Music Against the Night

Acclaimed Pulitzer-Prize finalist Yiyun Li, returns with a sweeping epic, bringing us two unforgettable characters based on two extraordinary musicians on the rise. In Dublin, as the eighteenth century nears its end, a young composer comes of age. John Field, thought of as ''the new Mozart,'' is socially awkward, slight in stature and often ill. But he is able to hear notes in the air and turn them into sweeping arrangements. His talent sets him apart from the rest and it takes him far - to Italy, France, then Russia, where he becomes one of the leading pianists of his era. His artistry also reaches new heights: he invents lyrical, serenade-like compositions, the first set of pieces ever to be called ''nocturnes.''

Autorentext

Yiyun Li is the author of twelve books of fiction and non-fiction. She is the recipient of many awards, including a GuardianFirst Book Award, the Sunday TimesShort Story Award, the PEN/Faulkner Award, an International Writer Award from the Royal Society of Literature, a MacArthur Fellowship and a Windham-Campbell Prize, and she won the Pulitzer Prize for Memoir 2026. In 2026, Li was named as one of TIME's 100 Most Influential People of the Year. She is the Robert F. Goheen Professor in the Humanities at Princeton University and lives in Princeton, New Jersey.

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'May well be the most perfectly constructed, moving, and beautiful novel I've ever read' ANN PATCHETT

**'One of the most important writers alive'**TASH AW

**'A wise and wonderful book'**ANNE ENRIGHT

Acclaimed Pulitzer-Prize winner Yiyun Li, returns with a sweeping historical epic, following two extraordinary musicians on the rise.

In Dublin, as the eighteenth century nears its end, a young musical virtuoso comes of age. John Field is able to hear notes in the air, and his family aspires for him to become the next Mozart. His talent takes him far - to England, France, and then Russia, where he becomes a famous pianist and composes dreamy melodies that enchant the night air. John calls them nocturnes, but the prodigy who immortalizes them is Chopin.

Oceans away in Pondicherry, French India, Adelaide Percheron embarks on a startling rise of her own. Orphaned at a young age, she is raised by her enterprising grandmother. Without the luxury of riches, only marriage seems to offer prosperity - until she sets her sights on a pianoforte. Driven by her love of music, she engineers her exodus, escaping to Paris and later to Moscow, as Napoleon's army sets out to conquer the continent.

Peopled by rival prodigies, irate tutors and begrudging guardians, Yiyun Li's magisterial novel depicts two aspiring musicians - destined to be husband and wife - in pursuit of success. As John and Adelaide each try to chart a path between talent and genius, profit and passion, they must decide what, and even who, is worth sacrificing along the way.

Drawing inspiration from the past but finding entirely new forms, Music Against the Night is an exquisite, exhilarating epic from a writer at the height of her powers.

**'Virtuosic in every way ... a spellbinding read'**MAAZA MENGISTE, author of The Shadow King

**'A sharply observed tale of ambition, art and sacrifice that speaks to current times'**TASH AW, author of The South