For the past few months, Mark Lockwood has been at work on a ghostwriting assignment beyond his dreams. To prepare her autobiography, he has bee... read full description
reviews
May 07, 2009
cecilia
rated it: 
My favorite parts of The Wonder Singer had been the flashbacks to Mark's encounters with Mercè and the "excerpts" from Mercè's autobiography-in-progress. I could gather a sense of the diva's charismatic personality and how she became world-beloved. The writing was beautiful, and there were some really great passages that blew me away with how lyrical they were.
However, one thing I had an issue with were the characters. Not a lot of time had been spent on them for me to " More...
However, one thing I had an issue with were the characters. Not a lot of time had been spent on them for me to " More...
May 20, 2009
Serena
rated it: 
George Rabasa's The Wonder Singer easily captures the imagination through deftly orchestrated prose and detailed description. The Wonder Singer is the story of famed opera singer Merce Casals, and her story as told to her ghostwriter Mark Lockwood. Through alternating chapters between the biography of Merce Casals and Mark Lockwood's musings and reviews of his interview tapes with Casals, her tragic and dramatic story unfolds like Aida or many of the other great operas she sang.
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May 08, 2009
Valorie
rated it:
Mark Lockwood, an author popularly known for his writings on how to talk to teens about a number of real life issues, has been assigned the task of acting as ghostwriter to pen and publish the biography of opera diva Mercè Casals. Hours are spent listening to her talk of her life, which is daunting in and of itself, until one day Senorita Casals dies in the bathtub with the project unfinished. With a high profile book in the works, Mark’s agent Hollywood Hank now wants to assign the book to a m
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Oct 14, 2011
Audrey
rated it:
The Wonder Singer is about life, and the things that make a life story worth telling: music, love, wisdom, and war. MercŽ Casals's life, though fictional, makes for a ghost-written autobiography worthy of your time. The story of its writing isn't half bad, either.[return][return]I really enjoyed reading this book. There are passages that have remained very prominent in my mind, that I continue to think about. The book was definitely memorable, and mostly very well written. Sometimes the story of
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Feb 18, 2010
Chelsea
rated it:
Writing a book about a book has never been an easy feat. Often the reader will enjoy one book over the other, and excerpts will be overlooked so that they can get back to the more interesting plot at hand. THE WONDER SINGER does not suffer from this affliction.
From the very first chapter, Rabasa throws you head first into the story and does not lose momentum through to the end. Perhaps what makes THE WONDER SINGER so interesting, however, is not the late Diva herself, but rather the More...
From the very first chapter, Rabasa throws you head first into the story and does not lose momentum through to the end. Perhaps what makes THE WONDER SINGER so interesting, however, is not the late Diva herself, but rather the More...
May 05, 2009
Cheryl
rated it:
Mark Lockwood is a writer. He is pretty unknown but he has struck it lucky. He has been commissed to write a tell all autobiography of opera singer Merce Casals. Mark has spent months in the company with Merce recording their converstations. Then one day the lovely Merce passes away in her bath.
Now Mark's agent, Hollywood Hank wants the tapes. He plans to have someone write the book. Mark won't do that as he knows that Merce Casals trusted him with her story and he plans to do her j More...
Now Mark's agent, Hollywood Hank wants the tapes. He plans to have someone write the book. Mark won't do that as he knows that Merce Casals trusted him with her story and he plans to do her j More...
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Sep 15, 2011
drey
rated it:
The Wonder Singer was a fun romp through the consequences of Mark's decision to abscond with his interview tapes. Yes, there's a "before," including the diva's childhood and discovery. But I thought the fun really started with her death (am I bad or what?). And Mark, who up to that point was just another interviewer, really, seems to finally open his eyes and run with the realization that he can be the author that he's always wanted to be. So what if he has to run off with the tapes li
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Apr 03, 2009
Sharlene
rated it:
An interesting storyline--the biography of "the wonder singer" woven into the larger story of a ghostwriter hoping for a big break. Not what I would call a page turner by any stretch. I had to work my way through it.
Jan 05, 2009
Rabasa dazzles with spot-on descriptions, of the extraordinary to the mundane, and displays a snippy (in a good way) humor through his latest novel. For more of that but with an even better story, check out his previous novel The Cleansing
Aug 13, 2011
Felicia
rated it:
I had mixed feelings about this book. I found myself more interested in the story that the character was writing than the rest of the plot. The ending disappointed me, because I felt the story wasn't finished.
May 21, 2009
Courtney
rated it:
It was okay... I'm not going to run around recommending it though. Too many iffy/inappropriate parts. Sorry!
Dec 01, 2008
The Hennepin County library invited me to a program Dec 5th featuring the author of this book. So....I'd better read it.
Aug 12, 2010
Steven
rated it: 
I fun romp through the lives of one Diva, a ghost writer (biographer), nurse and a drag queen. A good read for Hiaasen fans.
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