Music for Wartime: Stories

By Rebecca Makkai

Book Overview

A short-story collection from the acclaimed author of The Great Believers

Named a must-read by the Chicago Tribune, O Magazine, BuzzFeed, The Huffington Post, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, and The L Magazine

Rebecca Makkai's first two novels, The Borrower and The Hundred-Year House, have established her as one of the freshest and most imaginative voices in fiction. Now, the award-winning writer, whose stories have appeared in four consecutive editions of The Best American Short Stories, returns with a highly anticipated collection bearing her signature mix of intelligence, wit, and heart.

A reality show producer manipulates two contestants into falling in love, even as her own relationship falls apart. Just after the fall of the Berlin Wall, a young boy has a revelation about his father's past when a renowned Romanian violinist plays a concert in their home. When the prized elephant of a traveling circus keels over dead, the small-town minister tasked with burying its remains comes to question his own faith. In an unnamed country, a composer records the folk songs of two women from a village on the brink of destruction.

These transporting, deeply moving stories--some inspired by her own family history--amply demonstrate Makkai's extraordinary range as a storyteller, and confirm her as a master of the short story form.

"Richly imagined."
--Chicago Tribune

"Impressive."
--O, The Oprah Magazine

"Engrossing."
--Minneapolis Star-Tribune

"Inventive."
--W Magazine

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0143109235
• ISBN13: 9780143109235
• Release Date: June 2016
• Publisher: Penguin Books
• Length: 256 Pages
• Weight: 0.46 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.1" x 7.8"