About this item
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.
About the Author
Lauren Belfer's most recent novel, AND AFTER THE FIRE, received the inaugural Book Club Award of the 2016 National Jewish Book Awards.
Lauren's debut novel, CITY OF LIGHT, was a New York Times bestseller as well as a New York Times Notable Book. CITY OF LIGHT was also a bestseller in Great Britain, and it has been translated into six languages. Her second novel, A FIERCE RADIANCE, was named a Washington Post Best Novel, an NPR Best Mystery, and a New York Times Editors' Choice. In a four-star review, USA Today said that Belfer's third novel, AND AFTER THE FIRE, "swells with life's great themes - love and death, family and faith - and the insistent, dark music of loss."
Lauren grew up in Buffalo, New York, and she decided to become a writer when she was six years old. By the time she was in high school, her literary work was receiving rejection letters from all the best publications. After graduating from college, she worked as a file clerk at an art gallery, a paralegal at a law firm, an assistant photo editor at a newspaper, a fact checker at magazines, and as a researcher and associate producer on documentary films. Her first published short story was rejected forty-two times before it found an editor who loved it. Her second published story was rejected only twenty-seven times. She has an M.F.A. from Columbia University, and she lives in New York City. To learn more about Lauren and her work, visit her website: www.LaurenBelfer.com
