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The Novel in the Viola
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Review
'A deeply touching and blissfully romantic elegy for a lost world.'
(The Times )'A vivid and poignant story about hope, loss and reinvention' (Psychologies )
'A warm story with a lovely uncloying sweetness.' (Saga Magazine )
'Solomons's confident timing means that we sense what is about to happen only moments before it occurs, and are compelled to read on, not as one might expect for the frisson of a new event, but for the thrill of having our intuition confirmed.' (Stephanie Bishop, TLS )
For Mr Rosenblum's List:
'The descriptions of England - as friend, adversary and eventually home - are exquisite. A touching, surprising and satisfying read.'
'Utterly charming and very funny'
(Paul Torday, author of Salmon Fishing in the Yemen )'An unususal, comedy-rich novel... a treat of a book'.
(Guardian )'a subtle and moving examination of the dilemma faced by immigrants to modern Britain'.
(Observer )'Prepare to be seriously charmed'.
(The Times )'both a love story and an elegy to the English country house...the greatest pleasure is its stirring narrative and the constant sense of discovery within the historical sweep of Elise's life...Solomon's confident timing means that we sense what is about to happen only moments before it occurs, and are compelled to read on, not as one might expect for the frisson of a new event, but for the thrill of having our intuition confirmed.'
(Stephanie Bishop, TLS )'An engaging read ... ripe for the screen'
(Guardian )Review
For Mr Rosenblum's List:'The descriptions of England - as friend, adversary and eventually home - are exquisite. A touching, surprising and satisfying read.' -- Sadie Jones, author of The Outcast 'Utterly charming and very funny' -- Paul Torday, author of Salmon Fishing in the Yemen 'An unususal, comedy-rich novel... a treat of a book'. -- Guardian 'a subtle and moving examination of the dilemma faced by immigrants to modern Britain'. -- Observer 'Prepare to be seriously charmed'. -- The Times
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
46 of 49 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review
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I loved this book, from start to finish it gripped me. It starts off with Elise in her Austrian days, having a lovely time in the early thirties and then quickly debunks to her new setting in England where she is sent to escape the impending whirlwind against the Jews. I had only a vague notion before this that some young well to do girls were sent from Austria in this way, but Elise's experiences are so well described that these events becoming incredibly real. The descriptions of the London fog, the confusion of being in a new city, let alone a new country are brilliantly painted. This could have been a sad but worthy tale about the journey of one such girl from a charmed life with servants to becoming a servant herself; but these is nothing pitiful in Elise's story, just the facts and wonderful descriptions of how she deals with things - although it is a sad tale in many ways. She comes to love the English countryside as her own home, given time she finds love, loses it and finds a more enduring love as a consequence. What I especially liked was the way Elise could stand back at times and see her own life, the possibilities of what might have been, which are often changed in a second by some stroke of fortune, good or bad or a particular decision. I love the authors style of writing, intelligent, caring but never falling into mere sentiment. I have already ordered the book she wrote before this one and can't wait to start it; a wonderful author to have discovered.
21 of 23 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Rave reviews raised my hopes for this book but I was rather disappointed. The story is entirely predictable and I felt it was peopled with "stock characters" of the kind often found in tv dramas. The tone of the book is gently elegaic (the heroine loses not one but two lifestyles, firstly in pre war Vienna, and secondly among the English landed gentry) but given the bitterly tragic story of a girl losing her family to the holocaust I found the soft marshmallowy feel of the narrative to be inappropriate. I was speed reading it from about half way through; this reader was not gripped.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I love reading fiction set during World War II and The Novel in the Viola is one of the best I've read for a while. The story begins in 1938 when we meet nineteen-year-old Elise Landau, a girl from a rich Austrian family (her mother, Anna, is a successful opera singer and her father, Julian, a famous author). Until now, Elise has lead a secure and comfortable life but that's all about to change because the Landaus are Jews, and with Europe on the brink of war Austria is no longer a safe place to live. And so Elise is sent away from her home in Vienna and travels alone to Tyneford House, a mansion on the south coast of England, where she will work as a maid for Mr Rivers and his son, Kit. Her parents have remained in Austria while they await American visas and they promise to send for Elise as soon as possible - but as the war continues, she begins to wonder if they'll ever be reunited.
