Rhapsody - Softcover

Judith Gould

Softcover

ISBN 10: 075152817X ISBN 13: 9780751528176

Publisher: Little Brown P/B, 2000

Synopsis

Misha Levin is a man who seems to have everything. A world-famous pianist nurtured by loving Russian parents for whom no sacrifice was too great, he has a devoted wife, an adoring son, and the adulation of millions. Then, on a street in Vienna, only hours before his most important concert, he sees the woman he loved and lost eight years before. Desperate to reclaim the happiness he has denied himself for so long, Misha begins a secret affair that will jeopardize all that he has accomplished and force him to choose between two women. From the fairy-tale city of Prague to the romantic boulevards of Paris, from the nightspots of London to a glittering Manhattan penthouse, a searing drama of passion, deception, and betrayal is played out on an international stage - as the lives of Misha, Vera and Serena will change forever...

About this title

About the Author:

Judith Gould, whose books have been translated into twenty-two languages, lives and writes in Malden Bridge, New York.

From Publishers Weekly:

A devastatingly handsome concert pianist and connoisseur of love, Misha Levin agonizes for several hundred pages of this predictable novel trying to choose between two gorgeous women. Davis (Till the End of Time) keeps her intricate plot moving, but the love triangle is so stereotypical it distances drama. Russian-Jewish babe-magnet Misha has been transplanted to New York via Israel. He's a phenomenal success as a musician and is blessed, moreover, with incomparable sexual prowess, insatiable desires and a body that defines masculine perfection. His only problem is that he owns the hearts of two dazzling women, both of whom will do whatever it takes to get him. Elegant, intelligent, blond angel Vera Bunim, daughter of his ultra-wealthy benefactors, is Misha's first sweetheart, but he dumps her to sow his wild oats when he meets dark-haired Florida-born seductress Serena Gibbons. But Serena is an ambitious photographer who won't give up her career to raise a family. On the rebound, dejected Misha marries Vera and fathers a son, Nicky. Despite Vera's total devotion to Misha and his career, when Misha and Serena meet again eight years after they parted, the erstwhile lovers can't resist a fiery affair. Meanwhile, villains close in. Misha's agent, Manny Cygelman, has a diabolical deal with Brighton Beach goons; if he can't persuade Misha to tour Russia, the pianist's hands will get broken. And Vera's old boyfriend, crazy-with-jealousy Simon Hampton, wants to kill Misha. Misha's unbelievably noble parents, Sonia and Dmitri, hover nearby, ready to rise or recede as their wunderkind demands. Serena's agent, Coral Randolphe, has her own agenda: she's a stick-thin, ghostly pale lesbian in Manolo Blahnik heels. The vivace-paced story swings by Vienna, London and Kyoto, while brand-names often substitute for description and locales are as one-dimensional as the characters. Readers may notice that Misha's craft is virtually ignored throughout. It seems he's a musician only to whip up clich?d fantasies about his "great hands" that expertly play women like instruments. (Nov.)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Little Brown P/B
• Publication date: 2000
• ISBN 10: 075152817X
• ISBN 13: 9780751528176
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 519