The Gustav Sonata

I very much enjoyed The Gustav Sonata by Rose Tremain which is set in a small town in Switzerland before and during World War II and in the late 1990s.  The first part has Gustav living with his mother Emilie who is an undemonstrative mother.  She tells him his father was a high ranking police officer during the War who helped Jewish refugees.  She said he died as a result of this and now resents Jewish people.  Gustav befriends new boy Anton at school.  He and his family are relatively well off, and Jews.  Anton is an accomplished pianist who suffers from severe stage-fright.  Gustav enjoys spending time with Anton and his family.  In the second part of the story, we get the backstory, more information about Emilie's life and how she met Gustav's father.  We learn more about him and how he helped the Jews.  In the final part, Gustav and Anton are 50 years old and we learn what happens to them.  This is a beautiful story, well written. 41/2/5