The portrayal of life in an English country house forms a big part of the story, with insights into the class system, social conventions of the time, and the relationships between servant and master. Elise has to get used to working as a parlour maid after spending most of her life having servants of her own. Her background makes it difficult for her to fit in with the other servants at Tyneford but her status as a maid and a Jewish refugee prevents her from being accepted by some of the Rivers' upper class friends. Elise is a wonderful character and I enjoyed following her as she settled into her new life - I thought Natasha Solomons displayed a real understanding of what it was like to be newly arrived in an unfamiliar country, feeling homesick and struggling with the language and the culture.
There are lots of beautiful, atmospheric descriptions of the Dorset countryside and coast which gave me a true feel of what it was like to live there during the Second World War. The story also looks at the effects the war had on the village of Tyneford and the house itself. The author's note at the end of the book was very interesting and explained how Tyneford was based on a real place that became a ghost town because of the war.
There are so many other things I could say about this book - there's the secret of the `novel in the viola' itself, and I haven't even mentioned yet the romantic storyline which develops as Elise begins to fall in love with someone she meets at Tyneford. But I don't want to spoil this book for you, so I'll just say that The Novel in the Viola was a real pleasure to read, a great story with just the right balance of sadness and humour. And I thought the way the book ended was perfect - the only problem was that I had grown to care for Elise and the others so much I didn't want to leave them behind.
The portrayal of life in an English country house forms a big part of the story, with insights into the class system, social conventions of the time, and the relationships between servant and master. Elise has to get used to working as a parlour maid after spending most of her life having servants of her own. Her background makes it difficult for her to fit in with the other servants at Tyneford but her status as a maid and a Jewish refugee prevents her from being accepted by some of the Rivers' upper class friends. Elise is a wonderful character and I enjoyed following her as she settled into her new life - I thought Natasha Solomons displayed a real understanding of what it was like to be newly arrived in an unfamiliar country, feeling homesick and struggling with the language and the culture.
There are lots of beautiful, atmospheric descriptions of the Dorset countryside and coast which gave me a true feel of what it was like to live there during the Second World War. The story also looks at the effects the war had on the village of Tyneford and the house itself. The author's note at the end of the book was very interesting and explained how Tyneford was based on a real place that became a ghost town because of the war.
There are so many other things I could say about this book - there's the secret of the `novel in the viola' itself, and I haven't even mentioned yet the romantic storyline which develops as Elise begins to fall in love with someone she meets at Tyneford. But I don't want to spoil this book for you, so I'll just say that The Novel in the Viola was a real pleasure to read, a great story with just the right balance of sadness and humour. And I thought the way the book ended was perfect - the only problem was that I had grown to care for Elise and the others so much I didn't want to leave them behind.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
FANTASTIC, I LOVED IT!
It starts a bit tricky but it was the most wonderful book I have read in years. I learned more about the austrian jews through this book than I have ever picked up from tv... Read more
Published 11 days ago by chris
Charming
I loved everything about this book and am sorry that it is finished. The countryside and coastal descriptions are beautiful and it is a really interesting story. Read more
Published 4 months ago by iona
Interesting subject and an enjoyable read.
I wish I had read the notes from the author before I read the book as it is based on a real village. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Charlie&Molly
Enjoyable read
Enjoyable read and very enlightening on life in the past. Will encourage others to read this and hope this writer continues with her good writing.
Published 4 months ago by Moann
Enjoyable but not always credible
Overall I enjoyed this book, though using 'like' to mean 'as if' grated on me - it wouldn't have been in use in that period in England. Read more
Published 5 months ago by Magic Hands
Felt like Jane Eyre but fell short at the end
Elise Landau - I like the name - lives a life of privilege as a nineteen-year-old in Vienna, a city beautifully brought to life as it must have been in 1940. Read more
Published 5 months ago by Millions
Music
Loved the book and couldn't wait to read the next page. So much happened throughout even though mush was what you expected. Our book group all liked it apart from 1 person. Read more
Published 5 months ago by Chamberlain
Very much better than its cover!
I almost didn't buy this book, because the cover looked so commercial, romantic and 'soft'. But I knew I was seeing Natasha Solomons at the Guildford Literary Festival so decided... Read more
Published 6 months ago by Nina Bell
Not always credible
I did enjoy this book but I think it could have been better. I predicted the romantic part of the ending from the blurb on the back, which spoilt my enjoyment of the middle. Read more
Published 6 months ago by Liz
moving
I found this to be a very moving story. The descriptive powers of the author are excellent. The heroine is an Austrian jew who has to seek employment in Britain as a maid in a... Read more
Published 7 months ago by bookworm57
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