Morror grabs the reader from the first word and won't let go until you have finished the last.
A intriguing and wonderful read.

A mysterious musical tale following one piece of music through the century and Europe.

One-third of a sonata score; the search for the missing parts of this 18th century piece; a young musicologist determined to identify the composer. Treat yourself to the beauty of this score amid the beauty of Prague.

A novel as rich as the strains of the music it depicts.

I read this EARC courtesy of Grove Atlantic and Net Galley. Pub date 10/13/17

I thought this book was excellent. The story is intriguing. It's well written. It takes place mostly in Prague, which I love. This is the story of a sonata that was divided into three parts during World War II, the people who had the three parts, and the musicologist that is tasked with bringing them back together. I love novels like this where there is historical fiction and some sort of mystery in the present that needs to be solved. I definitely recommend this.

I would give this zero if I could. So much bad writing in so few pages.

Too much disparate descriptions, too many over complicated allusions that don’t make much sense, too much bad writing crammed into the beginning of the book.

For example, what the heck does this mean: “What washed over her despair like baptismal water was the belief, the certainty, that all this would survive every soldier in the streets.” Ayyyy!

Or how’s this for an attempt at literary allusion: “Melodious descending scales concluded in lyrical eddies, pools of euphony, that defied all laws of spiritual gravity when the waterfall of notes cascaded upward again.” OMG! Try to pick apart that allusion!

I also noted “..the skittish fingers of her right hand….her hand took on a curious clawlike shape, somewhat deformed and at the same time loose and elegant ….” and the description goes on in agonizing ways trying to figure out if it was a muscle spasm (say what?) or if he should bring up this “imperfection” on a first date. Outrageously stupid.

There are so many to choose from in only the first part of this book, but I can’t continue to read a book when every other paragraph contains some silly description or allusion. But the last one that I really “liked” was “She looked, it occurred to Jonathan, like a person one had known for a lifetime.” Huh? I give up!

Our story begins during WWII with the occupation of Prague by the Nazi's. Already, I'm excited because what would make for a better story than WWII and Prague! Otylie Bartsova is in possession of a sonata manuscript given to her by her father. She decides that the only way to keep it out of Nazi hands is to split it into 3 sections. She gives one section to her best friend Irena, one to her husband who is active in the Prague resistance, and keeps one piece herself. Fast forward 60 years... and one section of the sonata is now in the hands of a young idealistic musicologist who is hell bent on reuniting all three pieces and finding its rightful owner.

I thought the story itself and the character development were beautifully written. The musical theology and terminology were another story. I get that the novel is about a sonata, but do we really need all the musical jargon? Honestly, I have to admit I skimmed many of those sections.

With this wonderfully crafted novel the author flashes between past and present and expertly weaves the two narratives into a compelling story. We get to follow the trajectory of the characters lives from war torn Czechoslovakia to present day middle America. There were times I couldn't put it down. It has everything you want in a historical novel. You get intrigue, mystery, romance, and of course history. Overall, I would highly recommend this book to any history lover! Thank you to the publishers and to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review!

A historical mystery/thriller set in Prague and the U.S., this is the story of a musical score and the lives it touches. Otylie Bartosova is given an unsigned sonata by her father just as he leaves for service in WWI. Years later, as Otylie flees the Nazi invasion of Prague, she splits the sonata into three pieces to preserve it. One piece makes its way to America and is inherited by musicologist Meta Taverner. Meta takes on the challenge to reunite the work and discover its composer.
This is a fantastic read. The characters are well drawn and engaging. Being Czech, I loved the inclusion of Czech dialog and found I was even able to read some of it. Anyone who enjoys historical fiction or music would love this story. I will be reading more of Mr. Morrow's books.

By far, this is the best book I have read this year. The author has an impressive sense of Prague's history and a depth of musical knowledge, He also describe what happens in academia when so much is at stake. His descriptions and characters are wonderfully wrought. This book a tribute to love, music and sacrifice and is one you cannot put down. I plan to read it again.

The Prague Sonata is a very good read with some technical music details which can be distracting at times, I also had some difficulty with the time shifts that occur and wish there was some way of it being noted what period I was in. I did enjoy the story and would recommend it, especially with music backgrounds (it will be easier to understand).

