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Indlæser... The Conductor (original 2011; udgave 2011)af Sarah Quigley
Work InformationThe Conductor af Sarah Quigley (2011)
Indlæser...
Bliv medlem af LibraryThing for at finde ud af, om du vil kunne lide denne bog. Der er ingen diskussionstråde på Snak om denne bog. https://tamaranth.blogspot.com/2024/02/2024021-conductor-sarah-quigley.html ( ) A stunning and beautifully written novel, which delves deep into the heart of Leningrad during what must have been their darkest period - the siege. This book is stark and beautiful, intermingling the tales of the different characters and bringing forth the bitter experience they all shared. It is evocative, bittersweet and overall a fantastic read. My only complaint is that the ending seemed rather abrupt and I did not want to lead the tale go. I must confess that I have never particularly enjoyed works of 'faction' - until now. Karl Eliasberg is to conduct Shostakovich's Seventh Symphony during surely one of the cruellest episodes known to man - the siege of Leningrad. On 9 August 1942, with loudspeakers broadcasting the performance throughout the city as well as to the German forces in a move of psychological warfare, Eliasberg and his scratch orchestra of starving, exhausted, miliatrary-rejects, kept going with additional food rations, play as though their lives depend on it. Sarah Quiley's book describes the lead up to this point during a period of cold and chaos. Shostakovich struggles to compose, what with the fire-watching duties and over-crowded living conditions. Eliasberg wrestles with his inferiority complex and tries to cope with his aged mother. Other personalities with their stories move in and out of the narrative. This is a seriously good book - well-researched, well-written and a gripping, intelligent read. Excellent!
It's a mark of Sarah Quigley's sympathy that she not only brings Shostakovich and Eliasberg back from the dead – and writes like a virtuoso about music – but that she manages to light up something of the Russian soul. For the magic of a novel two things are required: beautiful writing and brilliant storytelling. Too often authors manage one but not the other. Sarah Quigley has proved herself gifted at both. A novel from her is a relatively rare thing. This is her fourth - she hasn't published one since 2004, according to the Book Council website. But The Conductor was worth waiting for. It's an extraordinary book set during the siege of Leningrad and weaves fact with fiction. Quigley follows three men: celebrated composer Dmitri Shostakovich, orchestral conductor Karl Eliasberg and a fictional musician Nikolai Nikolayev. Tilhører ForlagsserienGallimard, Folio (5980) Distinctions
The Conductor reads like a proper up-all-night page-turner, but it also goes deeper than that, conveying the extraordinary life-saving properties of music, and hope' - Bella Bathurst. The story of how Shostakovich and one valiant orchestra created a defining moment in the siege of Leningrad is a gripping testament to the life saving power of music. June 1941: Nazi troops surround the city of Leningrad, planning to shell and starve the people into submission. Most of the cultural elite is evacuated, but the famous composer Shostakovich stays behind to defend his city. That winter, the bleakest in Russian history, the Party orders Karl Eliasberg, the shy, difficult conductor of a second-rate orchestra, to prepare for the task of a lifetime. He is to conduct a performance of Shostakovich's Seventh Symphony - a haunting, defiant new piece, which will be relayed by loudspeakers to the front lines. Eliasberg's musicians are starving, and scarcely have the strength to carry their instruments. But for five freezing months the conductor stubbornly drives on his musicians, depriving those who falter of their bread rations. Slowly the music begins to dissolve the nagging hunger, the exploding streets, the slow deaths... but at what cost? Eliasberg's relationships are strained, obsession takes hold, and his orchestra is growing weaker. Now, it's a struggle not just to perform but to stay alive. No library descriptions found. |
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