Dimensions
149 x 202 x 8mm
In a snowbound railway station deep in the Soviet Union, a stranded passenger comes across an old man playing the piano in the dark, silent tears rolling down his cheeks. When the Moscow train eventually arrives they share a compartment, and the pianist, Alexei Berg, gradually reveals his story.
It is the story of a young man who, in 1941, lost everything in one of Stalin's purges - his parents, his budding career as a concert pianist, even his identity. Subsequently he fought in the ranks against the invading German army, surviving the war against all odds and finding, in the bleakest of circumstances, love and compassion. Yet in the end it was love, or deluded passion, that turned his life upside down once more.
With this lyrical and enormously affecting tale of a surprisingly unembittered man, Andrei Makine has written a testament to hope and resilience in times of great turmoil. It is a work of impressive economy and breathtaking scope by a novelist of international stature.
