The Secret

Yesterday I finished this lovely novel by Anna Englund, a Dutch author who is also a classically trained pianist and psychoanalyst!! I think it was awarded a price in Holland as the best in novel in 1997 Her name is very Swedish but is in fact a pseudonym. Her real name is Christa Widlund (and now only the last name is Swedish). She is married to a Swedish cellist. I heard a radio interview with her and her Swedish is almost fluent. My god, some people are gifted! The novel is extremely well written, her style is lucid and transparent. It is a story about a woman pianist, growing up in Holland during the war, the price you have to pay when your life is only music. And somewhere there is a secret hidden.... The parts when she writes about music is so poetical and enticing so I find myself longing for piano music by Bach, Chopin, Mozart, Schubert etc. You don't have to be a music fan like myself to enjoy this novel but it certainly gives you an extra dimension Or perhaps it will make you curious about it! The atmosphere in this novel reminded me of novels by Maarten t' Haart, another good Dutch author who has written about growing up in Holland during the second world war. His novels are also fílled with music!