Until the very end of The Gustav Sonata I wondered what its point was. It is a novel detached from its characters even as it puts them through events that should make us sympathetic. Further, although it is set in a specific time and place, there is little feel for what it was like then and there. This effect is in strong contrast to Tremain’s two novels about Merivel, set in Restoration England.
The novel begins in 1947, when its main character, Gustav Perle, is five years old. Although Gustav is Rose Tremain’s exact contemporary, parts of the novel are set earlier, before Gustav was born.
Gustav’s father died when he was a baby. He was a member of the police force for their small town in Switzerland, but he lost his job before Gustav was born, under circumstances that Gustav’s mother does not fully understand. All she knows is that Erich died “helping the Jews.”
Gustav’s mother Emilie has raised him without a shred of affection but only with criticism. The lack of affection is tempered somewhat by his lifelong friendship with Anton, whom he meets the first day of Kindergarten. Emilie does not like Gustav’s friendship with Anton, because Anton is Jewish. But Anton and Anton’s family are all Gustav has, really.
Anton is always a self-absorbed person. He is nervous and highly strung, a musical prodigy. Anton’s mother thinks he will become a famous musician, but he is terrified in competition and performs badly.
An important theme in this novel is Swiss neutrality and its correspondence with personal neutrality. Gustav, although faithful to his friends, is always concerned with self-mastery and holds back from his own life events. But so does this novel hold back from its characters, as if observing them through a glass.
I found this novel interesting but not involving. I think it took too long to get to its point. It is another novel for my Walter Scott prize project.
whatmeread 
I enjoyed this more than you did, I think. I thought the detached feel suited the themes of neutrality and independence. I did prefer the Merivel books, though. I’ve linked your review to my Walter Scott page!
Well, yes, it did. Thanks!
I felt similarly to you. It’s not a bad book, and I was happy to have read it, but the characters are kept at such a distance that I never really cared about them as people.
That’s my reaction exactly. Also, I like to feel as if most books are headed toward some sort of denoument. This one was, but you could hardly tell during the journey.