Dissonance
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Book Overview
When Anna Kramer, a Los Alamos piano teacher, inherits the journals and scores of composer Hana Weissova, she is mystified by this bequest from a woman she does not know. Hana's music, however, soon begins to uncover forgotten emotions, while her journals, which begin in 1945 after she is released from a concentration camp, slowly reveal decades-old secrets that Anna and her family have kept buried. Dissonance is a quiet and dramatic novel that offers great emotional urgency and wisdom. It is bold in its scale, placing readers at different eras--in the concentration camp at Theresienstadt and in the scientific world of Los Alamos, New Mexico. With extraordinary sensitivity, the author unfolds the story of a woman musician inheriting the "score" of another woman's life, reconciling its themes of self-discovery with the processes of self-discovery in her own life, and, finally, freeing imprisoned memory.
Format:Paperback
Language:English
ISBN:1939650119
ISBN13:9781939650115
Release Date:September 2014
Publisher:Santa Fe Writer's Project
Length:196 Pages
Weight:0.45 lbs.
Dimensions:0.4" x 5.4" x 8.4"
Customer Reviews
5 ratings
Worth the Wait
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 15 years ago
For the past several years everyone has been telling me I needed to read this book. For some reason or another it kept slipping to the back of my mind and I'd forget to read it. Last week I decided it was time and I'm so glad I finally sat down and opened the cover. This is a beautiful book, elegant and deep. The seamless interweaving of the three distinct story themes (the present, past, and the power of music) is as lovely a melody as I have ever encountered. Unforgettable, haunting, and highly recommended.
A well-deserved award-winner
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 21 years ago
Once you have read this book, you will want to tell everyone you know. Pass it on! Word of mouth will make this book a bestseller.
A Virtuoso performance
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 21 years ago
The analogy of music and the piano, as an instrument, to human events and emotions is superb! This alone, makes the book worth reading. However, you won't lay this little gem down until the mystery of the story is resolved.
If you like a well written book, try this one!
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 21 years ago
I enjoyed the writing (not to mention the story). The author wove several lines in a delightful way...very enjoyable to read. The style was very effective in conveying the harmony/dissonance themes. And the story had enough surprising twists and turns to keep me turning pages. I was especially impressed with the extremely well researched material on music and the Holocaust.
An Unexpected Symphony
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 21 years ago
"Dissonance" swept me from page to page.Was it the gripping story of one woman, two families, an entire race? The mystery of a bequest from a stranger? The journey from tea and ristras in today's New Mexico to World War II death factories -- a Czech Concentration Camp and our own Los Alamos Labs? The unexpected symphonies in all these places?Or the poetry -- the sound -- that breathes in each paragraph?I don't know. I can only tell you that this book led me to a most wonderful place of the heart.This book sings.
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