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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.
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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.
Bereits Abonnent? Anmelden
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A hint of mermaids
Erin Palmisano's latest novel once again has food and romance at the heart of its well-plotted story.
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Execution over innovation
Big and bold ideas are fine, but being the best beats being first.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.\"
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Getting along swimmingly
The presenters of Endangered Species Aotearoa spend a fair bit of time on and in the water in the second season.
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That clingy feeling
Our pets display the same types of attachment behaviours as we do, or so it seems.
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The famous furred
A peaceful little spot in LA is the final resting place for the pets of some of Hollywood's biggest names.
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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.