Partita: A Novel

Synopsis

Livia Cable has made her peace with her marriage and modest livelihood in the farm country where she grew up, until a shocking phone call from an old lover shakes her to the core. Decades earlier, he knew her as Livia Bohusz, a music conservatory student estranged from her home and family, uncertain of anything except her passion for music and promise as an extraordinary pianist. His request to see her again stirs up ghosts she has kept at bay for a lifetime.

Shifting between past and present, Partita follows Livia as she confronts the childhood loss, abandonment, consuming passion, and perilous attachment that shaped the course of her life. With a deep affection for music, art, and human possibility, Barbara Kingsolver explores class barriers, ambition, the paths not taken, and the enduring power of beauty.

About the Author

Barbara Kingsolver is the Pulitzer Prize–winning author of numerous bestselling novels, including Demon Copperhead, The Poisonwood Bible, The Bean Trees, and Unsheltered. Her work has been translated into more than thirty languages and has received numerous awards and honors, including the National Humanities Medal and the National Book Foundation’s Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters.

Publisher

Harper

Publication Date

October 6, 2026

Format

Hardcover

Pages

352

Subjects

Love & Other Disasters · Literary Fiction · Women’s Fiction · Music · Family · Marriage · Class

ISBN

9780063577541