National Jewish Book Award Winner!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, … 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.
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Intriguing plot about J.S. Bach’s lost cantata. Great read.
Awesome story of a Bach manuscript and current attempts to identify it.
The best book I’ve read in a long time! This is the story about 1 unknown Bach cantata that was never published and all the peoiple whose hands it passed through. If you re a musicin or even just like classical music, youll love this book!
I did not want to put this book down.
The original story and the development of characters through time makes for compelling reading. Those interested in history and classical music will find within its pages unique and well-researched elements. The author, Lauren Belfer, has done a fine job with the scope and characterizations found in the story.
I read this book awhile ago, but it has stayed in my memory. The story revolves around 3 main characters, covering over 200 years. Sarah is given a music piece as a wedding present from her teacher, one of Bach’s sons. When she reads the words to the music she is horrified by their antisemitic message and hides it away, as he intended. As time and place move on through the book, more people come into possession of the piece and the story repeats itself, finding the music, hating the message but unable to destroy an original Bach cantata. Then current time, Susana in NY finds the music piece from her uncle, a soldier who was stationed in Germany in WWII, and tries to determine the provenance and determine how it will affect her life. Engrossing tale with big ramifications and lots to think about.
Very interesting! Really, really liked it!
This author has done her research “over and above”! I never realized that J.S. Bach, and other composers of his time, were so blatantly anti-Semitic and tolerated by society. This book was a real “eye-opener.”
You would have to be a Bach lover to enjoy this book. Long and tedious
Beautifully researched and written book about a woman who’s uncle leaves her a musical manuscript that looks like a genuine JS Bach cantata which just happens to be missing. Loved it all the way to the end. Told from numerous perspectives of a number of people that had something to do with the manuscript. The best part is at the end, the author provides a list of books and recordings for those who want more. I loved this book and expect to read it over again, with Bach playing. I’m an IT Project Manager, who played classical viola and is now experiencing her second youth playing rock and roll on an amplified viola at the age of 63. This book will appeal to people who love history, music, Jewish history, musicology, books, and libraries.
Musicians will especially like this book with its look into everyday lives of famous musicians who lived around the same time. It is a novel so historical fiction might be the category for it. Very well written.
I know that I am a musician who is familiar with Bach’s music but I loved the idea of a Bach manuscript being discovered and the information needed to authentic it and the search for the family who owned it.
I really enjoyed this book. Thought provoking and well written.