovery. Meta also learns that she is not the only one looking for answers about the script. The story moves back and forth through time in a beautiful yet compelling manner. We learn interesting background information about several well-known characters that played a part in WWII.
This story is beautifully written and plotted. It is exciting and absorbing. It tells the story of love, loss and the vagaries of the human heart. The research that went into this book is exhaustive. This is my first Bradford Morrow novel, but I will certainly be looking into other ones he has written. I truly loved it. My only problem with the book was that the transitions were difficult to follow. The story jumped from present to past with barely a paragraph break. Hopefully, this is resolved before final publication. The musical references were a little disconcerting because I did not know them, but no distraction at all from the story.
I want to thank Netgalley and Grove Atlantic/Atlantic Monthly Press for forwarding to me a copy of this remarkable book to read.
Our story starts out in Czechoslovakia just after the ending of WWI. A little girl named Otylie is told by her father that there is music in war. He describes even the various types of military music, including the music that accompanies the start and finish of a battle. The young girl ponders this and decides she doesn’t want this haunting her. He leaves her a three part musical score. For Otylie this is the only thing that remains of her father.
It is now the late 1939 and Czechoslovakia is invaded by the Germans. Otylie knows she must guard the sonata from the avaricious Germans. They are destroying everything in their path – buildings, businesses and people. Neighbors are telling on neighbors in order to curry favor and to survive. Otylie gives one-third of the score to her friend Irene and cautions her to guard it with her life. She hopes that by splitting it up, the Germans won’t know what she has or think that it is of any value. The other third she gets to her husband, Jakob. Jakob is on the run from the Nazis.
During the present day a part of an unattributed manuscript is given to Meta Tavener. She is a woman whose piano career was cut short be a devastating injury to her hand. The musical score appears to be authentic. It appears to have been written in the 18th Century. She meets Irena Svobodova Dorfman an elderly and very ill lady who has one-third of the musical score. She pleads with Meta to see if she can learn find the real owner and the other two parts of the score.
Meta travels to the former Czechoslovakia to see if she can locate the woman who Irena in New York hasn’t seen since WWII.
What follows is a remarkable story of discovery. Meta also learns that she is not the only one looking for answers about the script. The story moves back and forth through time in a beautiful yet compelling manner. We learn interesting background information about several well-known characters that played a part in WWII.
This story is beautifully written and plotted. It is exciting and absorbing. It tells the story of love, loss and the vagaries of the human heart. The research that went into this book is exhaustive. This is my first Bradford Morrow novel, but I will certainly be looking into other ones he has written. I truly loved it. My only problem with the book was that the transitions were difficult to follow. The story jumped from present to past with barely a paragraph break. Hopefully, this is resolved before final publication. The musical references were a little disconcerting because I did not know them, but no distraction at all from the story.
I want to thank Netgalley and Grove Atlantic/Atlantic Monthly Press for forwarding to me a copy of this remarkable book to read.
September 17, 2017
What makes me love a book? Gorgeous writing. Great characters. An intriguing plot. Insights into our common humanity. Historical perspective. Encountering joy and love. Encountering horror, war, and villains. A story line that grabs me so I want to know what happens next.
Some books have one or two of those attributes. To find a book that wraps up all of these things is a happy day indeed. Bradford Morrow's The Prague Sonata offers the whole package.
The story is rich and complex, but also full of music and visual references that made me think, I can't wait to see the movie.
Protagonist Meta Taverner had dedicated her life to becoming a concert pianist when a fatal accident damaged her hand. Therapy has restored her ability to play only with "competence." Meta performs at an outpatient cancer facility, attracting the notice of patient Irena, who summons Meta to visit.
Irena has held the partial score of a piano sonata since her friend Otylie gave it to her to protect during the Nazi occupation of Prague. Irena also tasks Meta with returning the score to Otylie, hoping the entire manuscript will be reunited.
Mesmerized by the sonata, and hoping to find the missing sections and perhaps solve the mystery of who composed it, Meta takes up the quest. She puts aside her job and boyfriend to journey to Prague. There, she learns the tragic history of Czechoslovakia under the Nazi and Soviet regimes, encounters threats and intrigue, and discovers love.
The novel expands with reading, moving from the narrow academic world of musicologists to the deprivations of war and the occupation of Prague, to the refugee experience. What starts as a mild mystery turns into a quest, with elements of a thriller at the end.
Flashbacks fill in the story. Otylie's father was on leave from The Great War for her mother's funeral when he gave her the piano sonata. He told her, guard it with your own life; one day it will bring you great fortune. He soon after died.
Otylie is grown and newly married when Prague gives the keys of the city to the Nazis. Otylie wanted to keep the score out of the hands of the Germans so she divided it into three parts, distributing a section to her beloved husband, who was a part of the underground resistance, and another to her dear friend Irena. She kept the first section for herself. At the end of WWII, Otylie's husband is dead and Irena has left the country. Otylie first immigrates to England and then to America.
The sonata's beauty and innovation is amazing. In a copyist's hand, the score appears to be a true antique, but there is no indication of the composer. Is a lost work by Mozart, or C.P.E. Bach, or Hayden? The score ends with the beginning measures of the next movement, a Rondo.
Thirty-year-old Meta is naive and honest. She is driven by love of music and her pledge to reunite the sonata with it's rightful owner. Her mentor has connected her with Petr Witman, a musicologist contact in Prague, who endeavors to undermine Meta by saying the sonata is a fake, hoping to get his hands on it. He sees fame and dollar signs. Witman is a man with shifting allegiances, doing whatever it took to stay afloat under the Nazis, the Soviets, and the new Federal Republic. He has no moral code.
