Synopses & Reviews
The Romantic era was the cradle for artists who lived life to the fullest and loved without restraint, and Robert Schumann and his wife, Clara, were the epitome of this unbounded period. Robert shocked and confused listeners with music that heralded the beginning of the modern era while he drove both his mind and his body to their limit. Clara was the most acclaimed female pianist of her time-a time that included Liszt, Chopin, Mendelssohn, and later, Brahms, whom Clara and Robert loved more than any other man. With characters of surpassing vitality, Longing delineates the most intimate details of the relationships between men and women with a surpassing precision, sympathy, and wisdom. Combining the dramatic historical narrative of The Alienist with the passionate sensitivity of Possession and the sensual intellectuality of The Unbearable Lightness of Being, it is a consummate achievement of the novelist's art.
Review
"J. D. Landis has produced a book as haunting and complex as the music of his subjects, Robert and Clara Schumann.... I know no book that marries art and life so seamlessly; 'If music be the food of love,' here we have a feast.- Nicholas Delbanco, author of the lost suitcase
Synopsis
Madness, genius, and passion fuel a towering novel of the Romantic era's most romantic couple, Robert and Clara Shumann. Robert shocked and confused listeners with music that heralded the beginning of the modern era and Clara was the most acclaimed pianist of her time.