The Prague Sonata - Bradford Morrow

From critically acclaimed author Bradford Morrow comes a literary quest that spans from Nazi-occupied Prague to turn-of-the-millennium New York. The narrative centers on Meta Taverner, a young musicologist whose concert piano career was cut short by injury. In the early 2000s, she receives a worn manuscript of an eighteenth-century sonata from a Czech immigrant in Queens, who requests that Meta find the manuscript's true owner—a friend from Prague lost to the ravages of World War II. To Meta, the music is hauntingly beautiful and suggests the work of a master composer, yet the identity remains a mystery. Embarking on a journey to uncover the remaining movements of the sonata, Meta travels back to the land of Dvořák and Kafka, driven by the desire to make the three-part sonata whole again. As she delves deeper into the manuscript's history, it becomes evident that she is not the only one seeking its secrets. The novel masterfully weaves together decades of Prague's rich history, from the First World War through the Velvet Revolution, and explores the impact of music and war on individual lives. This epic yet intimate tale highlights how personal stories of love and sacrifice contribute to the broader symphony of life.