Susan Haugland's charming new addition to Beethoven literature recants the story of the premiere of Beethoven's magnificent Ninth Symphony as seen through the eyes of the young contralto soloist, Karoline Unger. While the book is listed as historical fiction, Ms. Haugland has made every attempt to maintain historical accuracy through the use of actual dialogue taken from surviving conversation books. These books, used by the deaf composer to communicate, provide a timeline of the events leading up to and including the first performance of his last symphony.