The Gustav Sonata

Winner of the 2016 National Jewish Book Award for Fiction

A poignant tale about the enduring friendship between two men under the shadow of the Second World War: "Beautifully rendered, and magnificent in its scope. It glows with mastery" (Ian McEwan).

Gustav Perle grows up in a small town in Switzerland, where the horrors of the Second World War seem only a distant echo. An only child, he lives alone with Emilie, the mother he adores but who treats him with bitter severity. He begins an inten...