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The Butterfly and the Violin

ebook
1 of 1 copy available
1 of 1 copy available

Based on the real orchestra composed of prisoners at Auschwitz, The Butterfly and the Violin shows how beauty and hope can penetrate even the darkest corners.

Present day: Manhattan art dealer Sera James watched her world crumble at the altar two years ago, and her heart is still fragile. Her desire for distraction reignites a passion for a mysterious portrait she first saw as a young girl—a painting of a young violinist with piercing blue eyes.

In her search for the painting, Sera crosses paths with William Hanover—the grandson of a wealthy California real estate mogul—who may be the key to uncovering the hidden masterpiece. Together Sera and William slowly unravel the story behind the painting's subject: Austrian violinist Adele Von Bron.

1942: A darling of the Austrian aristocracy, talented violinist, and daughter to a high-ranking member of the Third Reich, Adele Von Bron risks everything when she begins smuggling Jews out of Vienna. In a heartbeat, her life of prosperity and privilege dissolves into a world of starvation and barbed wire.

As Sera untangles the secrets behind the painting, she finds beauty in the most unlikely places: the grim concentration camps of Auschwitz and the inner recesses of her own troubled heart.

"Cambron expertly weaves together multiple plotlines, timelines, and perspectives to produce a poignant tale of the power of love and faith in difficult circumstances. Those interested in stories of survival and the Holocaust, such as Eli Wiesel's Night, will want to read." —Library Journal, starred review

  • Stand-alone World War II historical fiction
  • Full-length novel, approximately 115,000 words
  • Includes discussion questions for book clubs
  • Also available from Kristy Cambron: The Italian Ballerina, The Paris Dressmaker, The Lost Castle, The Ringmaster's Wife, and The Illusionist's Apprentice
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      • Publisher's Weekly

        May 19, 2014
        In Vienna in 1940, Adele von Bron is a gifted young violinist, coddled by her Viennese parents, as the Third Reich exerts its power over Austria shortly after the Anschluss. They disapprove of the young musician who calls her “Butterfly” because he is of the merchant class and—worse—sympathizes with Jews. By 1943, both young people are conscripts at Auschwitz-Birkenau, forced to play in camp orchestras for the daily death march. Seventy years later, New York gallery owner Sera James buries herself in work to avoid the memory of her wedding-day betrayal. She is obsessed with finding a painting that she saw as a child of a beautiful Auschwitz prisoner holding a violin. Learning that a copy of the artwork hangs in a California business magnate’s home, Sera is unwillingly drawn out of her reserve by William Hanover. Prickly at first for his own reasons, Hanover hires Sera to find the painting. They combine forces to discover their respective connections to the haunting image. In chapters alternating between past and present, debut novelist Cambron vividly recounts interwoven sagas of heartache and recovery through courage, love, art, and faith. Agent: Joyce Hart, Hartline Literary Agency.

      • Library Journal

        Starred review from June 15, 2014

        Art historian Sera James searches for a painting that has haunted her since childhood. Having been jilted by her fiance, Sera vows never to trust another man again, until she meets William Hanover, who is seeking the same artwork but for a very different reason. The subject of the piece is Adele Von Bron, an Austrian violinist with a promising musical career and a father who is a general in the Third Reich. When Adele is caught helping Jews escape the Nazis, she is sent to the Auchwitz-Birkenau concentration camp where she joins the women's orchestra, giving her a chance at survival. VERDICT In her historical series debut, Cambron expertly weaves together multiple plotlines, time lines, and perspectives to produce a poignant tale of the power of love and faith in difficult circumstances. Those interested in stories of survival and the Holocaust, such as Eli Weisel's Night, will want to read.

        Copyright 2014 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

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    • English

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