Cry to Heaven by Anne Rice Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Cry to Heaven
Book Review: By far, the best Ann Rice has written to date.
Summary: 5 Stars
I am an avid Ann Rice fan. I have read virtually EVERYTHING this author has written, even the work under the pen name, Ann Rampling. Although there are few of her books that I have not read in one sitting; spell-binding as they were, I have not enjoyed any of them as much as I enjoyed Cry to Heaven. This book is vastly different from her Mayfair Witches or Vampire Chronicles work. The story gives a historical perspective of the Italian castrati; a group of young boys who showed musical promise. At around age eight or so, they would be castrated, against their wills, and taken to monastaries; living their lives in the development of their musical careers which started out as being singers for the Pope and which hopefully led them to the Italian opera houses. The story weaves its way sensually into the life of one such young boy and follows him into adulthood where he achieves the highest level of honour for a castrati, singing in the most prestigeous opera houses of the day. He is the toast of the Italian opera world but his soul is tortured. This book is one of only a very few which I have read and re-read any number of times. It is a delight for the reader who enjoys sensuality with a taste of history. Of note is the fact that there are actual recordings of the main character available to further enhance one's understanding of the world of the Italian castrati and their contribution to the musical world. This book is a must-read for Rice fans and is too often passed over because it does not belong to any of the "series" types. What a mistake to ignore it!Book Review: Competent plot and writing, but lacks memorability and impact. Hesitantly recommended as a fast, enjoyable, but forgettable read
Summary: 3 Stars
Tonio Treschi is a growing boy, the heir a small but noble Venetian family, and he has the singing voice of an angel. Guido Maffeo is a grown castrato who lost his singing voice in adolescence and now teaches young castrati and composes music. When Tonio is castrated at the order of a jealous and vengeful relative, he is forced into Guido's care and banished from Venice. Guido takes him to the school for castrati where he himself was taught, and endeavors to train Tonio's voice and make him into the best singer the world has ever seen. Old enough to know the world of men, but now removed from it forever, Tonio is caught between a desire to avenge the crime against him, mourning for what he has lost, and the first chance at happiness that he has ever know. Cry to Heaven is a well-plotted story and competently told, but lacks the sincerity to make it truly meaningful or memorable. The characters aren't nearly as compelling as some of the others in Rice's books, and the issues within the book are generally dealt with too bluntly and without much thought or detail. It is a fast, entertaining read and never becomes difficult or slow, but its lasting impact is somewhat limited. As a result, I recommend this book only hesitantly.
There isn't much more to say about Cry to Heaven. It is neither disappointing nor impressive, and neither good or bad. The plot and writing style are more than competent, keeping the book moving at a good pace, introducing plenty of problems and resolutions in the plot and working its way up to one major climax at the end of the book. My only compliant with the writing itself is the lack of emotional resolution at the end of the book--the action builds up nicely, but the actual conclusion to the book seems a little empty and unexplored, especially in comparison to the character insight in the body of the text. Other than that detail, all of the necessary authorial techniques are there and the book is approachable, holds the reader's attention, and has a strong plot.
But outside of plot devices and action, there isn't much to this book, leaving the reader with nothing memorable or though-provoking. Rice may not be a particularly "deep" writer, but some of her other books prove that she is capable of creating and exploring complex moral situations, emotions, and ideas. The underlying ideas upon which Rice tries to and could have expanded upon are present, specifically the gender ambiguity and third-gender roles of the castrati, but Rice approaches them too bluntly to make the issues detailed or thoughtful. She rushes into sexual situations, cross-dressing, and androgyny too quickly and easily and her approach to the subject becomes repetitive: repeat sexual encounters, repeat manliness angst, and not much more. If explored in more depth, the contents and characters of this book would probably be much more meaningful; as it is, they are interesting while reading but have no long-term impact on the reader.
I recommend this book as a quick, enjoyable, attention-grabbing read, but I don't recommend it very strongly. It won't be a book that I come back to, and I would recommend some of Rice's other books before this one. The text isn't worth seeking out, but if you stumble upon it like I did (for fifty cents at a library sale), then by all means give it a go.
Book Review: Cry to Heaven
Summary: 5 Stars
Truly a wondeful work of art-You will fall in love with young Tonio, feel his pain and his happiness, and truly feel as if you know the characters fully. The emotion and sexuality put into these characters is spellbinding... A wonderful book!Book Review: Definately one of the best books ever written ...
Summary: 5 Stars
This book totally blew me away. I picked this book up idly off a friend's bookshelf and within the first page was unable to put it down until I finished the entire book.
She weaves a story so powerfully tight, so enthralling that you fall in love with the characters. A knife slices into your heart... and each decision the characters make twists that knife until she finally deigns to grant your freedom with the close of the book.
When I finished this book, I actually shed tears because I could not know these characters beyond the pages of this book.
Cry to Heaven is a MUST HAVE!
Book Review: Early Anne Rice Unbeatable
Summary: 5 Stars
Set against the poetically, lushly described background of 18th century Italy, this is the tale of the castrati, men who were castrated before puberty so that they would not lose their angelic singing voices with the breaking (deepening) of the male voice which occurs at puberty. I knew nothing about this subject before reading this novel but felt that I had totally submersed myself in their world by book's end. Tonio, the protagonist, takes us there and we fully experience both his pain as a half man and his joy as an otherworldly, privileged singer. One must remember though how cruel life in general was to the majority of people in this era and country. Thus, although a terrible wrong has been done to Tonio and fellow castrati, they also experience the highs of life that would have never been open to them being among the masses of unprivileged people. They also have sex lives and rather robust ones at that, which caught me somewhat by surprise given that they've been castrated. I did see a movie which reminds me of this novel, called "Farinelli." It is the story of such a singer who really existed back then. The movie was very good but this novel is outstanding. Personally, I liked Rice better as an author in these earlier works of hers, when she took her time to really craft exceptional work. In more recent times, she produces her novels at warp speed. There's been a real loss of craftsmanship in that mass production mode that did not occur in this earlier work.