Rose Tremain is a tremendous writer and her literary powers are displayed to great effect in this novel. Finally, the narrative shifts forward to 1992 and tells the rest of Gustav and Anton's story from their mid-forties onwards. The book then moves back in time and explores the lives and marriage of Gustav's parents during World War II, explaining Emilie's hatred of the Jews and her dismay at Gustav's friendship with Anton. In the first, we follow the boys until they are around ten years old. The novel has three distinct time frames. While Anton's Jewish family members live in relative financial comfort and focus on the boy's potential future as a concert pianist, Gustav and his bitter, widowed mother, Emilie who blames the death of her husband on Jewish people in general struggle to have enough to eat. They are both quiet, thoughtful children and neither has siblings. Gustav Perle and Anton Zweibel are only five years old when they first meet in 1948. The Gustav Sonata is a moving novel which describes the lifelong friendship between two Swiss men.
This touching story about the friendship between two boys offers a peek at neutral Switzerland during World War II.
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