It seems that the legendary composer Franz Schubert is aliveтАФwell, sort ofтАФin the twenty-first century: His soul has taken up residence in the body of Brooklyn lawyer Liza Durbin. Even more astonishing, so has his prodigious gift. A mediocre pianist at best as a child, Liza can suddenly pound out concertos and compose masterly music out of the blue. But how can a brilliant male Austrian composer from the nineteenth century coexist in the everyday life of a modern American woman? And how can Liza explain whatтАЩs happened to her without everyone thinking sheтАЩs gone off the deep end?
Fortunately, the evidence is tangible, and Liza is soon brought into the esteemed halls of Juilliard under the tutelage of the reveredтАФand fearedтАФGreta Pretsky, a humorless woman whose only interest in Liza is her channeling of Schubert. GretaтАЩs greedy for her next big star, and the entire New York City press is whispering of LizaтАЩs brilliance as the public awaits her debut at Carnegie Hall. Even LizaтАЩs boyfriend, Patrick, seems more in love with her than ever.
Yet as Liza yields to FranzтАЩs great passion, her own life and identity threaten to elude her. Why was she chosen as the vessel for this musical geniusтАФand when, if ever, will he leave? Their entwined souls follow a path of ecstasy, peril, and surprise as they search for the final, liberating truth.
A strikingly original novel, Sleeping with Schubert plays on years of speculation regarding Franz SchubertтАЩs тАЬUnfinished Symphony.тАЭ Bonnie MarsonтАЩs extraordinary imagination supposes that Schubert cannot truly die until the mystery is solvedтАФeven if it means being resurrected in the body of a deceptively ordinary woman. Filled with drama and humor, this irresistible novel explores love, genius, and identity in ways that will engage and amaze readers.