This Julian Barnes novel about the life of Russian composer Dmitri Shostakovich hits, forgive me, all the right notes. It presents biographical information, the political background, and a credible account of the composer's inner thoughts all in a compact, three-movement "sonata" package. The scenes describing a performance of Lady Macbeth of the Mtensk District, its rejection by Stalin, and the mortal fear this caused in Shostakovich are particularly effective.
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