Night Song: A Story of Sacrifice (The Liberator Series, Book 3) [Paperback]

Tricia N. Goyer (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 2004

Tricia Goyer tells the little-known, but true story of the orchestra started by prisoners in Hitler's Mauthausen death camp. This courageous orchestra played the American national anthem as Allied troops arrived to liberate the camps. Around the orchestra story, Tricia weaves the fictional stories of a beautiful member of the Austrian resistance, the American GI who loves her, and a young prisoner who fakes his way into the camp orchestra in a desperate attempt to stay alive.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

In Night Song, Goyer weaves together the stories of a privileged young Austrian woman, drawn into the Austrian resistance against the Nazis; the American doctor who loves her; an ambitious Nazi musician who enters the Mauthausen Concentration Camp in search of a priceless violin; and a hapless Jewish musician named Jakub Hanauer, who joins the Mauthausen camp orchestra in hopes of extra biscuits or bits of apples. Goyer's love story seems superfluous. And she is perhaps not brutal enough in portraying the fate of Jakub's family, though a scene in which his younger brother's hands are destroyed is affecting. Still, Jakub is appealing, and the larger story honest and heartfelt.

John Mort
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

About the Author

TRICIA GOYER is the author of three other WWII novels, From Dust to Ashes, Dawn of a Thousand Nights, and Arms of Deliverance.  Winning ACFW's Book of the Year for Best Long Historical Romance, Night Song is the second title in Tricia’s World War II series. Tricia and her husband, John, live with their family in northwestern Montana.
5/06

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 515 pages
• Publisher: Moody Publishers; New Edition edition (September 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0802415555
• ISBN-13: 978-0802415554
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.5 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #294,417 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Tricia Goyer is the author of twenty-six books including Beside Still Waters, The Swiss Courier, and the mommy memoir, Blue Like Play Dough. She won Historical Novel of the Year in 2005 and 2006 from ACFW, and was honored with the Writer of the Year award from Mt. Hermon Writer's Conference in 2003. Tricia's book Life Interrupted was a finalist for the Gold Medallion in 2005. In addition to her novels, Tricia writes non-fiction books and magazine articles for publications like MomSense and Thriving Family. Tricia is a regular speaker at conventions and conferences, and has been a workshop presenter at the MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) International Conventions. She and her family make their home in Little Rock, Arkansas where they are part of the ministry of FamilyLife. Visit www.triciagoyer.com for more about Tricia and her books.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Teen Read - by daughter of reviewer, October 18, 2004

By 

Brenda Nixon (Ohio) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Night Song: A Story of Sacrifice (The Liberator Series, Book 3) (Paperback)

My mom who is the author of The Birth to Five Book: Confident Childrearing Right from the Start gave me this novel to read.

I'm a teenager who is sick of uninteresting, shallow novels with vulgarity slipped in. Night Song was a refreshing change! I was glad to find a book that was funny, sad, had good characters, good messages and a clean read. There's a subtle Christian message but the author did not beat religion into this book.
Night Song isn't just one story but offers four different plots that come together at the end. You read about a nazi, a Jewish boy in a concentration camp, an Austrian woman whose in the resistance movement, and her American financee who is trying to find her.
It took me only a week to read this fascinating book. I highly recommend this excellent novel and look forward to more by Tricia Goyer. We need more like this one.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Superb...Intriguing...Haunting at times, October 21, 2004

By 

Edee W. Wilcox "Edee Wilcox" (NC United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Night Song: A Story of Sacrifice (The Liberator Series, Book 3) (Paperback)

Night Song begins with American medical student, Nick Fletcher, and his Austrian girlfriend, Evie, discussing what they hope to be a bright future when their lives are changed in ways neither of them could've ever imagined. Instead of building their lives together, they are torn apart.

With Evie's family deported back to Austria in the wake of World War II, Nick volunteers for Europe as a medic in the US military. His medical training goes into warped speed as he cares for the wounded in less than ideal conditions. Evie, on the otherhand, can't believe the atrocities committed against the 'enemies of the state' and there is no way she can just sit back and watch what's going on around her.

In Europe, Jewish families are being separated, their belongings plundered, and their bodies tortured and starved. The family of a shopkeeper in Prague is no exception. After the father is taken, Jakub, Daniel, and their mother are sent first to a concentration camp where the living conditions are inhumane at best. From there, the inhabitants that actually survive are transported to a work camp where conditions are even worse. Most would come to welcome death.

Goyer does a superb job of showing the horrors of war through the eyes of an American medic, an Austrian sympathizer, a Jewish boy, and even a Nazi loyalist. Not only do we get to experience the war from four different angles, Goyer majestically weaves the stories of the four characters together, showing us how each of them impacts the others' lives in sometimes surprising ways.

A MUST read for anyone who enjoys historical romances!
Edee Wilcox, author of If I'd Only Known... The fictional account of a teenager's struggle with acceptance, sex, and Christian values.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Praises for Tricia Goyer's Night Song, October 17, 2004

By 

Andora Henson "thewritingmommy" (USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Night Song: A Story of Sacrifice (The Liberator Series, Book 3) (Paperback)

I can't sing loudly enough the praises I have for Tricia Goyer's Night Song. The characters are engaging and real, the scenery is vivid and the circumstances haunting.
Though this is a historical romance, the reader can identify with the characters through strong and timeless emotions and circumstances. The character's responses to these situations are what lend a sense of reality and urgency to the page. Goyer gives no pat answers and offers no sermons, but instead lets the character walk through the dilemma and so take the reader with them on a journey that is both daunting and exhilarating.

Andora Henson
9-30-04