Meta is supported by many people in Prague, including a journalist who falls in love with her. On their quest to find the third part of the score, they must keep one step ahead of Witmann. Meta's journey takes her across America, too, pursued by Witman.
I enjoyed learning about Prague and Czechoslovakia. In the 18th c it was the hub of culture and music, a city that loved Mozart.
I loved that music informs the novel and musical language is used in descriptions. Meta knows that the sonata represents a new chapter in her life. "If her own thirty years constituted a first movement of a sonata, she sensed in her gut that she was right now living the opening notes of the second."Morrow describes the second movement of the sonata given to Meta so well, one understands its "staggering power and slyness," the "quasi-requiem tones of the adagio" followed by the promise of joy indicated in the opening measures of the rondo in the second movement.
When I started reading The Prague Sonata I was unhappy I had requested such a long book. What was I thinking? As I got into the story, I was actually drawing out my reading, unwilling to end the experience too soon. And that's about the best thing a reader can say about a book!
(Read more about Mozart in Prague in Mozart's Starling by Lyanda Lynn Haupt. Devastation Road by Jason Hewitt concerns Czechoslovakia after WWII. The Spaceman of Bohemia is sci-fi that also addresses life under the Soviets.)
I received a free ebook from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.
Some books have one or two of those attributes. To find a book that wraps up all of these things is a happy day indeed. Bradford Morrow's The Prague Sonata offers the whole package.
The story is rich and complex, but also full of music and visual references that made me think, I can't wait to see the movie.
Protagonist Meta Taverner had dedicated her life to becoming a concert pianist when a fatal accident damaged her hand. Therapy has restored her ability to play only with "competence." Meta performs at an outpatient cancer facility, attracting the notice of patient Irena, who summons Meta to visit.
Irena has held the partial score of a piano sonata since her friend Otylie gave it to her to protect during the Nazi occupation of Prague. Irena also tasks Meta with returning the score to Otylie, hoping the entire manuscript will be reunited.
Mesmerized by the sonata, and hoping to find the missing sections and perhaps solve the mystery of who composed it, Meta takes up the quest. She puts aside her job and boyfriend to journey to Prague. There, she learns the tragic history of Czechoslovakia under the Nazi and Soviet regimes, encounters threats and intrigue, and discovers love.
The novel expands with reading, moving from the narrow academic world of musicologists to the deprivations of war and the occupation of Prague, to the refugee experience. What starts as a mild mystery turns into a quest, with elements of a thriller at the end.
Flashbacks fill in the story. Otylie's father was on leave from The Great War for her mother's funeral when he gave her the piano sonata. He told her, guard it with your own life; one day it will bring you great fortune. He soon after died.
Otylie is grown and newly married when Prague gives the keys of the city to the Nazis. Otylie wanted to keep the score out of the hands of the Germans so she divided it into three parts, distributing a section to her beloved husband, who was a part of the underground resistance, and another to her dear friend Irena. She kept the first section for herself. At the end of WWII, Otylie's husband is dead and Irena has left the country. Otylie first immigrates to England and then to America.
The sonata's beauty and innovation is amazing. In a copyist's hand, the score appears to be a true antique, but there is no indication of the composer. Is a lost work by Mozart, or C.P.E. Bach, or Hayden? The score ends with the beginning measures of the next movement, a Rondo.
Thirty-year-old Meta is naive and honest. She is driven by love of music and her pledge to reunite the sonata with it's rightful owner. Her mentor has connected her with Petr Witman, a musicologist contact in Prague, who endeavors to undermine Meta by saying the sonata is a fake, hoping to get his hands on it. He sees fame and dollar signs. Witman is a man with shifting allegiances, doing whatever it took to stay afloat under the Nazis, the Soviets, and the new Federal Republic. He has no moral code.
Meta is supported by many people in Prague, including a journalist who falls in love with her. On their quest to find the third part of the score, they must keep one step ahead of Witmann. Meta's journey takes her across America, too, pursued by Witman.
I enjoyed learning about Prague and Czechoslovakia. In the 18th c it was the hub of culture and music, a city that loved Mozart.
I loved that music informs the novel and musical language is used in descriptions. Meta knows that the sonata represents a new chapter in her life. "If her own thirty years constituted a first movement of a sonata, she sensed in her gut that she was right now living the opening notes of the second."Morrow describes the second movement of the sonata given to Meta so well, one understands its "staggering power and slyness," the "quasi-requiem tones of the adagio" followed by the promise of joy indicated in the opening measures of the rondo in the second movement.
When I started reading The Prague Sonata I was unhappy I had requested such a long book. What was I thinking? As I got into the story, I was actually drawing out my reading, unwilling to end the experience too soon. And that's about the best thing a reader can say about a book!
(Read more about Mozart in Prague in Mozart's Starling by Lyanda Lynn Haupt. Devastation Road by Jason Hewitt concerns Czechoslovakia after WWII. The Spaceman of Bohemia is sci-fi that also addresses life under the Soviets.)
I received a free ebook from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.
