Double trouble
New Zealand Listener|May 20-26 2023
Deborah Levy returns with another atmospheric novel, about a concert pianist who loses her way.
KIRAN DASS
Double trouble

AUGUST BLUE, by Deborah Levy (Hamish Hamilton, $40)

Before the Russian composer and virtuoso pianist Sergei Rachmaninoff composed his iconic Piano Concerto No. 2, he was gripped by a heavy depression. He credited the eventual lifting of this ennui to treatment by hypnosis, which breathed creative fire back into him, enabling him to finish the work. In Deborah Levy's hypnotic eighth novel, Elsa M Anderson the "M" stands for Miracle - is a renowned concert pianist, a former child prodigy whose hands are insured in the US for millions. In a humiliating aberration, she loses her place while performing Rachmaninoff's piece in Vienna and walks off stage and away from performing music.

Diese Geschichte stammt aus der May 20-26 2023-Ausgabe von New Zealand Listener.

Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.

Diese Geschichte stammt aus der May 20-26 2023-Ausgabe von New Zealand Listener.

Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.

WEITERE ARTIKEL AUS NEW ZEALAND LISTENERAlle anzeigen
A hint of mermaids
New Zealand Listener

A hint of mermaids

Erin Palmisano's latest novel once again has food and romance at the heart of its well-plotted story.

time-read
2 Minuten  |
March 1-7, 2025
Execution over innovation
New Zealand Listener

Execution over innovation

Big and bold ideas are fine, but being the best beats being first.

time-read
2 Minuten  |
March 1-7, 2025
Something's wrong with all of them
New Zealand Listener

Something's wrong with all of them

Engaging dissection of the 20th-century novel likely to send the reader in search for the book under discussion.

time-read
5 Minuten  |
March 1-7, 2025
Cell warfare
New Zealand Listener

Cell warfare

A NZ trial using immunotherapy to beat a form of blood cancer is expanding after promising results – and it's hoped the 'gold standard' treatment will soon be widely available.

time-read
10+ Minuten  |
March 1-7, 2025
The virus that stole all the smells
New Zealand Listener

The virus that stole all the smells

In this edited extract from The Forgotten Sense, Jonas Olofsson traces the rise in anosmia as a result of Covid-19 infections.

time-read
4 Minuten  |
March 1-7, 2025
When caring is ‘woke'
New Zealand Listener

When caring is ‘woke'

Some years ago, I sat in a small plane circling over Punta del Este in Uruguay. There was a delay and we sat in tense silence until we began our descent. Outside the tiny airport, a taxi ferried us past private Lear jets; these had been the cause of the hold-up. The driver pointed to two planes side by side. \"This one is a Trump plane.\"

time-read
2 Minuten  |
March 1-7, 2025
Getting along swimmingly
New Zealand Listener

Getting along swimmingly

The presenters of Endangered Species Aotearoa spend a fair bit of time on and in the water in the second season.

time-read
4 Minuten  |
March 1-7, 2025
That clingy feeling
New Zealand Listener

That clingy feeling

Our pets display the same types of attachment behaviours as we do, or so it seems.

time-read
2 Minuten  |
March 1-7, 2025
The famous furred
New Zealand Listener

The famous furred

A peaceful little spot in LA is the final resting place for the pets of some of Hollywood's biggest names.

time-read
4 Minuten  |
March 1-7, 2025
Gone girl
New Zealand Listener

Gone girl

She wandered in on Thursday morning looking very wan, and climbed into her bed. I sat on the edge and stroked her back.

time-read
2 Minuten  |
March 1-7, 2025