The Bass saxophone : two novellas (edition 1994)

Two and a half stars simply because the title-piece (a memoir) was wonderful, while the rest of it was rambling, formless, and dreary. Gave my copy away because I believed I'd probably never read it agai, -- and I certainly haven't missed it. ( )

Consists of a lengthy preface, The Red Music, and two novellas - Emoke and then The Bass Saxophone. I found the Red Music too jazzy, although the insight that jazz was an enemy to both Nazis and Communists was interesting. Emoke is a wistful and poingnant story. However, the ending - 20 questions on the return train trip without Emoke did not seem to contribute anything to the story.
The Bass Saxophone had an interesting premise and occassional interesting lines, but did not resonate with me. Overall an uneven collection with flashes of brillance. ( )

Two novellas. Emoke is a young Hungarian widow. The narrator meets her in strange Czech holiday camp and falls in love. An elegy for a lost time and a lost woman. Beautiful.

The Bass Saxophone is set in occupied Czechoslovakia. The 18 year-old narrator is a saxophone player in a jazz band. Jazz is forbidden by the Nazis, but survives in the ghettos, the occupied countries and even in the German army. It's a sign of hope, of individuals resisting tyranny. Svorecky is writing in the late sixties, when jazz is banned again, by another totalitarian government. ( )

The title story "The Bass Saxaphone" is great but my personal favourite is the story "Emoke"....beautifully written. ( )