August 27, 2017
A while ago I read Morrow's Forgers and remember enjoying it within reason, but being somewhat underwhelmed. One of the most memorable things about that reading experience was the exhaustive amount of research the author ahs obviously put into it. Well, at 300some pages that was nothing comparing to this particular behemoth and all the musicology that went into it. Confession time...Music, I'm just not that into you. I'm not against music for the right occasion for a reasonable duration, but it's far behind other pleasurable pursuits like books and movies. And this book is about (and for, ideally) passionate music lovers. I do have an appreciation for classical repertoire, so I had a decent idea about the world of the characters, but my literary obsessed mind was definitely reimagining this novel as one where the object of pursuit was a book and not a sonata. Still, a pursuit is a pursuit, and one that spans decades and continents is certainly a compelling one. The coveted object is the musical equivalent of a previously undiscovered Shakespeare play. The setting is international. The narrative split in two alternating timelines, one tracing the original ownership, one following the present time young musicologist's quest to find it. Whatever your thoughts on music may be, as a work of historical fiction this is terrific. Guess you can tell which portion of the novel I preferred. Visiting Prague (armchair traveling or otherwise) is always a treat and Morrow does a splendid job of depicting the glorious city even at its direst moments. WWII has been kinder to Prague than other European cities, but still left its scars and this novel shines the light on that traumatic era. In general, this is a great representation of the 20th century Czechoslovakia, the struggles, triumphs and all. And as far as the dramatic writing goes, this is quite an engaging story, I spent (quite uncharacteristically) four days with it, mainly due to its girth, but it read very enjoyably. The characters were charming, likeable, particularly Otylie. Yes, if one has to offer some criticism, it was very long and occasionally overly sentimental or slightly overwritten, but these are really too minor of detractors for such a grand (in every way) total. Entertaining, immersive reading experience that plays to the mind the way its eponymous sonata must to the ear...lovely. Thanks Netgalley.
August 19, 2021
This is a deeply satisfying book at just about every level. The prose is fantastic, the story is compelling, and the ideas are powerful. And it is also a page-turner.
The story revolves around one actual historical incident and one fictional modern quest. The historical incident is the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich, the arch-Nazi Reichsprotektor who had been dispatched to implement Nazi terror policies in Czechoslovakia. Heydrich was a seriously bad dude. He was the head of the Gestapo, the organizer of Kristallnacht, and the leader of the Wannsee Conference, where the organizational details of the Holocaust were worked out. He was assassinated by Czech nationalists in 1942, leading to massive reprisals and executions throughout Czechoslovakia. These events are at the heart of The Prague Sonata.
The fictional part goes like this: imagine that the wife of one of the assassins had inherited from her father an 18th century musical score that was unsigned, but that was almost certainly an unknown composition by an important composer. Desperate to protect the manuscript from the Nazi's, she breaks it into three parts and sends them with trusted friends, who keep them safe for the next 60 years, until one of them ends up in New York City and is discovered by a young musicology graduate studen named Meta Taverner, who sets out on a quest to reunite the manuscript.
That's the basic story of The Prague Sonata. It has everything else you might expect: a bunch of cloak-and-dagger intrigue, an evil manuscript dealer, corrupt officials, a quirky love interest. It has the feel of a Cold-War spy thriller, even though all of the action takes place among academic musicologists and classical musicians. The narrative moves around a lot, with flashbacks to World War I, World War II, the Prague Spring (1968), and the Velvet Revolution (1989). 20th century Prague itself is a character in the novel, but it never overshadows the fact that this is essentially a high-brow mystery story with a lot of good music.
The story revolves around one actual historical incident and one fictional modern quest. The historical incident is the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich, the arch-Nazi Reichsprotektor who had been dispatched to implement Nazi terror policies in Czechoslovakia. Heydrich was a seriously bad dude. He was the head of the Gestapo, the organizer of Kristallnacht, and the leader of the Wannsee Conference, where the organizational details of the Holocaust were worked out. He was assassinated by Czech nationalists in 1942, leading to massive reprisals and executions throughout Czechoslovakia. These events are at the heart of The Prague Sonata.
The fictional part goes like this: imagine that the wife of one of the assassins had inherited from her father an 18th century musical score that was unsigned, but that was almost certainly an unknown composition by an important composer. Desperate to protect the manuscript from the Nazi's, she breaks it into three parts and sends them with trusted friends, who keep them safe for the next 60 years, until one of them ends up in New York City and is discovered by a young musicology graduate studen named Meta Taverner, who sets out on a quest to reunite the manuscript.
That's the basic story of The Prague Sonata. It has everything else you might expect: a bunch of cloak-and-dagger intrigue, an evil manuscript dealer, corrupt officials, a quirky love interest. It has the feel of a Cold-War spy thriller, even though all of the action takes place among academic musicologists and classical musicians. The narrative moves around a lot, with flashbacks to World War I, World War II, the Prague Spring (1968), and the Velvet Revolution (1989). 20th century Prague itself is a character in the novel, but it never overshadows the fact that this is essentially a high-brow mystery story with a lot of good music.
August 16, 2017
The Prague Sonata was extremely well researched. Unfortunately, more often than not, this research read like a history book with countless facts or much like a telephone book filled with Czech names. It reminded me of Cliff Clavin, from television’s ‘Cheers’. Cliff knew everything about everything (“It’s a little known fact that …”) and told you all of it. There were more details in this book than I ever wanted to know.
There were too many Czech names and street names. There were too many references regarding old composers – some famous, some not – along with their histories and innumerable details about their works. And there were too many other needless details about needless details.
In the first half of the book, there was not enough story. In fact, the premise itself was farfetched to think someone could go knocking on doors more than a half century later to find what she was looking for. The disappointment after disappointment at them not finding answers got annoying and eye-rolling. It became very tedious reading.
