A humane and humorous tale that follows Verdi’s musical development.
A debut biographical novel tells the story of opera composer Giuseppe Verdi.
Growing up the son of tavern keepers in the village of Le Roncole in the Duchy of Parma, young Giuseppe is known as “Carlo’s Old Man” for his solemn demeanor. (Carlo is his father.) Displaying an early gift for musical composition, Giuseppe plays the organ at the local church, though his creativity is not always encouraged. The aspirational Carlo connects his young son with Antonio Barezzi, a wealthy local patron, whose daughter, Margherita, becomes the object of Giuseppe’s affection. Barezzi arranges for Giuseppe’s musical education in Milan, which leads to composition work and, eventually, to operas. As Giuseppe’s star begins to rise in the world of music, his homeland starts to bubble with a somewhat fantastic notion: an independent, unified Kingdom of Italy. Giuseppe’s work becomes associated with the movement, though the contrarian composer isn’t thrilled by it: “He struggled with his growing association with Italian unification and he made an effort to absolve himself of this label by dedicating the music to” Austrian Duchess Marie Louise of Parma “at a performance.” Even so, Giuseppe’s destiny is linked to that of his homeland: He will become one of his country’s most beloved men as well as one of the most celebrated opera composers in history. Writing in a precise, detailed prose, Mitchell brings warmth and wit to Verdi’s story. (When his mentor says, at one point, “I have some good news right here,” Verdi quips in response, “The Austrians have put a moratorium on practicing fugues?”) Whereas other volumes of the Mentoris Project (“a series of novels and biographies about the lives of great Italians and Italian-Americans”) have felt rather wooden, Mitchell has managed to enliven the life of Verdi by fleshing out the characters and truly dramatizing the events. Similarly, the author celebrates his subject’s flaws in a way that keeps the book from reading like a hagiography. Though it does not rise quite to the level of literary fiction, this novel is an enjoyable and highly informative portrait of Verdi that should please opera fans and foes alike.
A humane and humorous tale that follows Verdi’s musical development.Pub Date: July 1, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-947431-11-9
Page Count: 292
Publisher: Barbera Foundation
Review Posted Online: Aug. 23, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2018
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A strict report, worthy of sympathy.
A violent surfacing of adolescence (which has little in common with Tarkington's earlier, broadly comic, Seventeen) has a compulsive impact.
"Nobody big except me" is the dream world of Holden Caulfield and his first person story is down to the basic, drab English of the pre-collegiate. For Holden is now being bounced from fancy prep, and, after a vicious evening with hall- and roommates, heads for New York to try to keep his latest failure from his parents. He tries to have a wild evening (all he does is pay the check), is terrorized by the hotel elevator man and his on-call whore, has a date with a girl he likes—and hates, sees his 10 year old sister, Phoebe. He also visits a sympathetic English teacher after trying on a drunken session, and when he keeps his date with Phoebe, who turns up with her suitcase to join him on his flight, he heads home to a hospital siege. This is tender and true, and impossible, in its picture of the old hells of young boys, the lonesomeness and tentative attempts to be mature and secure, the awful block between youth and being grown-up, the fright and sickness that humans and their behavior cause the challenging, the dramatization of the big bang. It is a sorry little worm's view of the off-beat of adult pressure, of contemporary strictures and conformity, of sentiment….
A strict report, worthy of sympathy.Pub Date: June 15, 1951
ISBN: 0316769177
Page Count: -
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Nov. 2, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 1951
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
APPRECIATIONS
Wacky plot keeps the pages turning and enduring schmaltzy romantic sequences.
Sisters work together to solve a child-abandonment case.
Ellie and Julia Cates have never been close. Julia is shy and brainy; Ellie gets by on charm and looks. Their differences must be tossed aside when a traumatized young girl wanders in from the forest into their hometown in Washington. The sisters’ professional skills are put to the test. Julia is a world-renowned child psychologist who has lost her edge. She is reeling from a case that went publicly sour. Though she was cleared of all wrongdoing, Julia’s name was tarnished, forcing her to shutter her Beverly Hills practice. Ellie Barton is the local police chief in Rain Valley, who’s never faced a tougher case. This is her chance to prove she is more than just a fading homecoming queen, but a scarcity of clues and a reluctant victim make locating the girl’s parents nearly impossible. Ellie places an SOS call to her sister; she needs an expert to rehabilitate this wild-child who has been living outside of civilization for years. Confronted with her professional demons, Julia once again has the opportunity to display her talents and salvage her reputation. Hannah (The Things We Do for Love, 2004, etc.) is at her best when writing from the girl’s perspective. The feral wolf-child keeps the reader interested long after the other, transparent characters have grown tiresome. Hannah’s torturously over-written romance passages are stale, but there are surprises in store as the sisters set about unearthing Alice’s past and creating a home for her.
Wacky plot keeps the pages turning and enduring schmaltzy romantic sequences.Pub Date: March 1, 2006
ISBN: 0-345-46752-3
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Ballantine
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2005
© Copyright 2024 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
bookshelf
