I received a copy of Peace of Music from the author via AudioBoom in return for an honest review. Ms. Kahn’s book/audiobook is the product of enormous dedication and hard work. She narrates the audiobook herself, and for the most part, does an adequate job, although I did find the male voices irritating, especially in the beginning. What was particularly jarring were the musical breaks between chapters. Had those not bothered me so much, I might have given the performance 4 stars. The story is ambitious, but I found it a bit too grand and overreaching, leading to perfunctory oversimplifications that came across as ludicrous. Two examples: a mother/musician hears her daughter sing for THE FIRST TIME when the girl is eleven and discovers (?!) that she is phenomenally gifted, musically. In another scene, a soldier returns home to France IMMEDIATELY following the 1918 armistice, and his mother is described as plump and able to cook up the best French meal ever in just a few minutes. I venture to guess there were very few plump French housewives immediately following the first world war, and there were few foods at hand to prepare an impromptu feast. Ever female character is the most beautiful and talented of her generation, and every male the handsomest and most clever. The family sings and plays the piano through most of the 20th century, guarded over by a hand-crafted Chinese vase from I can’t remember which century. The author dips into cultural references from China, Greece, France, and even Russia, but they are all fairly superficial and stereotypical. Ms. Kahn’s respect and reverence for these different cultures shines through, though, as does her evidently firm belief in the transcendent power of music, so a more patient reader/listener than I would probably enjoy Peace of Music.