The Gustav Sonata
Format:Paperback
Publisher:Vintage Publishing
Published:26th Jan '17
Should be back in stock very soon
Now reissued with a stunning new jacket look, The Gustav Sonata is a story of betrayal, the struggle for happiness and the healing power of friendship
What is the difference between friendship and love? Gustav grows up in a small town in Switzerland, where the horrors of the Second World War seem a distant echo. But Gustav's father has mysteriously died, and his adored mother Emilie is strangely cold and indifferent to him. Gustav's life is a lonely one until he meets Anton.
What is the difference between friendship and love?
Gustav grows up in a small town in Switzerland, where the horrors of the Second World War seem a distant echo. But Gustav's father has mysteriously died, and his adored mother Emilie is strangely cold and indifferent to him. Gustav's life is a lonely one until he meets Anton. An intense lifelong friendship develops but Anton fails to understand how deeply and irrevocably his life and Gustav's are entwined until it is almost too late...
'A perfect novel about life's imperfection... Tremain is writing at the height of her inimitable powers...' Kate Kellaway, Observer
'Heartbreaking, unsentimental and beautifully written, and it reinforces my opinion that there are few writers out there with the dexterity or emotional intelligence to rival that of the great Rose Tremain.' John Boyne, The Irish Times
This is a perfect novel about life's imperfection... Tremain is writing at the height of her inimitable powers... Remarkable and moving novel. -- Kate Kellaway * Observer *
The Gustav Sonata is a magnificent novel, heartbreaking, unsentimental and beautifully written, and it reinforces my opinion that there are few writers out there with the dexterity or emotional intelligence to rival that of the great Rose Tremain. -- John Boyne * The Irish Times *
Beautifully tender and brilliantly written novel... A tale of the most powerful part of any friendship: love. ***** * Stylist *
In The Gustav Sonata, Tremain once again proves herself to be a writer of exceptional talent ... Previous novels like The Road Home have already showcased her staggering sensitivity and capacity for empathy but they're here again, magnificently undiminished. Tremain is a writer who understands every emotion ... and it's ultimately this understanding that has produced another exquisite book -- Matt Cain * i *
Tremain has the painterly genius of an Old Master, and she uses it to stunning effect... Glorious. -- Melissa Katsoulis * The Times *
Elegant and spare, the novel traces the subtle nuances between friendship and passion, betrayal and disappointment… Tremain shows how good intentions can result in suffering, and does so with grace and tenderness. -- Fanny Blake * Daily Mail *
Sentence by sentence, Rose Tremain’s fiction provides rich pleasures: she renders her worlds…with vivid specificity and economical elegance. In her new novel The Gustav Sonata, the textures of her characters’ surroundings are deftly drawn. -- Claire Messud * Financial Times *
Reveals Tremain at her very best. It is a powerful account of loss, but also of friendship, of its inequalities and its compromises. -- Vanessa Berridge * Sunday Express *
Tender, beautiful and finely characterized, this is the best book of the year so far for me * WI Life *
Tremain is a resourceful writer... The Gustav Sonata is a short book that manages to tell a gripping story about human fallibility while offering a meditation on life, time and desire. -- Pamela Norris * Literary Review *
- Short-listed for Costa Novel Award 2017 (UK)
- Short-listed for Walter Scott Prize 2017 (UK)
- Short-listed for Ondaatje Prize 2017 (UK)
- Long-listed for Baileys Womens Prize for Fiction 2017 (UK)
- Long-listed for Wellcome Book Prize 2017 (UK)
ISBN: 9781784700201
Dimensions: 199mm x 129mm x 20mm
Weight: 230g
320 pages