Thankfully, the story did pick up the second half. The wrap-up, however, was very contrived; a lot had to come together for the ending to work.
Mr. Morrow has a vast knowledge of words, using big ones every chance he got. And he definitely knew his stuff about Prague, Czechoslovakia, and composers. I have no doubt that he put his heart into this novel. Kudos for that. Sadly, though, I do not recommend The Prague Sonata to my reading friends.
Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to review The Prague Sonata.
There were too many Czech names and street names. There were too many references regarding old composers – some famous, some not – along with their histories and innumerable details about their works. And there were too many other needless details about needless details.
In the first half of the book, there was not enough story. In fact, the premise itself was farfetched to think someone could go knocking on doors more than a half century later to find what she was looking for. The disappointment after disappointment at them not finding answers got annoying and eye-rolling. It became very tedious reading.
Thankfully, the story did pick up the second half. The wrap-up, however, was very contrived; a lot had to come together for the ending to work.
Mr. Morrow has a vast knowledge of words, using big ones every chance he got. And he definitely knew his stuff about Prague, Czechoslovakia, and composers. I have no doubt that he put his heart into this novel. Kudos for that. Sadly, though, I do not recommend The Prague Sonata to my reading friends.
Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to review The Prague Sonata.
July 14, 2025
My favorite of the year! (2024) At least for fiction.
More thoughts on this one soon.
Update: July 2025:
This book was one of my favorites of 2024. At the time, and often, I seem to have a hard time writing some notes about my favorite reads. So here goes another attempt.
The book has a bit of a mystery about an old sonata. Meta was given just a part of a sonata. Since she can no longer perform as a profession, she went on a search for the other two pieces. Well, she did get a little obsessed by this piece of music, knowing there was more and wanting to hear it, understand it.
A large part of the book takes place in Prague, and Morrow did an excellent job of writing the feeling of that old city. I could see the place. No other fiction book I’ve read (so far) has done such a good job of placing the setting.
The writing was clear. There is a bit of relationships with Meta, one that had a falling out and another that began. Then there was also the music. One of those books I wished I could hear what was being talked about.
I don’t know much about classical music, but apparently it was a long piece of music with three sections, or parts. They were split apart in Prague during WWII, the owner of the piece, Odylie, had married a Jewish man, Jakub. When the war broke out he immediately became part of the resistance. Odylie wanted the music to survive, to save it from plundering, so she split it apart, kept the first part. She gave the second part to her best friend, and the last went to her husband. However, since he was in the resistance she could not see him directly, it was given to an intermediary and she hoped it found it’s way. Then Odylie left Prague for England.
In the modern time, it was a mystery for Meta trying to find the three pieces of music: where were they, what happened? The book gave us the past, so we knew more than Meta on what had happened, but the past was also revealed slowly so there was still some unknown aspects. Another mystery was who actually wrote this masterpiece of music? Was it Beethoven, was is someone unknown genius in music, or was it more modern than it appeared?
I put off reading this one for a while (about six years) because of its length, while it took some time to get through it, I did not mind as I savored the book. One of the better fictional books I’ve read in a while.
More thoughts on this one soon.
Update: July 2025:
This book was one of my favorites of 2024. At the time, and often, I seem to have a hard time writing some notes about my favorite reads. So here goes another attempt.
The book has a bit of a mystery about an old sonata. Meta was given just a part of a sonata. Since she can no longer perform as a profession, she went on a search for the other two pieces. Well, she did get a little obsessed by this piece of music, knowing there was more and wanting to hear it, understand it.
A large part of the book takes place in Prague, and Morrow did an excellent job of writing the feeling of that old city. I could see the place. No other fiction book I’ve read (so far) has done such a good job of placing the setting.
The writing was clear. There is a bit of relationships with Meta, one that had a falling out and another that began. Then there was also the music. One of those books I wished I could hear what was being talked about.
I don’t know much about classical music, but apparently it was a long piece of music with three sections, or parts. They were split apart in Prague during WWII, the owner of the piece, Odylie, had married a Jewish man, Jakub. When the war broke out he immediately became part of the resistance. Odylie wanted the music to survive, to save it from plundering, so she split it apart, kept the first part. She gave the second part to her best friend, and the last went to her husband. However, since he was in the resistance she could not see him directly, it was given to an intermediary and she hoped it found it’s way. Then Odylie left Prague for England.
In the modern time, it was a mystery for Meta trying to find the three pieces of music: where were they, what happened? The book gave us the past, so we knew more than Meta on what had happened, but the past was also revealed slowly so there was still some unknown aspects. Another mystery was who actually wrote this masterpiece of music? Was it Beethoven, was is someone unknown genius in music, or was it more modern than it appeared?
I put off reading this one for a while (about six years) because of its length, while it took some time to get through it, I did not mind as I savored the book. One of the better fictional books I’ve read in a while.
February 22, 2018
I made it two-thirds of the way through this before abandoning the book.
Yes the author did a lot of research. But I don't need to read all of it.
There is an interesting historical mystery here, involving WWII era Prague, but there is an overload of musical information unnecessary to the plot, and building by building description of old neighborhoods in Prague.
The final straw was the Harlequin-lite romance.
After a month of dreading picking the book up again, I gave up and moved on.
Yes the author did a lot of research. But I don't need to read all of it.
