Cry to Heaven by Anne Rice Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Cry to Heaven
Book Review: boring
Summary: 2 Stars
I am sorry, but I can't stand this book. The premise was intriguing and Anne is definately the one author who can pull it off, which is why the dullness of this book is such a disappointment. She piles details upon details, heaps on the prose, and drags the whole tale out. I was actually skipping ahead to see how it ends and if it was worth the effort to finish. Very slow to warm up to in the biginning, then a sagging dragging middle and finally a pretty good end. Sad, poetic, even haunting at times? Yes. Her prose is not pulp fiction, it is literary and lovely. But less is more! And this book could have been IMHO 10 times better if a few dozen pages were shaved off, a few scenes shortened or cut, and a few details glossed over or omitted altogether.I started this one on vaction--maybe the atmosphere was too light for such a zaftig book? Or maybe I am just making excuses for this latest effort by Rice?
She's seen better days and so have I!
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.