Cry to Heaven
by Anne Rice
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Book Reviews of Cry to Heaven
Book Review: A Voice in the Night
Summary: 5 Stars
Wow! This was a surprise. Never knew Anne Rice existed until she joined a chat group and bought my book. I figured the least I could do was return the favor and buy a book of this author I had never heard of. Needless to say, she didn't need my favors. However, I am glad I did. My choice was "Cry to Heaven" as it fell into my realm of understanding; weaving its intricate web around the world of Italian opera in the 18th century. I was well aware of the castrati--castrated young males whose families, mostly impoverished, sacrificed their young boys with beautiful voices in the hopes of preserving the voice and securing a financially advantageous future. What I didn't know, and am still dubious of, is that a castrated male can still have an erection. Tonio, the aristocratic Venetian victim, is castrated by his jealous "brother" (really his banished father who returns to Venice after the death of HIS father) so he will be unable to procreate and therefore not be next in the royal lineage. Anne Rice makes no apologies and spares no details as she describes the services provided by Tonio to just about every male in the book that he encounters: classmate Domenico, teacher Guido, a young man on the street who he lures into his carriage, Vatican Cardinal, fencing partner...
She paints entrancing atmospheres in words: the byways and canals of Venice, the sounds of singing in the night air, the light of the water reflecting off the ceilings of the palaces. The kidnapping and forced castration of the young adolescent, with opium dulling the pain, are chillingly described. (One wonders how many of these unfortunate victims died of secondary infections.) One also wonders how she can make stuff like this up? It's a most twisted and unexpected plot at the beginning and never wastes a moment in mindless meandering. There is always a direction...a purpose to every phrase.
And it is almost as though Ms Rice knows what it is like to sing. She describes the training of the voice, the exercises, the excitement of the performance as though she was a singer in a past lifetime. Exemplary.
The end is for the reader to anticipate. Will Tonio accomplish his objective of sworn revenge upon his TRUE father who was banished from Venice for impregnating a "common" girl--Tonio's mother, or is it enough for him to have the world at his feet as its "Primo Uomo?"
Book Review: fascinating, yet squishy
Summary: 4 Stars
to open, i should say that Cry To Heaven is arguably Anne Rice's best novel. perhaps i say that because i find vampire novels cliched and peurile--material geared specifically to the hordes of "goths" and middle aged women that make up much of Rice's huge fanbase.but Cry To Heaven is different. firstly, it's historical fiction. period. no Lestat (although he is a thoroughly engrossing character in his own right), no blood-sucking, no excessive usage of the word "preternatural". this is a VERY refreshing break from what becomes a monotony of violent, largely unrealistic adventures experienced by the usual Vampire crew.
set in 18th century Italy (and we like Italy), the book explores an almost forgotten cultural phenomenon--the castrati. the castrati were talented boys who "went under the knife" to preserve their angelic voices. they actually existed from the 12th century right up until the 1920s. just for finding such an intriguing subject, Rice earns herself 2 stars.
the other 2 come from her handling of the subject. she doesn't shy away from the bisexuality of her characters. you may be inclined to believe it's just another Rice fetish, but if Tonio and Guido had actually existed, it is likely that they would have engaged in such relationships. Tonio especially is charming, and the amount of research she has obviously done shows in her descriptions and accounts of the Venetian and Neapolitan nobility.
where Rice loses a star is the last 200 pages. whereas the beginning of the book was a delight to read - historically accurate, engrossing, tragic, and heartfelt, the last third dissolves into a mush of unabashedly feminine, poorly written string of orgies. punctuated only by an unrealistic act of vengeance, the book leaves one decidedly unsatisfied, even though Rice makes an attempt at an ending, it seems haphazard and designed merely to please the romantics.
overall, i still reccomend the book. a truly fascinating glimpse into the mutilated -putti- of the italian enlightenment.
Book Review: This is my favorite Ann Rice book.
Summary: 5 Stars
This is my favorite Ann Rice book. I read it in 1982, before Ms. Rice became a reborn Christian, and before her books went too verbose.
Tonio Treschi is the young son of an aging Venetian, the Grand Counsellor, he lives in his father's great palazzo with his young mother, not knowing other children to play with. But his real love is singing, and this he enjoys with his talented mother and his tutors. His brother, out of avarice and wishing to inherit their ailing father's title, has Tonio castrated and thus dammed.
