After Silence
Hardback / 474 pages
Leningrad, 1941. German forces surround the city at the start of the most harrowing winter in its history. The siege becomes a battle for survival. Bodies fill the streets, and the crushing horror of cold, starvation and bone-deep fear is relentless.
Set against this background of tragedy and suffering, a remarkable group of musicians — soldiers and civilians, all of whom have been wasted by war and hunger — come together to perform Shostakovich's Seventh Symphony. They scarcely have the strength to carry their instruments, but their performance of this haunting and defiant new piece provides a rare light of hope in the darkness. Friendship, love and a vibrant passion for music combine in this ambitious, absorbing and richly sensuous masterpiece.
After Silence was published on August 9th 2022, to coincide with the 80th anniversary of the first performance of Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 7 in Leningrad in August 1942.
“[It’s] a symphonic masterpiece…Wringing a glorious & painful chorus of human voices from the mute facts of history – this is what fiction is for. Please send Jessica my congratulations and admiration." - Alan Moore
“an impressive piece of work. An unforgettable book.” - Historical Novel Society