ABOUT
THE BOOK

Translated from the original French by Howard Curtis

2015 Longlist

Raphaël Jerusalmy’s debut novel takes the form of the journal of Otto J. Steiner, a former music critic of Jewish descent suffering from tuberculosis in a Salzburg sanatorium in 1939. Drained by his illness and isolated in the gloomy sanatorium, Steiner finds solace only in music. He is horrified to learn that the Nazis’ are transforming a Mozart festival into a fascist event. Steiner feels helpless at first, but an invitation from a friend presents him with an opportunity to fight back. Under the guise of organizing a concert for Nazi officials, Steiner formulates a plan to save Mozart that could dramatically change the course of the war.

(From Publisher)

About the Author

Raphaël Jerusalmy was born in Montmartre, France in 1954. After receiving diplomas from the Ecole Normale Supérieure and the Sorbonne, he worked with Israeli Military Intelligence. He currently sells antique books in Tel-Aviv.

Librarian’s Comments

A musical attack in Austria in 1939: a singular and overpowering description, with humour, of the first years of Nazism. A cruel story, a bubble of revolt in full inhumanity, a peculiar wildly subversive novel. Sick humour, precise cruelty, rogish gravity, sober and sarcastic tone with a feverish rhythm.