Cry to Heaven by Anne Rice Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Cry to Heaven
Book Review: Made an Anne Rice fan out of me
Summary: 5 Stars
This was the first Anne Rice book I've read, but it certainly won't be the last. The author has an amazing ability to make both the plot and history come alive. At first the subject matter seemed bizarre and not something I really wanted to read about, but I was soon transfixed. What started out as a before-bed book ended up keeping me up all hours several time. I would definately recommend this book to anyone who likes an out of the ordinary story.Book Review: Magnificent chronicle, beautifully written!
Summary: 5 Stars
"And Guido perceived that when the woman is taken out of an entire realm of life that must need to imitate the world itself, then some substitute for that woman is inevitable. Something must rise to take the place of what is feminine. Something must rise to be feminine. And the castrati were not mere singers, players, anomalies; they had become woman herself." -Anne Rice Set in Venice, Naples, Rome, and Florence during the time of Vivaldi, this exquisitely written work is the story of Marc Antonio Treschi, a castrato. A Venetian nobleman, Tonio was blessed with many things -- a beautiful mother, a fine family, a gentlemanly upbringing, and not least of all, a beautiful singing voice. Tonio led a very sheltered early life, and as he begins the journey to manhood, he starts to discover some dark secrets of the House of Treschi. A word to the wise: This author does not shy away from taboo subjects.
Music was the passion and preoccupation of many people in Europe during this time. In the name of producing great music, mutilations were routinely done during these times to little boys from poor families -- boys with voices which showed promise. How Tonio came to his experience with the knife will best be discovered by reading this wonderful book, and spoiling the experience by detailing the plot is something which will not be done in this review.
This book is a compelling adventure, and it is written by a masterful writer. Anne Rice excels in transporting her reader to magical times & places, and introducing them to interesting people, who then spring to life. She takes her readers on a mystical journey, always choosing the perfect word. Simply, magically, elegantly, she weaves a tapestry of wonder, and through it all, holds one spellbound. She can describe a walk through a grand old square in Italy, and everything she has outlined can be envisioned, right down to the smells and sounds. Rice's characters are larger than life, they are compelling, and they are detailed down to their fingernails and the texture of their hair. Their thoughts are perfectly articulated, and they are set forth in extremely beautiful prose.
If one contemplates a "Cry to Heaven," one could think of many things that could conjure up such a cry: Religion, Remorse, Regret, Angst, Guilt, Pain, Sorrow, Love, Rapture, Longing, Esctacy, and of course, Great Music! All of these are found in this work. Highly, Highly Recommended!!!
Book Review: Moving, haunting, amazing
Summary: 4 Stars
Knowing Anne souly through the Chronicles I just didnt Know what to expect from this book . I was vaguely aware that it had something to do with opera, a subject, I admitt, of which I knew nothing but thank God I had this novel to open my eyes.Opera is only one of the many subjects Anne approaches in this fantastic novel. The relationship between Guido and Tonio is so complex and deep that it almost at times made me want to cry. I am a young reader but I thought myself mature enough to deal with the homosexuality in the book. Unlike some of the reviews Ive read I had no problem what so ever with the content of that area and if anything this book shows us that the practise of homosexuality has been around as long as we have and that they can possibly love more deeply than many heterosexuals can. I praise Anne for writing such a powerful book, the charaters were so real that they almost jumped to life from the page. I only had one problem and that was with the character Christina, she seemed bearly one dimensional to me and really I dont think she was needed at all. This was a grade A book, written before Miss Rice fell into the slup that she is now in, but at least we have Cry To Heaven to remind us of the good old daysBook Review: Music to my ears
Summary: 5 Stars
I literally couldn't put this book down it was so good. Cry to Heaven is a richly told story of the complexity of men who are ostracized for being 'half-men'. In a world filled with as much corrupt The struggles and sucesses of Tonio and Guido are made to be both kneenly felt and celebrated. Drama and angst flows through each page of the book. Betrayal, revenge, loss, love, triumph, and sadness are only some of the human emotions that bring it to life. Tonio was easily my favorite character because of his sweetness and bravery. If you find love between men offensive I wouln't recommend Cry to Heaven but if it is not an issue then reading this book is a must.Book Review: My favorite Anne Rice Novel!
Summary: 5 Stars
This is an amazing book. I wanted to read it all in one sitting. I fell in love with the main character, Tonio Treshi. There is rich descriptions of Venice, Rome and Naples, that will fascinate you if you are interested in Italian culture. I never knew much about the castrati so this story was really intriguing to me. By the time I was almost done with this book I was hearing Tonio singing in my sleep. It obviously made quite an impression.