74 pages • 2 hours read
Pam Muñoz RyanA modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
Summary
Prologue
Part 1, Chapters 1-5
Part 1, Chapters 6-10
Part 1, Chapters 11-16
Part 1, Chapters 17-21
Part 1, Chapters 22-26
Part 2, Chapters 1-5
Part 2, Chapters 6-11
Part 2, Chapters 12-17
Part 2, Chapters 18-24
Part 3, Chapters 1-5
Part 3, Chapters 6-10
Part 3, Chapters 11-16
Part 3, Chapters 17-21
Part 4, Chapter 1-Epilogue
Character Analysis
Themes
Symbols & Motifs
Important Quotes
Essay Topics
In New York, 1951, Friedrich escorts his father and his Uncle Gunter to their seats at Carnegie Hall, where Friedrich will be conducting the Empire Philharmonic. We learn what transpired after Friedrich was accosted on the train in Germany: the guards leapt back to the platform as the train started, and he made his way to Dachau, where he rescued his father before heading to Switzerland. We learn that they have not seen Elisabeth again. However, the family made a comfortable life in Berne. Friedrich prepares to conduct an evening of George Gershwin pieces: “Porgy and Bess,” followed by “Rhapsody in Blue” and “South Pacific.” It is implied that Mike will be a piano soloist, and that Ivy is the young flautist who Friedrich has mentored. He conducts, feeling at one with the orchestra.
Mike makes his way to Carnegie Hall with Frankie, Mr. Howard, and Aunt Eunie. We learn that Mike was indeed mistaken about Eunice’s intentions. His fall knocked the wind out of him, but nothing worse; afterward, Eunice told him her true feelings. She married Mr. Howard. Mike played in Hoxie’s band for one year, at the end of which he gave his harmonica away to an organization collecting instruments for poor children.
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