SUCH SWEET COMPULSION

An autobiography, rather artificial in plan and execution. The first half, I should say, is divided between the mother speaking, and the daughter speaking, so that one gets the mother's contribution to the picture of the child, the early promise, the hopes and fears, and the steps taken towards one end, the daughter's carries. Chronologically, one year, two or three at a time, the mother speaks -- the daughter speaks. Then with the mother's death, the daughter carries on the rest of the story. The facts of a spectacular career are there. The world of music, both sides of the Atlantic, play their part. But outside the field she made her own, there is little of personal life, emotions are soft- pedalled, there is little of human interest or anecdotal value. Simply a roster -- connected by threads to Geraldine Farrar's own career. A disappointing book.