And After the Fire

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AND AFTER THE FIRE has received the inaugural Book Club Award of the 2016 National Jewish Book Awards.The New York Times bestselling author of A Fierce Radiance and City of Light returns with a new powerful and passionate novel inspired by historical events about two women, one European and one American, and the mysterious choral masterpiece by Johann Sebastian Bach that changes both their lives.In the ruins of Germany in 1945, at the end of World War II, American soldier Henry Sachs takes a souvenir, an old music manuscript, from a seemingly deserted mansion and mistakenly kills the girl who tries to stop him.In America in 2010, Henry s niece, Susanna Kessler, struggles to rebuild her life after she experiences a devastating act of violence on the streets of New York City When Henry dies soon after, she uncovers the long hidden music manuscript She becomes determined to discover what it is and to return it to its rightful owner, a journey that will challenge her preconceptions about herself and her family s history and also offer her an opportunity to finally make peace with the past.In Berlin, Germany, in 1783, amid the city s glittering salons where aristocrats and commoners, Christians and Jews, mingle freely despite simmering anti Semitism, Sara Itzig Levy, a renowned musician, conceals the manuscript of an anti Jewish cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach, an unsettling gift to her from Bach s son, her teacher This work and its disturbing message will haunt Sara and her family for generations to come.Interweaving the stories of Susanna and Sara, and their families, And After the Fire traverses over two hundred years of history, from the eighteenth century through the Holocaust and into today, seamlessly melding past and present, real and imagined Lauren Belfer s deeply researched, evocative, and compelling narrative resonates with emotion and immediacy. Download And After the Fire – kino-fada.fr When I read the synopsis for this novel it caught my attention for two reasons Firstly, I m a musician with a love of both classical music and history Secondly, my husband s family went through a similar process as Susanna about twenty years ago when they discovered an original Haydn manuscript that had been in their family for several generations even down to taking it to an expert in a plastic bag I had to laugh when I read that part Nevertheless, this novel ended up being a big let do When I read the synopsis for this novel it caught my attention for two reasons Firstly, I m a musician with a love of both classical music and history Secondly, my husband s family went through a similar process as Susanna about twenty years ago when they discovered an original Haydn manuscript that had been in their family for several generations even down to taking it to an expert in a plastic bag I had to laugh when I read that part Nevertheless, this novel ended up being a big let down for me I will mention, to begin with, that I almost didn t make it past the prologue, thanks to several instances of foul language Thankfully, this did not set the tone for the rest of the novel, which was completely free of foul language Unfortunately, that is the best thing I can say about the writing Far from being evocative or resonating wi...A Good Novel Slightly Marred by ExcessThere were so many positive surprises about this novel about a cantata manuscript by J S Bach that resurfaces among the effects of a GI who found it in Germany in 1945 I am generally cautious with books about music, because the authors so frequently get it wrong, but Belfer writes impeccably on the technical and historical levels and as a listener Although no musicologist myself, I was fascinated by her detailed description of the deciphering and authent A Good Novel Slightly Marred by ExcessThere were so many positive surprises about this novel about a cantata manuscript by J S Bach that resurfaces among the effects of a GI who found it in Germany in 1945 I am generally cautious with books about music, because the authors so frequently get it wrong, but Belfer writes impeccably on the technical and historical levels and as a listener Although no musicologist myself, I was fascinated by her detailed description of the deciphering and authentication of the work Every so o...4.3 stars actually This was a good book, it had a lot of what I usually like Historical background, musical history , historical artifacts and museums The story follows the discovery of a hidden composition by Bach by the main character when her grandfather kills himself , this opens up a can of worms and we are in the middle of the second WW , this book also follows three different timelines chronicling the life of the composition, along the trip you will find believable and well written ch 4.3 stars actually This was a good book, it had a lot of what I usually like Historical background, musical history , historical artifacts and museums The story follows the discovery of a hidden composition by Bach by the main character when her grandfather kills himself , this opens up a can of worms and we are in the middle of the second WW , this book also follows three different timelines chronicling the life of the compo...I read this book in two multi hour afternoons, on my front porch, feet up, cats wandering in and out I COULD NOT BE STOPPED.The writing is