This is a book recommendation episode. In it, Travis and Amanda will attempt to persuade you, our wonderful listeners, to join us for a literary journey. Expect this episode to be under 30 minutes long, include references to the work but not spoilers, and celebrate what makes it compelling.
This book recommendation is for The Noise of Time by Julian Barnes. From the cover: “1936: Dmitri Shostakovich, just thirty years old, reckons with the first of three conversations with power that will irrevocably shape his life. Stalin, hitherto a distant figure, has suddenly denounced the young composer’s latest opera. Certain he will be exiled to Siberia (or, more likely, shot dead on the spot), Shostakovich reflects on his predicament, his personal history, his parents, his daughter—all of those hanging in the balance of his fate…Throughout his life, he is compelled to constantly weigh the specter of power against the integrity of his music.”