Dvorak in Love [Hardcover]

Josef Skvorecky (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 12, 1987

In 1892, at the height of his prodigious powers, Anton Dvorak was persuaded to leave his native Bohemia to come to New York to be director of the National Conservatory for Music. This splendid novel tells the story of Dvorak's utterly requited love affair with America.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

A foreigner's love affair with America is the central subject of this engaging new novel by the expatriate Czechoslovakian author ( The Bass Saxophone. In an elliptical style familiar to readers of his previous books, Skvorecky builds a polyphonic account of the famous composer's two trips to the United States in the 1890s, orchestrated by the sharply individual voices of various Americans who met him. The result is an affectionate yet not uncritical portrait of a raw, often brutal country that nonetheless offers previously undreamed-of opportunities to the immigrants who have arrived on its shores. Dvorak'sand Skvorecky'spassionate love for black American music makes him sharply aware of the terrible injustices the U.S. has still not redressed, but the novel's conclusion seems to be that personal initiative and creativity will someday defeat the forces of racism and oppression. This is perhaps not quite as major an effort as the magnificent Engineer of Human Souls, but Skvorecky's warm humanism and robust appreciation of ordinary people's unique individuality are as appealing as ever.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Antonin Dvorak's stay in New York and Spillville, Iowa, in the 1890s is the focus of this biographical novel by Skvorecky, the author of the acclaimed Engineer of Human Souls ( LJ 7/84). The narrative moves effortlessly back and forth in time and between Bohemia and the United States, as the Czech composer's students, acquaintances, and family members relive their memorable encounters with him. What emerges from these sometimes diffuse reminiscences is not a satisfying portrayal of the enigmatic Dvorak, however. Instead, we get vivid glimpses of much less interesting members of his circle and of end-of-the-century culture. Still, music lovers will find here many fascinating details about Dvorak and the profound influence his American experience had on his music. Marie Bednar, Pennsylvania State Univ. Libs . , University Park
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 322 pages
• Publisher: Knopf; 1st US edition (January 12, 1987)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0394546814
• ISBN-13: 978-0394546810
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.2 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,722,416 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An absolutely wonderful book, December 20, 2000

By 

Joel Jacobsen (New Mexico USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Dvorak in Love: A Light-Hearted Dream (Paperback)

This book is told from the point of view of many different narrators, all of whom have some connection with Dvorak and his American sojourn. Some chapters are virtual novellas, others are just funny stories. As ever, Skvorecky's range is prodigious. He can speak with the voice of Czechs and Americans, men and women, blacks and whites, the old and the young. Dvorak himself is glimpsed only from the outside, by those around him, and it is not necessary to know more about him than that he was a great musician in order to enjoy -- and be moved by -- this comic novel.

If the Nobel Prize committee made decisions based on a writer's skill and range and mastery of literary form, Skvorecky would have won years ago. He's without doubt the funniest great writer alive. If you haven't read him yet, you have a treat awaiting you.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars delightful and insightful, May 25, 2006

By 

E. Benjamin - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Dvorak in Love: A Light-Hearted Dream (Paperback)

Who doesn't like Dvorak's powerful and heart stirring music. This book tries to show the same impact the man made on his family, colleagues and friends. Each chapter could stand on its own,with the characters voicing their thoughts and feelings about Dvorak in their own unique way, both in style and in feeling. I thought the novel expressed the overall feeling of a man of great humanity, humility and almost too ordinary to pay much attention to, while at the same time celebrating his genius. A subtle and insightful novel.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Homage to the Master: Dvorak, November 1, 2010

By 

Kiwifunlad (London, UK) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dvorak in Love: A Light-Hearted Dream (Paperback)

Skvorecky and Dvorák were both born in Bohemia and this fictionalised account of Dvorák is an interesting read but it is certainly not biographical in style. It reads more like a fictionalised version of Mussorgsky's "Pictures at an Exhibition". The narrative unfolds through a variety of characters who encounter Dvorák mostly during his time in America. The thread of the tale is the platonic love between Dvorák and his sister-in-law, Countess Josephine. Josephine's sister, the plainer four years younger Annie, is besotted By Dvorák and eventually succeeds in marrying him. "Dvorák in Love: A Light Hearted Dream" is a slightly misleading title as most of the book is a homage of the love various musical and Czech immigrants had for Dvorák. The book encaptures the influence of environment, birdsong, nature and American melodies, particularly Black spiritual, on Dvorák's music. One particularly endearing tale is about a tuba player who Dvorák first encounters playing a sousaphone in a street brass band. I enjoyed Skvorecky's The Cowards more but this patriotic homage to a national hero by a fellow Bohemian who emigrated to Canada is well worth reading.