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A review by horsley123
The Gustav Sonata by Rose Tremain
5.0
What a lovely book!
Two boys meet at kindergarten in Switzerland and from then on their lives are entwined. One child helps the other integrate at the preschool, later on Gustav props up Anton when Anton tries, and fails, to become a concert pianist. It is Gustav who goes to the concerts to help Anton with his crippling stage fright, and it is Gustav who tells Anton's parents that their son does not want to be a concert pianist.
The boys' relationship changes as they become men and Anton leaves their village, which he announces is stifling him. Gustav is upset at this declaration as he is reassured by the village's sameness.
Later Gustav is there again to pick up the pieces. It is a love story, and an observation of two lives after WW2, and the impact the conflict had on their lives.
A top read!
Two boys meet at kindergarten in Switzerland and from then on their lives are entwined. One child helps the other integrate at the preschool, later on Gustav props up Anton when Anton tries, and fails, to become a concert pianist. It is Gustav who goes to the concerts to help Anton with his crippling stage fright, and it is Gustav who tells Anton's parents that their son does not want to be a concert pianist.
The boys' relationship changes as they become men and Anton leaves their village, which he announces is stifling him. Gustav is upset at this declaration as he is reassured by the village's sameness.
Later Gustav is there again to pick up the pieces. It is a love story, and an observation of two lives after WW2, and the impact the conflict had on their lives.
A top read!