The Kiss
Gold Medal: Independent Publisher Book Award (2014)Winner: International Book Award (2015) Finalist: International Book Award (2015)November, 1941. War and genocide have plunged Europe into darkness. Then, a ray of sunlight: whispers of Aron Beckman, an extraordinary young Jewish musician in Poland - barely twenty years old, they say - who plays the harp that belonged to King David himself. They say that Aron has formed a trio with two fellow prodigies, and that the music is like nothing ever heard before. That it is powerful. That it moves people to do great things. That it can bring the dead back to life. They say the musicians can lift the darkness. And that they are on their way. "This breathtaking novel... will stay with you long after you've read the last page." -Ari L. Goldman, author of The Search for God at Harvard "The Kiss is both brutal and breathtaking...in a way that is utterly fresh and altogether original. I couldn't put it down, and when the end came I couldn't bear to part with it. A stunning, heartbreaking page-turner." -Elizabeth Volpe, two-time Pushcart Prize nominee, author of Brewing in Eden "Moving...powerful. Blumenthal's debut novel keeps us asking the big questions." -Katharine Weber, author of The Music Lesson, Triangle, True Confections