engaging, enticing, beautifully descriptive without overwhelming especially the descriptions of the music I wish I knew if Belfer had serious and extensive musical training I t sounds like it and the plot line moves forward or backwar...The author Lauren Belfer has written two excellent works of historical fiction A FIERCE RADIANCE and THE CITY OF LIGHT Both center on murders related to important scientific discoveries, one deals with hydroelectric power outside Buffalo, and the other the development of penicillin during World War II Both novels exhibit Belfer s capacity to intertwine fictional and non fictional characters that create historical realism and accuracy Belfer s third novel, recently released AND AFTER THE FIRE The author Lauren Belfer has written two excellent works of historical fiction A FIERCE RADIANCE and THE CITY OF LIGHT Both center on murders related to important scientific discoveries, one deals with hydroelectric power outside Buffalo, and the other the development of penicillin during World War II Both novels exhibit Belfer s capacity to intertwine fictional and non fictional characters that create historical realism and accuracy Belfer s third novel, recently released AND AFTER THE FIRE breaks new ground as she creates a story that revolves around an original cantata of Johann Sebastian Bach that incorporates the Holocaust, Jewish society and the growing anti Semitism of 18th, 1...2.5Caveat emptor another title hyped by the Big Publisher as a bestseller But for those who enjoy being played like a piano sorry, could not resist, although pianoforte would beapt for J.S Bach s era , be sure to have at least 3 hankies for this concerted.sorry effort.First, the religious antisemitism aspect is overdone or at least not well done, as other reviews have suggested It is possible that Bach would have used the text cited the reader is never given the entire l 2.5Caveat emptor another title hyped by the Big Publisher as a bestseller But for those who enjoy being played like a piano sorry, could not resist, although pianoforte would beapt for J.S Bach s era , be sure to have at least 3 hankies for this concerted.sorry effort.First, the religious antisemitism aspect is overdone or at least not well done, as other reviews have suggested It is possible that Bach would have used the text cited the reader is never given the entire liturgy for the musical score as the basis for an entire cantata But it is also improbable that he wou...This historical novel moves back and forth between the 1700 s to 1940 s to the present day In Germany after WWII has ended, an American soldier, Henry Sachs, steals a music manuscript resulting in the death of a young girl The manuscript is a lost cantata by none other than Johann Sebastian Bach The lyrics contain violent Anti Semitic words The book traces the path of this controversial cantata through the days when it was first given to Sara Itzig Levy by her music teacher, Bach s son, thro This historical novel moves back and forth between the 1700 s to 1940 s to the present day In Germany after WWII has ended, an American soldier, Henry Sachs, steals a music manuscript resulting in the death of a young girl The manuscript is a lost cantata by none other than Johann Sebastian Bach The lyrics contain violent Anti Semitic words The book traces the path of this controversial cantata through the days when it was first given to Sara Itzig Levy by her music teacher, Bach s son, through its present day finding by Henry Sach s niece, Susanna Kessler.Quite a few of the characters in this book are real people, though not the characters in the present day section The story of the Anti Semitic cantata by Bach is a very believable one, since Bach often used the words of Martin Luther in his music lyrics and there has been controversy over the years as to his Anti Semitic leanings The story is a fascinating one and touches on many German, French and American lives and th...So much emotions and feelings packed into this novel I loved the way Lauren Belfer handles difficult topics in history and the present No glossed over or dismissed perching of children in this bookThis was a fascinating, well written, well researched book that really kept my attention, even through some parts that were a little too musically historical for me The chapters alternate between current day Susanna in NYC, her uncle Henry in Berlin at the end of WWII, and Sara Levy in Berlin between 1780 and 1870 The basic story revolves around a piece J.S Bach wrote, beautiful musically, but with extreme anti semitic verse, as in we should kill all the Jews and burn down their temples T This was a fascinating, well written, well researched book that really kept my attention, even through some parts that were a little too musically historical for me The chapters alternate between current day Susanna in NYC, her uncle Henry in Berlin at the ...I almost didn t read this book because of reviews talking about antiChristian sentiment and I ve had enough of that lately, but I m glad I read the book in spite of these reviews I did not find antiChristian sentiment as much as objective scrutiny of some Christian sacred music and teaching As a Christian, I cannot justify or explain the holocaust and it is inconceivable that it occurred in recent times Her charact...

And After the Fire
  • 12 November 2017
  • Hardcover
  • 464 pages
  • 0062428519
  • Lauren Belfer
  • And After the Fire