Ravel : A novel

A bestseller in France, "Ravel" opens in 1927 as Maurice Ravel--dandy, eccentric, and curmudgeon--voyages across the Atlantic aboard the luxurious ocean liner the France to begin his triumphant grand tour across the United States. Illuminated by flashes of Echenoz's characteristically sly humor, Ravel is not just a delightfully quirky portrait of a famous musician coping with the ups and downs of his professional and personal life, but a truly touching farewell to a dignified and lonely old man going reluctantly into the night. Along the way, he meets and greets luminaries including Stravinsky, Satie, Mahler, Bartok, Gershwin, and Charlie Chaplin.