There is an interesting historical mystery here, involving WWII era Prague, but there is an overload of musical information unnecessary to the plot, and building by building description of old neighborhoods in Prague.
The final straw was the Harlequin-lite romance.
After a month of dreading picking the book up again, I gave up and moved on.
July 21, 2019
I adored this book.
While it got off to a slow start, primarily because I’m
not well-versed (pardon the pun) in musicology, I fell in love with the narratives and characters past and present. Morrow does an excellent job of entertaining and educating, all while keeping the reader’s rapt attention. I bought this book because I’ll be visiting Prague soon—my experience will be much richer because of it. Highly recommended!
While it got off to a slow start, primarily because I’m
not well-versed (pardon the pun) in musicology, I fell in love with the narratives and characters past and present. Morrow does an excellent job of entertaining and educating, all while keeping the reader’s rapt attention. I bought this book because I’ll be visiting Prague soon—my experience will be much richer because of it. Highly recommended!
June 15, 2017
Stories about music are among my favorites. Stories about music set in cities i love and composers i really like are even better. So when i requested this book, The Prague Sonata, i was expecting a very pleasant journey in my favorite city. And i was not disappointed. It was kind of thrilling to be able to picture exactly the places mentioned and to recall the emotions and impressions that those same places conjured.
By some mysterious chance, a part of an 18th century music manuscript came into the hands of Meta Taverner, a young and passionate musicoligist. It came with a specific mission to find the two other missing parts of this manuscript which was broken in the first days of the Nazi occupation of Prague, and finally return it to its lost owner.
From that started a journey both in time and space, as Meta started from New York to Prague to follow the incredible journey of this manuscript, and to follow the steps of the people related to it. It was also a trip back in the time, as the story was told in parallel, between the quest of Meta, and the life of the manuscript's owner and the people connected to it during the Nazi occupation period, the communist era and the post-war world.
I enjoyed this story, this quest, and all the people that were involved in it. I have to admit however that i struggled to like Meta at the beginning. I don't know why, but i couldn't connect with her or like her, until well past half the story. The other characters were mostly interesting.
The intrigue that came with such a quest was good, although i felt it was made a bit longer than necessary.
The only think i had some reservations about was the use of a lot of musical metaphors. I mean, it gave a touch of poetry to the story, but since i was not really expert of music, merely an enthusiast, the use of some "technical" words made it that the metaphors were kind of lost on me, and that bothered me.
Overall it was a very enjoyable story, and i think NetGalley, the Publisher and Author for this copy.
By some mysterious chance, a part of an 18th century music manuscript came into the hands of Meta Taverner, a young and passionate musicoligist. It came with a specific mission to find the two other missing parts of this manuscript which was broken in the first days of the Nazi occupation of Prague, and finally return it to its lost owner.
From that started a journey both in time and space, as Meta started from New York to Prague to follow the incredible journey of this manuscript, and to follow the steps of the people related to it. It was also a trip back in the time, as the story was told in parallel, between the quest of Meta, and the life of the manuscript's owner and the people connected to it during the Nazi occupation period, the communist era and the post-war world.
I enjoyed this story, this quest, and all the people that were involved in it. I have to admit however that i struggled to like Meta at the beginning. I don't know why, but i couldn't connect with her or like her, until well past half the story. The other characters were mostly interesting.
The intrigue that came with such a quest was good, although i felt it was made a bit longer than necessary.
The only think i had some reservations about was the use of a lot of musical metaphors. I mean, it gave a touch of poetry to the story, but since i was not really expert of music, merely an enthusiast, the use of some "technical" words made it that the metaphors were kind of lost on me, and that bothered me.
Overall it was a very enjoyable story, and i think NetGalley, the Publisher and Author for this copy.
November 9, 2017
I'm really sorry I can not give a better review, but this book disappointed me by the time I reached the end. A rather interesting story is embedded in an inexplicable number of details that do not contribute to the plot, and the action is so extravagant and, as an average reader, at some point you will probably lose the will to find out the remaining secrets hidden in this book. I believe this is an excellent idea, but a weak performance. The whole story could be purified and presented to a broader audience much better. This way, it's just a mediocre novel.
June 6, 2017
I thought this book was excellent. The story is intriguing. It's well written. It takes place mostly in Prague, which I love. This is the story of a sonata that was divided into three parts during World War II, the people who had the three parts, and the musicologist that is tasked with bringing them back together. I love novels like this where there is historical fiction and some sort of mystery in the present that needs to be solved. I definitely recommend this.
October 20, 2017
At the end of World War I Jaromir Laska is killed on the battlefield leaving an orphaned daughter with his most prized possession, an old music manuscript. The daughter, Otylie was packed off to live with an aunt in Prague where she remained until 1939 when the Nazis seized control of her country. So begins Bradford Morrow’s brilliant new novel, THE PRAGUE SONATA where the music manuscript became the centerpiece of Otylie’s memory of her father. Its origin and composer would become an obsession for Otylie and her husband Jakub who owned a small shop that was a mishmash of Jewish and Czech culture. Otylie feared that the manuscript/sonata would be lost to the Nazis, and to save it she would disperse it in three parts; one to herself, one to her husband Jakub, and the final piece to their friend Irena Dorfman. The story line will begin at what appears to be an academic search, but it evolves into a mystery that will grip anyone with a sense of hope.
