Music of a Life is the most amazing book I have read this year. It left me stunned with admiration, just the way the classic Russian authors had done, decades ago, because this is a tale of heartbreak, war, broken dreams, yet survival and the strength of spirit.

The book is written as a story within a story. The main character in the inside story, Alexei Berg, is a typical Russian, despondent, morose, and beaten up by life, circumstances, and politics. The plot moves fast and covers several decades in the life of the main character.

In the beginning of the story, the narrator falls asleep and dreams of a sweet music while waiting in a railroad station in Siberia. Upon waking, he wanders inside the station to come across an interesting, disheveled man, Alexei Berg, who-he later learns--used to be a pianist. When the train finally comes, they share a carriage together, and Alexei tells the speaker of his earlier life. It is Alexei’s life that is the real story here, but its framing story is also skillfully written.

The writing style is excellent, rich, clear, poetic, and to the point. Plus, the images are beautifully described and the inner life of the people is expressed with feeling and precision.

Moreover, the author is brilliant and masterful in creating the proper dark atmosphere for every scene, and the music leitmotif permeates the story together with misfortune and the strength of the human spirit. Despite the novella size of the book, 109 pages in hardcover, a lot happens, and it is amazing to me that this author fit in so much action, feeling, and twists and turns inside this small size.

In short, this is an intense novel, powerful and rich in emotion, action, and imagery.

seeing how to use the language to its maximum impressiveness and staying under the influence of the story after finishing the reading.

everything.

read all the other books written by Andrei Makine.

profoundly impressed. I now believe that true literature in the world is alive and well.

is Andrei Makine, a Russian-born author who emigrated to France in 1987. Dreams of My Russian Summers and Requiem for a Lost Empire are among his other work.

this is not a book to miss. It will help any writer with his word choices and worldview.

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Created Jun 23, 2017 at 6:32pm • Submit your own review...