Love Is Blind (Vintage International) - Softcover

Boyd, William

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0525564446 ISBN 13: 9780525564447

Publisher: Vintage, 2019

Synopsis

When he is hired as the personal piano tuner for a brilliant pianist, Brodie Moncur suddenly finds himself swept up into a life of luxury that he could never have imagined. But while accompanying his new employer on tours from Paris to St. Petersburg, Brodie falls madly in love with the Russian soprano Lika Blum: beautiful, worldly, seductive--and forbidden. Though seemingly doomed from the start, Brodie's passion for Lika only grows as their lives become increasingly more intertwined, more secretive, and, finally, more dangerous. A tale of dizzying passion and brutal revenge; of artistic endeavor and the illusions it can create; of the possibilities that life offers and the cruel speed with which they can be snatched away, Love Is Blind is a dazzling work of historical fiction that unfolds across fin de siècle Europe.

About this title

Review:

"Expansive and intimate, potent and poignant. . . . Once again, this maestro hits all the right notes." --Minneapolis Star Tribune

"Beautifully written and deeply humane. . . . Hugely readable, entirely engaging. . . . Boyd has pulled off an audaciously cunning trick, a literary bait and switch that both delights and surprises." --The Guardian

"An urbane, silkily written romance." --The Wall Street Journal

"A masterclass in old-fashioned storytelling." --The Economist

"Layered and intricate. . . . A finely judged performance: a deft and resonant alchemy of fact and fiction, of literary myth and imagination." --Carys Davies, The Guardian

"A masterpiece of storytelling. . . . [A] treasure chest of a novel. . . . It grabs the reader and doesn't let go until the last page." --The Washington Times

"Extremely enjoyable." --Financial Times

"Reading this masterly novel from Boyd is like easing into a comfortable prose chair. The language, story, and setting all converge in a richly satisfying human drama; highly recommended." --Library Journal (starred review)

"Boyd is in his element with this sweeping, involving tale. . . . He conjures up a world and a story so extraordinary and yet so convincing you feel they must be real." --The Times (London)

"Ageless and very entertaining." --Publishers Weekly

"Boyd is a golden combination of high literary credibility and popular acclaim. . . . Love Is Blind is part adventure and part misguided romance." --The Sunday Times (London)

"An enjoyable, sophisticated, and provocative read." --Fortune

"There are few contemporary novelists whose new works I approach with keener anticipation than those of William Boyd. Each grabs us from the start and keeps us riveted not just by wondering about possible outcomes but also by the sheer daringness of their story-telling modes--and by their power to unsettle as well as to absorb." --Brian McFarlane, Sydney Morning Herald

"[Boyd] is exceptionally good at evoking a vivid sense of place. He takes us to the gloomy Scottish countryside and the Mediterranean shores of Nice. . . . Love Is Blind is a cautionary tale in how passion can both lift up and destroy lives." --BookPage

"Every detail counts, with Boyd brilliantly exploiting and adhering to the relentless logic of the Chekhovian rifle on the wall: all of the objects, all of the places, all of the people ultimately serve the story. He makes it look easy: he's a pro." --New Statesman

"Love is Blind has a beautiful sense of the power and charm of music." --The Irish Times

"After 14 novels and many literary prizes, Boyd's storytelling abilities are beyond dispute. . . . [His] tale-spinning is never less than enjoyable, dotted as it is with odd plot turns and much engaging detail." --Kirkus Reviews

About the Author:

William Boyd is the author of fifteen novels, including A Good Man in Africa, winner of the Whitbread Award and the Somerset Maugham Award; An Ice-Cream War, winner of the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize and short-listed for the Booker Prize; Any Human Heart, winner of the Prix Jean Monnet and adapted into a BAFTA-winning Channel 4 drama; Restless, winner of the Costa Novel Award, the Yorkshire Post Novel of the Year and a Richard & Judy Book Club selection; the Sunday Times best seller Waiting for Sunrise; and Solo, a James Bond novel. William Boyd lives in London and France.

About this edition

• Publisher: Vintage
• Publication date: 2019
• ISBN 10: 0525564446
• ISBN 13: 9780525564447
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 384