Music for Wartime

Named one of the must-read books of the summer by TheChicago Tribune, O Magazine,BuzzFeed, The Huffington Post,Minneapolis Star-Tribune,andThe L MagazineRebecca 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 storiessome inspired by her own family historyamply 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 MagazineFrom the Hardcover edition.