Guido Maffeo has no heritage, but is simply a young boy from a large and very poor family; he has known only hardship and ill treatment. That is until his beautiful voice, a voice which at a very young age will cost him his future manhood as it was the custom of the times, because all female roles in the opera were performed by castrati. He is taken to Naples and trained by the finest singing masters.
The lives of Tonio and Guido will eventually becoming inextricably linked when Toni's father dies and his banished brother returns to claims his inheritance.
Cry to Heaven is a remarkable epic of love, betrayal and vengeance. Yet that is to put it far too simply, for the loves are complex, often unselfish but always beautiful; the betrayal is perhaps of the most shocking nature; the vengeance ultimately unsought.
Anne Rice plunges us into the flamboyant, luxurious and at times sordid world of eighteenth century Venice, Naples, and Rome with an eye for detail that brings it all vividly to life. She has done her research well; and for all opera lovers, it beautifully recreates the scenes and sounds of the 18th century European opera life. Her careful research into the music and musical practices of the period lends the whole plausibility.
I was moved to tears and was unable to put the book down.
Book Review: Not a vampire in sight: One of the Very Best Novels Ever
Summary: 5 Stars
I'm a musician, a writer, teacher and psychological astrologer. and very hard to please. I found this book by accident. I've recommended it to everybody I think could reach it. It's wonderful... truly wonderful.
It's the searingly moving and intricately informed story of the no-longer-tolerated 'production'(sic), practice and humanly demanding life of a castrato singer. Buy it and read on.
Other books which have attempted to enter such culturally particular spheres have won the Big Prizes. But I have never come across one which doesn't just skip the true and hard reality of such a life in favour of just the bits of love interest, conventional stories and bizarre happenings that inevitably attach to it. (Not by any means that such stories do not also attach to the hero of 'Cry to Heaven'.) This book skips nothing. It tells of a real life. It's a genuine masterpiece.
And it's been driving me mad, because everything else I've been able to find by Anne Rice has to do with a load of vampires! I listened to a long interview with her and was drawn to her sincerely felt and informed talk of music, philosophy, religion and the spirit; all subjects of the utmost interest and importance to me; all subjects manifested and expressed most movingly in 'Cry to Heaven'.
I bought 'Violin' as a result. Surely the vampire element wasn't serious? But - if vampires themselves seemed to be a bit toned down (if the ghost was indeed one of them, that is) apart from the Beethoven, I found the music content trite and the obligatory blood factor (a mass of glistening ants on a sanitary pad!!!) gratuitous and tedious in the extreme. Obviously other people lap it up. So to speak. I don't understand them and I'm devastated that one of the greatest novels I've ever read (I don't use that term lightly) finds itself in such incongruous company.
Book Review: Superbly told story of triumph over adversity
Summary: 5 Stars
Tonio Treschi is the young son of an aging Venetian, the Grand Counsellor, he lives in his father's great palazzo with his young mother, not knowing other children to play with. But his real love is singing, and this he enjoys with his talented mother and his tutors. Guido Maffeo has no heritage, but is simply a young boy from a large and very poor family; he has known only hardship and ill treatment. That is until his beautiful voice, a voice which at a very young age will cost him his future manhood, takes him away from all this. He is taken to Naples and trained by the finest singing masters. The lives of Tonio and Guido will eventually becoming inextricably linked when Toni's father dies and his banished brother returns to claims his inheritance.
Cry to Heaven is a remarkable epic of love, betrayal and vengeance. Yet that is to put it far too simply, for the loves are complex, often unselfish but always beautiful; the betrayal is perhaps of the most shocking nature; the vengeance ultimately unsought.
Anne Rice writing with an assured hand plunges us into the flamboyant, luxurious and at times sordid world of eighteenth century Venice, Naples and Rome with an eye for detail that brings it all vividly to life. Her cast of characters is beautifully drawn, the handsome Tonio being especially appealing. Her careful research into the music and musical practices of the period lends the whole plausibility.
The result is a gripping, tale which at times luxuriates in the sheer pleasure of life, and others is drawn to the depths of despair. A tale where one act of barbarism may have even the reading needing time to come to terms with. It is a moving, at times heart-wrenching, story of triumph over adversity.