Morrow presents a remarkable story within a larger narrative. The key character is Meta Taverner, a musicologist who lives in New York who years later comes into contact with Irena Dorfman. Meta was quickly taken by Dorfman who was ninety years old when they met. Dorfman tells Meta the story of the missing sonata pieces and gains a promise from Meta that she will try to track down the pieces and reunite them. Meta’s search and life form the core of the novel, but the characters past and present are also of extreme importance. For Meta the sonata is an authentic 18th century work, hauntingly beautiful, and the work of a master composer, but the question is which composer.
Morrow exposes the reader to a panorama of Czech history; from the end of World War I, the Nazi occupation, the Allied liberation, the arrival of the Soviet Union and its repression, to the Velvet Revolution of 1989, and finally freedom. Each character is placed in the proper course of events and their reactions become part of the accurate historical flow of the novel. Morrow has an excellent grasp of history and the scenes he creates conform nicely to the historical record, except for one minor error in dealing with the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich.
The most important characters include Jakub Batos, Otylie’s husband who joins the Czech resistance against the Nazis; Daniel Hajek who would make Otylie’s life whole again, Paul Mandelbaum, Meta’s mentor at Columbia University; a pair of Czech musicologists, Professors Petr Wittmann and Karel Kohut who appear to have their own agendas that are ego driven; Tomas Lang whose sister Johana had part of the sonata in her possession; Johana herself who seemed to despise everyone; Gerrit Mills, a newspaper stringer who develops a personal interest into Meta’s work and person; and a number of others. All characters are well developed and have their own specific identities and needs, particularly Meta who appears to be going through a severe identity crisis at the time that Irena Dorfman provides the story of the manuscript. For Meta, who was training to be a concert pianist before an accident severely injured her right hand, Irena’s request provides her with an opportunity to provide meaning to her new career as a musicologist, as well as solving a very important question that deals with music, and the legacy of a family that was broken apart by war.
Morrow follows Meta’s quest in detail and integrates a great deal of Czech, and in general European music history and their composers, throughout the novel. Further, Morrow takes the reader on a wonderful tour of Prague featuring local flavor, neighborhoods, and succeeds very nicely in examining human memory, music, and need. If you are familiar with Lauren Belfer’s AND AFTER THE FIRE: A NOVEL Morrow’s work will be just as satisfying, but on another level it is more of a humanely epic tale.
Morrow presents a remarkable story within a larger narrative. The key character is Meta Taverner, a musicologist who lives in New York who years later comes into contact with Irena Dorfman. Meta was quickly taken by Dorfman who was ninety years old when they met. Dorfman tells Meta the story of the missing sonata pieces and gains a promise from Meta that she will try to track down the pieces and reunite them. Meta’s search and life form the core of the novel, but the characters past and present are also of extreme importance. For Meta the sonata is an authentic 18th century work, hauntingly beautiful, and the work of a master composer, but the question is which composer.
Morrow exposes the reader to a panorama of Czech history; from the end of World War I, the Nazi occupation, the Allied liberation, the arrival of the Soviet Union and its repression, to the Velvet Revolution of 1989, and finally freedom. Each character is placed in the proper course of events and their reactions become part of the accurate historical flow of the novel. Morrow has an excellent grasp of history and the scenes he creates conform nicely to the historical record, except for one minor error in dealing with the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich.
The most important characters include Jakub Batos, Otylie’s husband who joins the Czech resistance against the Nazis; Daniel Hajek who would make Otylie’s life whole again, Paul Mandelbaum, Meta’s mentor at Columbia University; a pair of Czech musicologists, Professors Petr Wittmann and Karel Kohut who appear to have their own agendas that are ego driven; Tomas Lang whose sister Johana had part of the sonata in her possession; Johana herself who seemed to despise everyone; Gerrit Mills, a newspaper stringer who develops a personal interest into Meta’s work and person; and a number of others. All characters are well developed and have their own specific identities and needs, particularly Meta who appears to be going through a severe identity crisis at the time that Irena Dorfman provides the story of the manuscript. For Meta, who was training to be a concert pianist before an accident severely injured her right hand, Irena’s request provides her with an opportunity to provide meaning to her new career as a musicologist, as well as solving a very important question that deals with music, and the legacy of a family that was broken apart by war.
Morrow follows Meta’s quest in detail and integrates a great deal of Czech, and in general European music history and their composers, throughout the novel. Further, Morrow takes the reader on a wonderful tour of Prague featuring local flavor, neighborhoods, and succeeds very nicely in examining human memory, music, and need. If you are familiar with Lauren Belfer’s AND AFTER THE FIRE: A NOVEL Morrow’s work will be just as satisfying, but on another level it is more of a humanely epic tale.
October 3, 2017
First, full disclosure. I gained early access to this book with the understanding that I would write an impartial review AND I requested that access because I read a lot about the two world wars and the book's description indicated it was related to Prague during World War II.
PRAGUE SONATA is a great read! It's suspenseful, has interesting and multi-dimensional characters and takes the reader deep inside the world of professional musicians and musicologists. One of the novel's main characters is an old music score that just might turn out to be extremely valuable. As it turns out, the story is only tangentially related to Prague during World War II. It's much more focused on the passion people often have for music.
There are two women central to the plot:
• One is a young Czech woman, Otylie, who inherited the mysterious musical score as a precious legacy from her father. And she is determined to keep it out of the hands of the occupying Nazis. She divides the score into its three movements, holds onto one, gives another to her best friend, and gives the last third to her husband, just as he is about to disappear into the Czech underground. Otylie hopes the score of the sonata will provide a link to help these three people reunite when the war ends.
