Please note: In order to keep Hive up to date and provide users with the best features, we are no longer able to fully support Internet Explorer. The site is still available to you, however some sections of the site may appear broken. We would encourage you to move to a more modern browser like Firefox, Edge or Chrome in order to experience the site fully.

Supporting your high street Find out how »
Axel, Hardback Book

Axel Hardback

Hardback

Item not Available

Description

In the 1930s, Finnish poet Bo Carpelan found mention of his great-uncle Axel in a biography of the composer Jean Sibelius.

This friendship is the genesis of Carpelan's fictional diary of Axel's dual obsession with music and with a man who, unlike him, had enough confidence in his creativity to compose his own.

In Carpelan's novel, set during Finland's struggle to escape Russian domination, young Axel's life is full of melancholic introspection communicated only to his diary.

The short entries describe his adolescent antagonism toward healthier and more joyous peers, and his embarrassment at his futile attempts to coax beauty from his violin.

His unrelenting disappointment and self-effacement give way after meeting his hero Sibelius, as Axel's search for meaning and an aesthetic ideal becomes forever linked to the unfolding of the composer's musical genius.

Information

£41.50

Item not Available
Item not Available
Sign in to add to wishlist
 
Free Home Delivery

on all orders

 
Pick up orders

from local bookshops

Information