The Savior: A Novel

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Apr 05, Kathrin Peters rated it liked it. A moving story, towards the end increasingly difficult to read because of the brutality it describes. However, despite the background of real atrocities, I found the story of Gottfried Keller contrived and most characters seemed to me shallow in their description. It is a quick read if you can deal with the difficult end but there are more profound approaches to engaging with the Holocaust than this one, in particular by Wiesel and Levi who lived through it themselves.

In fact, I almost query wh A moving story, towards the end increasingly difficult to read because of the brutality it describes. In fact, I almost query whether a "novel" written by somebody with only relayed experience is the right way. Daniel Mendelsohn's "The Lost" in my view is a more powerful way of dealing with the horror. The real interest I gained from this book are the musical compositions it weaves into the story, in particular Bach's Partitats and the special importance given to the Chaconne.

It made me listen to these pieces again and it confirmed to me the profoundness of this music. Sep 29, Heather Buelow rated it it was ok Shelves: Unfortunately the work feels muddled, making it difficult to piece together where Druckner would like the reader to focus attention. Attention is also given to the personal experiences of one of the prisoners, elaborating on the tortures of the camp, while other prisoners are highlighted briefly but in the end left as mere cameos.

Wounded German soldiers are given select attention in the beginning of the work and conjured up again periodically throughout. One SS guard begins analyzing a Bach piece, but never comes to terms with it. There are enough experiences and tangents to fill a book three times the size of The Savior, but because very few of those interactions are explored thoroughly, the novel feels more pieced together out of scattered bits than it does a solid work. By moving in so many directions, Druckner lacks thoughtful analysis of each tangent.

Metaphors are demonstrated obviously and followed by nearly direct announcements of his intentions. I would certainly have appreciated such transparency in high school lit class. However, Druckner does give thorough contemplation of the music his violinist plays, elaborating on the composition of themes and movements within the pieces. Though at times his direct analyses feel tedious to a reader untrained in music, they are refreshing oases of meditation in an otherwise scrambled work.

Overall The Savior is dismissible. Jun 20, Gloria rated it liked it. Why the dual rating? Well, if you read the book without familiarity with the music that the protagonist plays, or without being able to evoke, or at least be moved by the music he mentions by title, I personally think the book loses much of its impact.

I also think the character's programming over the four days also has meaning, both in the difficulty, tonal qualities and general musical and technical emphasis in terms of the solo violin repertoire. Drucker is an … to maybe a five star rating Drucker is an amazingly accomplished violinist, and given that, his writing is not bad, and at times, even lyrical. How does one compare or even frame the power of music in horrendous circumstances, and what does one do with the potential of that transcendent power being abused?

Relevant questions for people in the arts in terrible regimes… and in just dire circumstances… or when there are others just utterly suffering… Ah, it should be a multimedia book for those who are not familiar… The four days of music: Hindemith, first Sonata for solo violin; Bach Sonata in G minor 3. Bach Partita in D minor. Sep 30, Sarah rated it liked it Shelves: The author of this one is impressive. He's a violinist who has won eight Grammys, and he's the son of an award-winning violinist who fled Germany before the Holocaust. Instead, he performs solos at soldier hospitals because he is told to.

He constantly thinks about his former girlfriend who ran away to Palestine when Germany was becoming uncomfortable for Jewish mus The author of this one is impressive.

He constantly thinks about his former girlfriend who ran away to Palestine when Germany was becoming uncomfortable for Jewish musicians. In fact, Keller almost became a Jew by forging papers so that he could become a member of a prestigious Jewish orchestra. Another example of his weak heart.

Instead he is spirited away to perform at a death for four days. He lives at the camp, breathes the soot in the air of dead Jews and Gypsies, and tries to perform well for the thirty prisoners in the experiment. But it isn't heart-warming or inspiring. Typical Holocaust historical fiction.

Oct 28, Richard Duncan rated it liked it Shelves: A powerful story, dealing with life or lack of it in an impossibly horrible situation. Set in the holocaust, the book follows a musician who is chosen to play for prisoners in a Nazi internment camp. Fair warning, parts of it are extremely difficult, with a graphic, unstinting look at the horrors of the camps.

The author shows a deep understanding of and a true passion for music, often describing pieces in loving detail. Clearly the work of a musician.

The author is a violinist. My problem wit A powerful story, dealing with life or lack of it in an impossibly horrible situation. My problem with the book was that the writing is serviceable, even prosaic where it needs to be powerful, where it needs to sing. And the story feels a little clunky, the relationships, the plotting all too obviously put together for a purpose, not growing organically from the story. The book is powerful, but could have been much deeper. Sep 08, Richard Brand rated it it was ok.

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This may be a well written book and it may make all kinds of psychological truth, but I did not find it very satisfying. It is a hard story to read and to believe. I do believe that it could reflect a reality in Germany and a camp during the killing of the Jews. As he plays the music of Ysaye, Hindemith and Bach, most notably the searing Chaconne, Keller's own questionable past unfolds, revealing the loss of his closest friend and the Jewish fiancee from whom he fled in fear of being caught as a Jew-lover.

As he bears witness to the camp's atrocities, Keller's horror toward the perpetrators and their crime begins to fade, revealing his own culpability. Beautifully conceived and gracefully written, "The Savior" is a complex and illuminating character study of a man severed from his past expectations and an artist struggling with his identity in the face of human catastrophe. Set in Germany during the final months of World War II, The Savioris an unusual and illuminating story of Gottfried Keller, a young German violinist ordered to play for the inmates of a concentration camp by an SS officer conducting an experiment in resurrecting hope in Jewish prisoners.

Out of fear and insecurity, Keller cooperates and even finds himself compelled by the temptation of manipulating others with his musical talent. As he continues to play for the inmates, guards, and officers of the camp, Keller's horror toward the perpetrators and their abhorrent crime begins to fade, revealing his own culpability. The test of a good novel is whether it stays with you afterward, and The Savior is a book you will not forget.

I burned down the town of Trebon. I have spent the night with Felurian and left with both my sanity and my life. I was expelled from the University at a younger age than most people are allowed in. I tread paths by moonlight that others fear to speak of during day. I have talked to Gods, loved women, and written songs that make the minstrels weep. You may have heard of me. So begins a tale unequaled in fantasy literature—the story of a hero told in his own voice.

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Praise for The Kingkiller Chronicle: There is a beauty to Pat's writing that defies description. Set in the near future, it describes life in what was once the United States and is now called the Republic of Gilead, a monotheocracy that has reacted to social unrest and a sharply declining birthrate by reverting to, and going beyond, the repressive intolerance of the original Puritans.

The regime takes the Book of Genesis absolutely at its word, with bizarre consequences for the women and men in its population. The story is told through the eyes of Offred, one of the unfortunate Handmaids under the new social order.

The Savior

It is at once scathing satire, dire warning, and a tour de force. It is Margaret Atwood at her best. It is, above all, a way of asserting power. Winston Smith is a man in grave danger for the simple reason that his memory still functions.

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