• The second woman is Meta, a pianist whose promising career ascent was cut short by a car accident. Redirecting her energy into the world of musicology, she happens upon one piece of the sonata, decades after Otylie divided the score. Something about the music intrigues her so deeply that Meta leaves her life in New York in order to search for the other two missing movements.
Along the way -- traveling to Prague, London, and several midwest states -- she relies on guidance from a former teacher-mentor, as her quest to hunt down the sonata's missing pieces leads her to survivors of the war, former collaborators, unscrupulous music experts, and a struggling free-lance journalist who smells a good story.
The novel moves back and forth in time, slowly unraveling both Meta's search and Otylie's life. At times the back and forth felt a little clunky, sometimes too abrupt, other times the switch came in an awkward place. And a few new characters were introduced quite late in the book.
It is obvious that the author did quite a bit of research on musicology. And when any author approaches writing a novel with a particular knowledge base, it's often difficult to find the right mix of just enough detail to make the book authentic and interesting without that detail becoming distracting or tiresome. There were moments when I felt Morrow crossed the line into the realm of pedagogy -- too eager to include some obscure detail that was of minimal interest or relevance to the plot. But that did not wind up interfering in my overall enjoyment of the book.
PRAGUE SONATA is a great read! It's suspenseful, has interesting and multi-dimensional characters and takes the reader deep inside the world of professional musicians and musicologists. One of the novel's main characters is an old music score that just might turn out to be extremely valuable. As it turns out, the story is only tangentially related to Prague during World War II. It's much more focused on the passion people often have for music.
There are two women central to the plot:
• One is a young Czech woman, Otylie, who inherited the mysterious musical score as a precious legacy from her father. And she is determined to keep it out of the hands of the occupying Nazis. She divides the score into its three movements, holds onto one, gives another to her best friend, and gives the last third to her husband, just as he is about to disappear into the Czech underground. Otylie hopes the score of the sonata will provide a link to help these three people reunite when the war ends.
• The second woman is Meta, a pianist whose promising career ascent was cut short by a car accident. Redirecting her energy into the world of musicology, she happens upon one piece of the sonata, decades after Otylie divided the score. Something about the music intrigues her so deeply that Meta leaves her life in New York in order to search for the other two missing movements.
Along the way -- traveling to Prague, London, and several midwest states -- she relies on guidance from a former teacher-mentor, as her quest to hunt down the sonata's missing pieces leads her to survivors of the war, former collaborators, unscrupulous music experts, and a struggling free-lance journalist who smells a good story.
The novel moves back and forth in time, slowly unraveling both Meta's search and Otylie's life. At times the back and forth felt a little clunky, sometimes too abrupt, other times the switch came in an awkward place. And a few new characters were introduced quite late in the book.
It is obvious that the author did quite a bit of research on musicology. And when any author approaches writing a novel with a particular knowledge base, it's often difficult to find the right mix of just enough detail to make the book authentic and interesting without that detail becoming distracting or tiresome. There were moments when I felt Morrow crossed the line into the realm of pedagogy -- too eager to include some obscure detail that was of minimal interest or relevance to the plot. But that did not wind up interfering in my overall enjoyment of the book.
April 28, 2023
I would give the story itself 5 stars, but the writing was more reminiscent of a 4 star book for me, hence my rating. I felt like a smidge more editing could have helped. As for the good the bad and the ugly…
My complaints are few and fairly inconsequential. For starters, I would move the pronunciation guide to the beginning of the book… it does little good for the reader after finishing a 500+ page novel. As for the book itself, there were a few places throughout where I felt some discontinuity, minor details that would only irk a detailed and methodical reader like myself. Additionally, as someone who has been called out for their overuse of adjectives, I found the author’s use of adjectives excessive and/or redundant at times. I also found the sesquipedalian language pedantic… antiquated magniloquence reminiscent of a thesaurus addiction.
Despite my few grievances, I actually was quite taken with this novel. It felt at times like an historical fiction while at other times more like a mystery waiting to unfold. The author did a wonderful job weaving the stories together, while also providing the readers with an educational overview of 20th century Prague. Many authors have written about WWII and the Soviet Bloc, but I’ve encountered few willing to write from the lesser known perspective of Czechoslovakia/ the Czech Republic, which was altogether refreshing. As for the composer at the heart of the story, (a personal favorite of mine since childhood), I felt the author did a most excellent job conveying their personality and composition style. At times it felt almost like a love letter to the unnamed composer, with admiration that mirrors my own. In reading Meta’s quest, I could sense the author’s own journey mirrored through history, culture, and the arts… which brought forth an even more intimate and sincere note to Meta’s musical pilgrimage.
While this might not be a novel for the average lay person, I would highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys the classical music world.
My complaints are few and fairly inconsequential. For starters, I would move the pronunciation guide to the beginning of the book… it does little good for the reader after finishing a 500+ page novel. As for the book itself, there were a few places throughout where I felt some discontinuity, minor details that would only irk a detailed and methodical reader like myself. Additionally, as someone who has been called out for their overuse of adjectives, I found the author’s use of adjectives excessive and/or redundant at times. I also found the sesquipedalian language pedantic… antiquated magniloquence reminiscent of a thesaurus addiction.
