There is a lot to love about this story of ambulance workers...in London during the Blitz...Evocatively written to capture the sense of danger in the capital and thoroughly researched, the spirited main character Lily is inspiring too.

A heart-warming story filled with compelling action

Hull's answer to Catherine Cookson

With fully developed characters and a compelling story, it's no wonder the author won the Catherine Cookson Prize for Fiction for her debut... A great choice for a book club

Take time out for a page-turner about family mysteries and betrayal

A compelling saga . . . with a surprising and emotional ending which weaves together the storylines in a most satisfying way. Strongly recommended and a great read on a Cornish holiday

A captivating and emotional novel about a strong woman struggling to find her own way in the world when others wish to see her fail

I couldn't put it down and found myself finishing it in no time at all. . . The story was full of twists and turns from the onset and throughout . . . I really enjoyed reading this book and I highly recommend that you give it a read

It was full of drama, friendship, excitement and was truly a magical story. . . I definitely will be reading more in the near future

A pulsating saga delivered with the sweep and power of a Norse war axe

I loved this. It’s for people who like their historical fiction high-octane . . .a superb, brutal story that pulls no punches

Glorious . . . one of the finest historical novels of the year

Brilliant prose, vivid descriptions and compelling characters . . . a must read. If you are a fan of the series, The Vikings, then this book is for you

Haunting tale of friendship, betrayal and sadness… What Tremain omits, or merely hints at, is as vital as every word. This is a novel full of melancholy, but so is Mahler’s Fifth Symphony, which is beautifully threaded through the story. We listen to its beauty as it transcends its tragedy. And, for much the same reasons, we read Tremain’s exquisite prose.

*****…This is also a book about friendship and longing, unsentimentally told and bleakly precise… Tremain draws a conclusion that is simultaneously straightforward and sweetly transformative. Like so much else in this compassionate and musical novel, it hits a perfect note

The Gustav Sonata is beautifully rendered, and magnificent in its scope. It glows with mastery

The Gustav Sonata is a work of extreme and painful beauty, the story of one profound love amid many failed relationships, and of the conflict between passion and self-control. Rose Tremain is one of the very finest British novelists

Fierce, elegant ... superb

Gustav is beautifully drawn, as is Anton… Tremain’s handling of their relationship and struggle for happiness is superb.

Gripping

I love Rose Tremain’s writing and a new novel is always something to savour

Heartbreaking

Powerful... Fine sentences contain big, surprising thoughts.

A clever book. Its structure mirrors its theme… And the plotting is a play on neutrality, reusing twists or revelations. Emotional power lies instead in harnessed passions.

Heartbreaking…Her capacity for empathy is staggering. The result is another exquisite, beautifully orchestrated book.

A confident and restrained depiction of friendship… A memorable novel.

A moving study of human emotions which will make you cry without being even slightly sentimental.

Beautifully written, this is a book to savour.

Tender yet sharp, this beautifully composed narrative explores the themes of unrequited love… Tremain has crafted a stunning and wise book that sustains its brilliance right to the end.

Captivating novel… Illuminated throughout by Tremain’s own empathy, this beautiful book holds the reader effortlessly in its thrall.

What I love about Rose Tremain is her dark elegance.

The awfulness of childhood has rarely been so beautifully caught… A deep compassion for the suffering of her characters…makes this novel a beautiful and moving work of art.

Tender new novel… Tremain details the physical toll of heartbreak and this is laced with sadness as happiness eludes. But we feel for Gustav, we want him to break free, to attain it. Crucially, through Tremain’s crafting, we have hope for him, all is not lost.

Tremain is a consummate storyteller… There are few great dramas here, just a moving study of human emotions that’s full of compassion for even its most unappealing characters’

Turns the unpromising complexities of Swiss neutrality into something more captivating… Tremain plays clever variations on the ideas of distancing and self-denial.

A perceptive and beautifully realized novel of unrequited and misplaced love… A vivid book, alive with different kinds of passion… Written with immense tenderness, and is often extremely funny.

[A] perfect gem of a novel.

Powerfully subtle look at love and rejection in the shadow of war.

Assured and skilfully executed - I loved it

A chilling tale.

This is a perfect novel about life’s imperfection… The narrative skill and subtlety are exemplary… Writing at the height of her inimitable powers. Without giving away the ending, she has the most merciful, believable and uplifting surprise in store.

Elegant

Tremain is a writer of exemplary vision and particularity. The fictional world is rendered with extraordinary vividness.

Her novels combine insight, elegance and sensuality – and this latest is no exception… It’s enthralling and at times exquisitely sad.

[A] superb new novel… She has the writerly gift of conveying tenderness by what she leaves unsaid. A composition spanning 1939 to 2002, The Gustav Sonata will surely move you to melancholy - as, indeed, does all great music’

A shrewd study of neutrality, political and personal.

I loved Rose Tremain’s The Gustav Sonata… The layers of story are engrossing and beautifully put together. A novel to savour and reread.

I find her writing very evocative and lacking in the self-indulgence that many successful novelists tend to develop… Absorbing and compelling.

Tremain was on top form with her nuanced analysis of emotional and political neutrality, The Gustav Sonata.

[A] moving and finely crafted novel about youth and friendship.

A compelling read.

I feel these characters will remain with me for a long time.

Tremain’s finest work yet.

Tremain’s sympathetic and perceptive treatment of her characters probes the essence of human relationships.

The Gustav Sonata is a powerful, profound and unexpected love story about the enduring damage of unrequited love. It is a masterful, meditative novel.

It is a story of betrayal… A moving, human and memorable novel.

The novel powerfully explores the implications of a country’s quest for neutrality as well as an individual’s quest for self-mastery, touching upon the difficulties and social tensions that may arise.

Captivating.

I was totally engrossed by this beautiful novel about life’s imperfection