A Life Well Lived

Francesca Noumoff’s ‘The Music, Oh, the Music’ tells the story of one woman’s life with extraordinary beauty and detail.

Francesca Noumoff’s The Music…Oh, the Music is a beautiful example of historical fiction done right.  Using prose and poetry to highlight the wonderfully musical world of the main character, Noumoff perfectly captures the past and the present of one woman’s experience.

Once an internationally famous and gifted violinist and now living out her last moments in a cold and solitary old age home, Elonora reflects upon her life with a sense of wonder and accomplishment.  Told through a series of short stories, each dedicated to Elonora’s memories, The Music…Oh, the Music flows from what was to what is effortlessly.  Elonora, a Russian holocaust survivor, has lived an extraordinary life; from her birth in Russia, to her time in the city of Paris – even spending time in a Japanese prison- Elonora possesses a passion for life and living it until she breaks that most people can only dream about.

The harsh, pale reality of the senior citizen’s home is contrasted perfectly with the bold, bright vividness of Elonora’s recollections.  People and places from her life are locked into her memories, allowing the reader to experience them in bright detail along with Elonora.  

A beautifully written and powerful story that reminds readers that those people they see in senior citizen’s homes were once as vibrant and full of life as themselves, The Music…Oh, the Music takes a closer look at these individuals who possess living knowledge of history.  Allowing Elonora’s present to blend with her past, Noumoff breathes life into her memories and allows them to exist again, even if only through the brief vignettes that make up the book.  A story that will stay with readers long after they’ve turned the last page, The Music…Oh, the Music is an extraordinary tale of an extraordinary life, and one that will not soon be forgotten.
Francesca Noumoff

Francesca Noumoff is the author of I am Yesterday, published in both India and China (as a bilingual Chinese-English version), as well as an abbreviated version of this volume recently in Beyond Borders, an Indian literary journal.

For information on review copies contact Francesca at:
noumoff@gmail.com