Cry to Heaven by Anne Rice Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Cry to Heaven
Book Review: Good, but Not as Good as Expected
Summary: 4 Stars
Anne Rice adapted a theme that has been examined before and made fresh, but darker. If you like Anne Rice, you will like this book. The only problem I had with it was that the ending is so strongly foreshadowed as to be very predictable. Kind of a let-down for me since Anne Rice usualy keeps me in suspense until the very end and leaves me wanting more. However, even if the conclusion is easy to predict (trust me, it is), the actual details of the final encounter between the protagonist and antagonist are still shocking and the description is rich and rewarding. Just don't expect to be surprised.Book Review: Guess what? No vampires
Summary: 5 Stars
Anne Rice's historically accurate novel, Cry to Heaven, is set in Rome during an era when a papal ban prohibited women from performing on stage. The inevitable substitute, men who were capable of singing soprano roles in opera, were the castrati, castrated boys whose voices would never change to that of men.In Rice's novel, we are privy to the life, study, and hard work of the castrato student: vocal exercises, music lessons, technical exercises, and the proper wearing of the black tunic with the red sash and the black ribbon at the neck which identified them as castrati - and finally, the stage performance.
Ann Rice is a complex, complicated, multi-talented writer with a wide range of talents and interests. This one, I believe, is unique.
Book Review: HAUNTINGLY BEAUTIFUL
Summary: 5 Stars
Anne Rice wrote a novel incorporating much history-like usual. This novel, a haunting portrait of the castrati-men who had been castrated before puberty to preserve their high voices to sing, and entertain.
I cannot explain how beautifully written this novel is. And how tragic this haunting haunting story is. The novel is filled with rich descriptions, and so much history of the castrati.
I had never heard of the castrati before this novel, but after reading, I was drawn to learn more about the history of the tragic singers.
Anne Rice entertains and educates....like always.
Book Review: Heavenly!
Summary: 5 Stars
This is without a doubt Anne Rice's best-ever book. What a world she re-creates here with her shimmering prose style and impeccable historical research. No-holds-barred, for sure. The book's introduction, which characterizes this enthralling story as depicting "the decadence beneath the shimmering surface of Venice," describes the novel eloquently.
"Cry to Heaven" opens up the world of 18th-century Venetian opera in a way that no other book of its kind has done. It is an enduring classic that should be on the bookshelf of any student or scholar of baroque music.
Sarah Bruce Kelly
Author of THE RED PRIEST'S ANNINA
Book Review: Highly Enjoyable
Summary: 4 Stars
Cry to Heaven, in typical Rice fashion, mesmerizes the reader with lavish prose. You come to feel for Tonio and Guido as the tale progresses; Anne Rice masterfully develops her characters. While not particularly profound, this story touches the heart on many levels: the roles of masculine and feminine, the necessity of revenge, the possibility of love and friendship existing in a single relationship, all these things are explored against a beautiful backdrop of Italian culture and countryside. Anyone who wishes to enter the enchanting world (which only Rice can create) should read this fine book.