Three Mus­es, win­ner of the Pet­ri­chor Prize for Fine­ly Craft­ed Fic­tion, is a love sto­ry that enthralls. Michael David Lukas, win­ner of the Nation­al Jew­ish Book Award, calls Three Mus­es ​“a capa­cious and deeply felt nov­el about trau­ma and ambi­tion, art, pas­sion, and the vagaries of mem­o­ry, … a wise and com­pas­sion­ate med­i­ta­tion on beau­ty, loss, and the many invis­i­ble lives we might have lived.”

In post-WWII New York, John Curtin suf­fers last­ing dam­age from hav­ing been forced to sing for the kom­man­dant who mur­dered his fam­i­ly. John trains to be a psy­chi­a­trist, strug­gling to wrest his life from his ter­ror of music and his past. Katya Symano­va climbs the ardu­ous path to Pri­ma Bal­le­ri­na, becom­ing enmeshed in an abu­sive rela­tion­ship with her chore­o­g­ra­ph­er, who makes Katya a star but con­trols her life.

When John receives a tick­et to attend a bal­let fea­tur­ing Katya Symano­va, a spell is cast. Three Mus­es fol­lows John Curtin and Katya Symano­va as they find one anoth­er, unlock their futures, and face the impos­si­ble choice between art and love.