This moving story is presented in three parts. We meet Gustav, brought up in some poverty by his indifferent mother, and Anton, who has a more privileged and cultured background, when both are five years old. The spare yet elegiac prose explores Gustav's loneliness and compassion, and how Anton's nervous disposition makes him unfit for the life his parents had hoped for him .

The back story, describing how his parents met, and how it is that Frau Perle speaks not at all of this phase of her life explains a lot and is in any case a fascinating account of aspects of Switzerland's role in the Second World War.

Finally, Gustave and Anton are older adults. Each is in his own way successful, each still involved in the life of the other, despite the different paths they have chosen. Perhaps Anton doesn't understand how deeply he and Gustav mean to one another. Until it is almost too late....

A fine, beautifully written book. I had to keep reading till I finished. ( )

This book takes the form of a sonata in a 3-parts. I found Part 1 touching and fluidly written. In it, the author introduces the main character, Gustav, and his friend Anton. They come from very different family backgrounds, but become good friends. Gustav copes with his mother’s bitterness, trying his best to please her. Anton is a child prodigy from a secure home, but cannot seem to tame his nerves for his piano recitals. Part 2 goes back in time to cover the meeting of Gustav’s parents, and attempts to describe why Gustav’s mother developed such an angry attitude. I found this part less satisfying, partially due to the author switching to present tense to cover a past time and partly due to what I felt were inconsistent actions. In Part 3, we fast-forward to Gustav and Anton from age forty to sixty. For me, this was the least satisfying part due to the huge number of missing years. Also, much of the rationale for the characters’ actions was laid between the lines. If you like stories about relationships, you may enjoy this book. From my perspective, it lacked action, and the primary character was a bit dull. I added a star for the author's fluid writing style, which I enjoyed. ( )

A dark, bleak book that takes place mainly in Switzerland between 1936-1950. In the beginning, Gustav's father in the assistant chief of police in charge of turning back German/Austrian refugees. He forges papers and is fired from his position. That being said, helping to aid refugees is about the nicest thing he ever did in his life. Everyone in the book is just miserable! This really isn't indicative of the Rose Tremain's that I have previously read. It wasn't a bad book, just "hopeless." If that was the author's intent, she accomplished it well! 272 pages ( )

Gustav Perle groeit op in een Matzlingen (CH) in de jaren na WOII. Zijn vader is door en zijn moeder is een harde, ongelukkige vrou, die haar best moet doen om rond te komen en niet echt kan houden van haar zoon. Alleen bij zijn Joods klasgenootje Anton vindt hij vriendschap. Anton speelt piano en heeft muzikaal talent maar op het podium speelt de nervositeit de baas. Na een levenslange vriendschap vinden Gustav en Anton een antwoord op de vragen die hun leven getekend hebben. Goed geschreven, soms wat melancholisch verhaal ( )

This is another beautiful story from this very accomplished author. She amazes me with the diversity of characters and settings, always compassionately drawn. I would say she is probably my favourite female author. ( )