As the Great War rages, a French pianist sits down to play a breathtakingly original sonata—a piece so strange and inspired that it could change the course of classical music. The moment is captured on wax cylinders, the recording medium of the day. But in the tumult of war the fragile cylinders vanish, and with them the identities of the brilliant composer and the virtuoso pianist.
A century later, five timeworn wax cylinders land on the desk of Ben Weil, a revered classical music producer. From the moment he first plays them in his Chicago studio, Ben knows he’s in the presence of genius. The dazzling piece is fifty years ahead of its time, more Coltrane than Debussy—how could it be?
Brought low by a painful divorce, Ben throws himself into unlocking the sonata’s mysteries. But when the renowned pianist Ana Clara Matta stumbles upon the work and takes credit for unearthing it, he’s swept into a lie that could shatter his reputation and his private life at a stroke. Somehow Ben must find a way to tell the truth—a dangerous quest that will lead him not only to the sonata’s surprising origins, but to his own.
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“Sonata in Wax is a terrific novel—immersive, compelling, smart, the story propelled by a cast of complex, full-bodied characters and the author’s absolute mastery of the musical worlds he conjures…I’m knocked flat with admiration for this splendid book.”
— Ben Fountain, National Book Award finalist and New York Times bestselling author of Devil Makes Three
“Sonata in Wax is an absolutely gorgeous novel…I was reminded of Ian McEwan in the way that small details are used to build a big scene, and in the nuance Hamlin brings to Ben’s conflict over revealing the truth about the sonata. Sonata is a beautifully told mystery. I loved it.”
— Jane Harper, international bestselling author of The Dry
“Hamlin’s rich prose is as deft and precise as the skills of his characters, imbuing the descriptions of music with beauty and drama . . . A deeply realized tale of the power of music and the anonymity of history.”
— Kirkus Reviews
“Sonata in Wax is lush with music, mystery, and lyrical prose. Edward Hamlin manages to take the story of a lost sonata and transform it into a literary symphony. A wonderful debut novel!”
— Dominic Smith, New York Times bestselling author of The Last Painting of Sara de Vos
"What a feast! Edward Hamlin’s Sonata in Wax gives us a dual-timeline musical mystery, conducted in sentences every bit as lyrical as their subject matter. This beautiful, compelling novel demonstrates the timelessness and transcendence of music, even as we flounder through our own self-designed ruin. I’m so glad I read this book."
— Erika Krouse, Tell Me Everything: The Story of a Private Investigation
"Sonata in Wax is a masterful tale of art and ambition, war and illness, desire and discovery. Exquisitely crafted and vividly attuned to the intricacies of its fascinating characters, Hamlin’s novel sweeps across a century, unfurling the secrets of a sonata that becomes at once a totem of genius and the forbidden. I’ve rarely read a novel where music is such an astounding life force of its construction. This is a beautiful book, symphonic in scale, immersive in its depths, and morally complex in vision."
— Steven Schwartz, The Tenderest of Strings
"Sonata in Wax is pitch perfect. Through tender characterization and elegant prose, Edward Hamlin weaves together two seemingly disparate time periods—contemporary Chicago and WW1-era New England. Like the mysterious musical composition at its heart, the novel twists and plumbs towards a tumultuous and satisfying finish. Part homage and part elegy, Sonata in Wax celebrates musical heritage, and honors the unsung heroes whose ingenuity and sacrifice help art and humanity survive."
— Rachel Swearingen, How to Walk on Water
With the beauty and build of great classical music, Sonata in Wax interweaves a modern-day mystery with a World War I-era drama to create a novel unlike any I’ve read. Hamlin’s characters resonate with vitality, their struggles with poignancy and danger. When the threads finally entwine and the crescendo arrives, it does so with symphonic force. Sonata in Wax is a bravura performance from a writer at the top of his game.
— Paul Cohen, The Glamshack
In Edward Hamlin’s brilliant novel, past and present merge when a lost sonata’s restored beauty sheds light on the ravages of war and intergenerational trauma. Both epic and intimate, Sonata in Wax is a triumph of storytelling.
— Brendan Neil Casey, author of She That Lay Silent-like Upon Our Shore
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