Despite my few grievances, I actually was quite taken with this novel. It felt at times like an historical fiction while at other times more like a mystery waiting to unfold. The author did a wonderful job weaving the stories together, while also providing the readers with an educational overview of 20th century Prague. Many authors have written about WWII and the Soviet Bloc, but I’ve encountered few willing to write from the lesser known perspective of Czechoslovakia/ the Czech Republic, which was altogether refreshing. As for the composer at the heart of the story, (a personal favorite of mine since childhood), I felt the author did a most excellent job conveying their personality and composition style. At times it felt almost like a love letter to the unnamed composer, with admiration that mirrors my own. In reading Meta’s quest, I could sense the author’s own journey mirrored through history, culture, and the arts… which brought forth an even more intimate and sincere note to Meta’s musical pilgrimage.
While this might not be a novel for the average lay person, I would highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys the classical music world.
March 12, 2018
I'm giving this book a five-minus--but I'm aware that other readers might not find the book as delicious as I did. I am a musician and a student of music history, so the musician-to-musician dialogues and explanations sprinkled generously through the text (the typical architecture of a late Classical-era sonata, for example) were familiar territory. The story, from beginning to end, was utterly believable, from the seemingly random discovery of the work of a major composer to the bitter jealousies, oversized egos and back-stabbing of music departments in academia. Even the door-to-door searches and random driving around the countryside. Most detective work is routine, boring and discouraging, with the occasional Bingo! In any event, I liked riding along with Meta, Garrett and Mandelbaum.
It was a long and convoluted tale, and some of the things other readers complained about--the issue of the stolen manuscript, for example--only made it more fun. I learned things about the Czech Republic and its politcal history and people. And I thought the characters were well-drawn, especially Meta. Musicians often come to a point where they need to make a decision between pursuing a career on stage--risky, stressful and less dependent on raw talent than you might think--or playing, teaching and scholarship. Less glamorous, but often just as rewarding. Who knows? You might stumble onto something mega-important.
It was a long and convoluted tale, and some of the things other readers complained about--the issue of the stolen manuscript, for example--only made it more fun. I learned things about the Czech Republic and its politcal history and people. And I thought the characters were well-drawn, especially Meta. Musicians often come to a point where they need to make a decision between pursuing a career on stage--risky, stressful and less dependent on raw talent than you might think--or playing, teaching and scholarship. Less glamorous, but often just as rewarding. Who knows? You might stumble onto something mega-important.
January 23, 2025
I like classical music and ancient documents, so this novel involving the search for the missing portions of an 18th century sonata manuscript of dubious origin and unknown authorship seemed just up my alley.
The majority of this novel is set in Prague, which I found refreshing. The writing is vivid and evocative. The story alternates between various timelines that start out just after WWI, continues to WWII, then to modern times, detailing the lives of those who had portions of the manuscript in their possession; and those who want to find it. I particularly liked this genteelly paced detective novel for the descriptive music passages and former concert pianist, now musicologist Meta's dedication in attempting to bring the whole manuscript together. There were a few nice little twists, a budding romance, and the additional mystery of the author of the manuscript. The novel seemed a little long, and could have used some tightening up; the transitioning between timelines/perspectives were a bit disjointed; but on the whole I enjoyed the concept and the writing; and the minor execution fails did not detract from that.
The majority of this novel is set in Prague, which I found refreshing. The writing is vivid and evocative. The story alternates between various timelines that start out just after WWI, continues to WWII, then to modern times, detailing the lives of those who had portions of the manuscript in their possession; and those who want to find it. I particularly liked this genteelly paced detective novel for the descriptive music passages and former concert pianist, now musicologist Meta's dedication in attempting to bring the whole manuscript together. There were a few nice little twists, a budding romance, and the additional mystery of the author of the manuscript. The novel seemed a little long, and could have used some tightening up; the transitioning between timelines/perspectives were a bit disjointed; but on the whole I enjoyed the concept and the writing; and the minor execution fails did not detract from that.
December 8, 2018
When part of a manuscript of what seems to be an 18th century piano sonata falls into Meta Taverner’s hands, she decides she must find the missing pieces, and see if she can discover who wrote it, as well as attempt to return the full work to its rightful owner. Her search takes her half way across the globe, and gets her involved in an intrigue that might result in her losing everything. This is the latest novel from Bradford Morrow, and you can read what I thought of it in my review here.
https://tcl-bookreviews.com/2017/10/2...
https://tcl-bookreviews.com/2017/10/2...
January 19, 2018
Run...don't walk to your bookstore or library to get a copy of this book. It is seriously one of the best books I've read in a while. The story is fantastic, woven through the German invasion of the Czech Republic and modern times, and touches on greed, loss, love of music, and just plain love.
I was pleasantly surprised when Nebraska (specifically Lincoln and PRAGUE!) provided a backdrop for part of the timeline in the book.
At one point I stopped reading because I was too close to the end and didn't want the story to be over.
I was pleasantly surprised when Nebraska (specifically Lincoln and PRAGUE!) provided a backdrop for part of the timeline in the book.
At one point I stopped reading because I was too close to the end and didn't want the story to be over.
October 12, 2017
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for an eARC of this book.
What a disappointment! The description told me it was the kind of book I love to read. The subject, the era, the characters were all of great interest. It was well researched and but far too long with too many extraneous details. I skimmed a lot and just wished it would be over. 2.5 Stars. Some may have more patience with the wordiness than I.
What a disappointment! The description told me it was the kind of book I love to read. The subject, the era, the characters were all of great interest. It was well researched and but far too long with too many extraneous details. I skimmed a lot and just wished it would be over. 2.5 Stars. Some may have more patience with the wordiness than I.
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