Review: First Violin by Richard Tomlinson

Book Details:

Book Title: FIRST VIOLIN by Richard Tomlinson
Category: Adult Fiction 18+, 268 pages
Genre: Historical Fiction, Romance
Publisher: Richard Tomlinson
Release date: February 21, 2024
Tour dates: Sep 3 to Sep 30, 2024
Content Rating: PG-13 +M: The book is centered around two romantic relationships in Vienna from the annexation of Austria by Germany in 1938 to the division of Vienna into four occupation zones (USA, UK, France, Soviet) late in 1945. The main character, a virtuoso violinist who played for Vienna Philharmonic, endures a concentration camp where he suffers physical and mental abuse, and after the war busks for a living. Close attention is paid to the history of the period.​

Book Description:

The year is 1938 and Austria has been annexed by Nazi Germany.

Klaus Lehner plays first violin for the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra and when the concertmaster is amongst other Jews expelled from Philharmonic, he sees the opportunity for a position he covets He is bitterly disappointed when he is passed over.

In the wake of his disappointment, Klaus’s lover Eva, a virtuoso cellist, urges him to become a soloist. To determine whether he is merely brilliant or can truly move an audience she tasks him with mastering difficult pieces by Bach and Paganini, and with fathering her baby – both of which he does.

Meanwhile, at home, Klaus’s wife Helga gives birth to their firstborn.

When Eva’s Nazi husband finds out about the love affair, he has Klaus arrested and sent to a Mauthausen subcamp to supervise Ukrainian laborers. Amidst the suffering, Klaus composes a tone poem, Silence Interrupted, translating his nightmares into sound.

After the camp is liberated, Klaus returns to a war-torn Vienna devastated by American bombers and occupied by the Soviet army. He makes a living busking in front of the Soviet Vienna City Kommandatura. Klaus faces a choice between the two women he left behind.

Buy the Book: 

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Meet the Author:

Richard Tomlinson’s working life has been divided between being an academic and an urban policy consultant.

As an academic, either in full-time or visiting capacity, he has been located in Australia at the University of Melbourne (Chair of the Urban Planning Program); in South Africa at the University of the Witwatersrand; and in the USA at Columbia and New School Universities and MIT, and in think tanks at the Brookings Institution and the Wilson Center; and at the Rockefeller Foundation Bellagio Center in Italy. A Fulbright Scholar, he did his PhD at Rutgers University.

As a post-1990 consultant based in Johannesburg, Richard’s clients in Southern Africa included the post-apartheid South African government, various local and international NGOs, the World Bank, USAID and the private sector, during which time he also facilitated multi-party negotiations. He has also worked with community organizations.

Richard’s current activities depend on the weather: kayaking, swimming, hiking and mountain climbing and writing. Surfing has given way to age.
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First Violin, set in a wonderful city, Vienna, is his debut novel.

connect with the author: website ~instagram ~ facebook ~ X/Twitter ~ linkedin

Enter the Giveaway:

FIRST VIOLIN by Richard Tomlinson Book Tour Giveaway

My Review: 

I am a huge fan of historical fiction and have been on a kick of reading those during World War II. I was instantly intrigued with the book description of First Violin by Richard Tomlinson and was excited to have the opportunity to read it. I was far from being disappointed. I enjoyed back in time to 1938 Austria and meeting violinist, Klaus Lehner. I admired his determination to continue to survive the camp he was sent to and how he was able to cope. The author's use of historical details were so vivid that made me feel as thought I was right there living with Klaus. I could almost feel is fears and anguish all throughout. It was not hard to keep reading his story and seeing how it would all end for him , as well as, the choices he would make for his future. A fabulous and thought provoking to read. 

First Violin will be getting a very well deserved five plus stars from me. I highly recommend it for readers who to read historical fiction, particularly those set during the second World War. I would be interested in reading more books like this one from the talented Richard Tomlinson in the near future. I would love to see where else he would take his characters and fans.

I received a Richard Tomlinson's First Violin from the publisher, but was not required to write a positive review. This review is one hundred percent my own honest opinion.