This novel will capture you from the beginning. Harvell's descriptive ability makes this book difficult to put down.

Our club hasn't read this and probably won't. They don't like having to read "long" books for book club! And although this is only 384 pages, it's not a fast read. There is too much going on with the language and the foreign setting--a reader has to give it plenty of time. For some it may even require some "plowing"! The world of 18th century Europe is beautifully drawn, with opera and Vienna playing a huge role. A wonderful story with music at its center, awaits the patient reader!

However, this is the wonderful story of a man who was born in a bell tower, and thus had perfect pitch, and the sound of music dwelt in his soul. At an early age, he ran away and was adopted by two monks as they traveled back to their monastery.

I enjoyed this book from the minute I started reading it. Is was so beautifully written; you could feel the music and the sounds in every word. I have recommended this book to my book club and I will lead the discussion in November.

I was immediately drawn into the story and invested in the characters. I hated to see it end!

May be the best book I've read this year.

The Bells: a novel by Richard Harvell magnificently heightens the reader’s sensory appreciation of musical sounds. In papers left for a son he raised but did not sire, Moses Froben , an illegitimate orphan of a deaf-mute mother who possesses a preternatural ear, recounts his bittersweet journey to greatness where he eventually becomes a great singer of eighteenth century Europe. Originally brought up in a belfry, Moses is rescued from drowning by two odd monks and hidden in their abbey quarters where he discovers his extraordinary voice, that he can mold "that ocean of sound... into something beautiful." He falls in love with a beautiful, wealthy, crippled girl who asks him to sing to her dying mother, eventually becoming her hero “Orpheus.” Harvell’s rich descriptions of the lovely beauty of the world of sound should not be missed.

This book was wonderful to read...the characters are well developed and the writing is very descriptive. The sounds are vividly described, and I loved the story.

One of the most memorable stories.

I enjoyed this book because it is very descriptive and you feel like your experiencing what the main character is experiencing. I loved the storyline. I found myself cringing and cheering for the main character throughout this book. I've been in Austria and Italy where much of this setting takes place. Fun to read!