Andrew P. Grof’s captivating book “The Goldberg Variations: A Novel” was proudly published by the Citi of Books. This masterpiece is now available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other retail sites.
Andrew Grof, the author, was born and raised in Hungary. After fleeing the communist regime, he lived in Vienna for two years before emigrating to the United States. He currently resides in Miami, Florida where he has been associated with Florida International University for the past thirty years, heading the Humanities and Social Sciences section of the library and teaching for the English Department and the Honors College. His previous publications are of a scholarly nature although he has been writing fiction since early childhood.
Everything begins and ends in the past. But where does the past begin, and how will the present end?
The story of “The Goldberg Variations: A Novel” revolves around two friends, Schaeffer and James, who are reunited after years of separation through an accidental meeting in New York’s Greenwich Village. Their interaction is almost an endless story about life and death. The past with the present, with no clear beginnings or endings, is a million miles away from nowhere.
This journey of words is not without considerable risk to both the teller and the listener, who is eventually joined by his girlfriend, Marie. A danger to the past is the confusion of times and identities. The present is as if intruding on the past. “The Goldberg Variations” played by Glenn Gould is a repeated theme throughout the novel, as it is a comforting song as well as “First Piano Concreto” by Van Cliburn for Schaeffer’s mother until she died of cancer. Both artists had sudden fame and subsequent disappearances. It was also listened to by both James and Marie when Schaeffer left without any notice.
Music is a universal language that connects people from all walks of life. Like how Schaeffer and his sick mother love music in common, that opened a path for them to truly communicate.
“The Goldberg Variations: A Novel” by Andrew P. Grof is now available for purchase through the links provided below:
- Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Goldberg-Variations-Andrew-Grof/dp/B0D9CC8KY8/ref=monarch_sidesheet_image