First, full disclosure. I gained early access to this book with the understanding that I would write an impartial review AND I requested that access because I read a lot about the two world wars and the book's description indicated it was related to Prague during World War II.

PRAGUE SONATA is a great read! It's suspenseful, has interesting and multi-dimensional characters and takes the reader deep inside the world of professional musicians and musicologists. One of the novel's main characters is an old music score that just might turn out to be extremely valuable. As it turns out, the story is only tangentially related to Prague during World War II. It's much more focused on the passion people often have for music.

There are two women central to the plot:
• One is a young Czech woman, Otylie, who inherited the mysterious musical score as a precious legacy from her father. And she is determined to keep it out of the hands of the occupying Nazis. She divides the score into its three movements, holds onto one, gives another to her best friend, and gives the last third to her husband, just as he is about to disappear into the Czech underground. Otylie hopes the score of the sonata will provide a link to help these three people reunite when the war ends.
• The second woman is Meta, a promising pianist whose career ascent was cut short by a car accident. Redirecting her energy into the world of musicology, she happens upon one piece of the sonata, decades after Otylie divided the score. Something about the music intrigues her so deeply that Meta leaves her life in New York in order to search for the missing movements.

Along the way -- traveling to Prague, London, and several midwest states -- she relies on guidance from a former teacher-mentor, as her quest to hunt down the sonata's missing pieces leads her to survivors of the war, former collaborators, unscrupulous music experts, and a struggling free-lance journalist who smells a good story.

The novel moves back and forth in time, slowly unraveling both Meta's search and Otylie's life. At times the back and forth felt a little clunky, sometimes too abrupt, other times the switch came in an awkward place. And a few new characters were introduced quite late in the book.

It is obvious that the author did quite a bit of research on musicology. And when any author approaches writing a novel with a particular knowledge base, it's often difficult line to to find the right mix of just enough detail to make the book authentic and interesting without that detail becoming distracting or tiresome. There were moments when I felt Morrow crossed the line into the realm of pedagogy -- too eager to include some obscure detail that was of minimal interest or relevance to the plot. But that did not wind up interfering in my overall enjoyment of the book.

Stories about music are among my favorites. Stories about music set in cities i love and composers i really like are even better. So when i requested this book, i was expecting a very pleasant journey in my favorite city. And i was not disappointed. It was kind of thrilling to be able to picture exactly the places mentioned and to recall the emotions and impressions that those same places conjured.

By some mysterious chance, a part of an 18th century music manuscript came into the hands of Meta Taverner, a young and passionate musicoligist. It came with a specific mission to find the two other missing parts of this manuscript which was broken in the first days of the Nazi occupation of Prague, and finally return it to its lost owner.
From that started a journey both in time and space, as Meta started from New York to Prague to follow the incredible journey of this manuscript, and to follow the steps of the people related to it. It was also a trip back in the time, as the story was told in parallel, between the quest of Meta, and the life of the manuscript's owner and the people connected to it during the Nazi occupation period, the communist era and the post-war world.

I enjoyed this story, this quest, and all the people that were involved in it. I have to admit however that i struggled to like Meta at the beginning. I don't know why, but i couldn't connect with her or like her, until well past half the story. The other characters were mostly interesting.
The intrigue that came with such a quest was good, although i felt it was made a bit longer than necessary.
The only think i had some reservations about was the use of a lot of musical metaphors. I mean, it gave a touch of poetry to the story, but since i was not really expert of music, merely an enthusiast, the use of some "technical" words made it that the metaphors were kind of lost on me, and that bothered me.

Overall it was a very enjoyable story

I finished the book and then cried a little because I didn't want it to end. That's never happened. It's beautifully written. You picture the action as you read. The characters are clear-cut, even though there is a great number of them, and you'd like to know them in real life. I didn't spot any glaring errors in the historical parts of the story but I'm not a history buff.
The greatest gift to me was learning about what happened to the area my Dad's family came from. He was first generation Czech American, he learned American in school like so many and he fought in WWII. We learned a tiny bit about it all in history class. I remember being outraged as a 12 yr old that the US didn't help the Czech's during their bid for freedom, yet we were in Vietnam.
The Prague Sonata filled in so many blanks and brought home to me what happens to countries that become overrun. Truly an issue now after the last election. Cultural appropriation became something I felt instead of just understanding the issue intellectually. But the biggest thing is it's an entertaining, engaging book I think anyone would enjoy and perhaps learn from. My sister and best cousin are getting hardback copies from me because I'm sure this is a book they will want to keep on their bookshelf.

I found the story fascinating - but felt like it got a little bogged down with some of the minutia. Didn't need the boyfriend back home story - but I loved the historical fiction part of exploring Prague and visiting that piece of history.

This is a fascinating look at the world of classical music and also the history of Prague and some of its citizens that spans more than half a century. The many musicology details might make this a bit too specialized for readers not familiar with classical music but it's so well done that a little stick-to-it-iveness will reward the reader. And the heroine's -- and Meta definitely is a heroine--mission turns into an edge of the seat thriller. The author has managed to make even the villains interesting, and more flawed than typical villains. Highly recommended. e.s.

The reading experience is slow and thoughtful, full of significant diversions in time andplace, but deeply satisfying - as important as the find Meta comes up with in trackinga partial musical manuscript she loves - a deep love of music permeates the novel and all the people she follows to find out what this haunting score is it not only managed to 'escape' Nazi plundering and faint hearted ness but in contemporary times, the iniquities and brutal mercenary world of musical manuscripts and the vast sums attached. Meta, the daughter of a musician, and a pianist herself , disabled by a feckless father - makes life decisions about her career and her big love. It is a rich novel worthy of the slow read it demands of us. And the outcome is more than you could dream possible!

A wonderful story, well written with great characters and historically fascinating, with music, music, music and Prague! Thanks Netgalley for this book.

This book had me captivated the whole way through. It is beautifully written and has obviously been well researched. This is a wonderful historical novel that goes from past to present. The details of World War 2 in Prague tell a horrific story. The description of Prague is so good I could visualise it for the beautiful city it is. The setting of Prague added to the magic of the book. I can't rave about this book enough. I loved every single page and the story came together beautifully. This is the first book I have read by Bradford Morrow and I definitely want to read more.

An explosion of language, rich in synonyms and metaphors combined with musical notes makes this a compelling read. The bond created through the Sonata illuminates true friendships and bonds that cannot be broken even in times of war, cruelty and suffering. For the reader a wonderful journey.

5 plus stars

Our story starts out in Czechoslovakia just after the ending of WWI. A little girl named Otylie is told by her father that there is music in war. He describes even the various types of military music, including the music that accompanies the start and finish of a battle. The young girl ponders this and decides she doesn’t want this haunting her. He leaves her a three part musical score. For Otylie this is the only thing that remains of her father.

It is now the late 1939 and Czechoslovakia is invaded by the Germans. Otylie knows she must guard the sonata from the avaricious Germans. They are destroying everything in their path – buildings, businesses and people. Neighbors are telling on neighbors in order to curry favor and to survive. Otylie gives one-third of the score to her friend Irene and cautions her to guard it with her life. She hopes that by splitting it up, the Germans won’t know what she has or think that it is of any value. The other third she gets to her H\husband, Jakob. Jakob is on the run from the Nazis.

During the present day a part of an unattributed manuscript is given to Meta Tavener. She is a woman whose piano career was cut short be a devastating injury to her hand. The musical score appears to be authentic. It appears to have been written in the 18th Century. She meets Irena Svobodova Dorfman an elderly and very ill lady who has one-third of the musical score. She pleads with Meta to see if she can learn find the real owner and the other two parts of the score.

Meta travels to the former Czechoslovakia to see if she can locate the woman who Irena in New York hasn’t seen since WWII.

What follows is a remarkable story of discovery. Meta also learns that she is not the only one looking for answers about the script. The story moves back and forth through time in a beautiful yet compelling manner. We learn interesting background information about several well-known characters that played a part in WWII.

This story is beautifully written and plotted. It is exciting and absorbing. It tells the story of love, loss and the vagaries of the human heart. The research that went into this book is exhaustive. This is my first Bradford Morrow novel, but I will certainly be looking into other ones he has written. I truly loved it. My only problem with the book was that the transitions were difficult to follow. The story jumped from present to past with barely a paragraph break. Hopefully, this is resolved before final publication. The musical references were a little disconcerting because I did not know them, but no distraction at all from the story.

I want to thank Netgalley and Grove Atlantic/Atlantic Monthly Press for forwarding to me a copy of this remarkable book to read.