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Mozart's Sister: A Novel
by
Rita Charbonnier (Goodreads Author)
The fascinating life of Wolfgang’s older sister, Nannerl—whose talent may have equaled her brother’s
Maria Anna Walburga Ignatia Mozart, affectionately called Nannerl by her family, could play the piano with an otherworldly skill from the time she was a child. At the tender age of five, she gave her first public performance, amazing the assembled gentlemen and ladies with the...more
Maria Anna Walburga Ignatia Mozart, affectionately called Nannerl by her family, could play the piano with an otherworldly skill from the time she was a child. At the tender age of five, she gave her first public performance, amazing the assembled gentlemen and ladies with the...more
Paperback, 336 pages
Published
July 22nd 2008
by Three Rivers Press
(first published 2005)
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http://illibroeterno.blogspot.com/2011/1...
Le opere di Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart hanno appassionato generazioni di cultori di musica classica, eppure in pochi conoscono la storia di sua sorella maggiore, Maria Anna detta Nannerl, una musicista di talento che non ha potuto esprimere la sua arte a causa delle convenzioni sociali (nel ‘700 le donne non potevano essere violiniste o compositrici).
La pittrice Rosa Bonheur diceva che il “genio non ha sesso”, ma per un genitore cinico che vuole ...more
Le opere di Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart hanno appassionato generazioni di cultori di musica classica, eppure in pochi conoscono la storia di sua sorella maggiore, Maria Anna detta Nannerl, una musicista di talento che non ha potuto esprimere la sua arte a causa delle convenzioni sociali (nel ‘700 le donne non potevano essere violiniste o compositrici).
La pittrice Rosa Bonheur diceva che il “genio non ha sesso”, ma per un genitore cinico che vuole ...more
"Mozart's Sister" is a historical fiction novel detailing the life of Nannerl Mozart. I enjoyed very much this book. I have a fascination for historical novels, and (because of my musical background) the lives of the famous composers. Watching Charbonnier peel back the layers of a complex woman who both lived and defied the expectations of her day was captivating. The Nannerl of the novel was an evolving character, and not a stagnant charicature.
This novel is about Mozart's older sister who was also a musical prodigy and composer. In fact, she played more than one musical instrument. Her own talents and accomplishments have been greatly eclipsed by her younger brother's notoriety even though she was an exceptionally gifted musician in her own right. The reader witnesses how Nannerl Mozart's gender and her father's ambitions for her younger brother's musical talents causes her to become embittered towards music and cuts short her own ...more
Very interesting book about the life of Nannerl, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, their parents, and lives. Beginning was wonderful. Ending seemed a little rushed and too short. I would have been interested in Nannerl's life after she married, but perhaps the title indicates this was her story during Mozart's lifetime. The middle was interesting, but too long. The best parts, to me, were the musical references and allusions.
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Dog-gone it, this could have been a great novel with all the genuine material but WTF? Anachronis-mo-matic. Look, we all want to avenge our oppressed sisters of the past, but if there were really peasants urging girls of gentle birth to fight for their dreams in 18th century Austria I will eat my tricorn. Kudos for some of the characters and their dialogue (Mozart's mom, smary-ass teen Mozart, usw) but I was bummed.
I stumbled on this book accidentally at the library while looking for another book and was totally intrigued with the story line. This is about Mozart's sister (guess that is obvious--I didn't even know he had a sister) who is very musically talented also. She is forced to put away her talents and spend her life teaching music lessons to support her family and Mozart's studies and travels. They are very close growing up, but a rift develops between them, largely due to her parents' blind devo...more
This was okay. I liked how the author portrayed Nannerl's and her brother's childhood, growing up together as performing prodigies. It was an interesting insight, from the author's point of view, as to how Nannerl might have felt about being a woman of vast musical talent, and not being able to express herself without crossing the boundaries of propriety. How frustrating that would be!
On the other hand, I don't like how Mozart was portrayed in this book. Yes, he was known to have di...more
On the other hand, I don't like how Mozart was portrayed in this book. Yes, he was known to have di...more
I don't know how much truth there is in this story, because it's a novel and not a biography. I didn't even know that Mozart had a sister until I ran across this book. Supposedly Mozart's sister was as talented as he was, but because she was a woman, she wasn't allowed to cultivate or show her talent. I think that the author was trying to paint her as some sort of martyr, but for me she came across as being spoiled, unlikeable and mentally ill. She said whatever she thought and did whatever she ...more
I knew Mozart had a sister, but I didn't realize she was musically talented also. Because of the attitude toward women at the time, her talent was never allowed to flourish. it is because of her that most of Mozart's work was saved and published.
Meh. I had a lot of hope for this book. I mean, a historical fiction about someone that most people apparently didn't even know existed (I did, but reading other reviews, I guess that's not common knowledge. My bad.)... there's just so much promise there! The writing was pretty good overall, but felt much too modern. Much of the narrative played out as if it was a TV movie (the author does write TV scripts, so maybe that's where her strengths are). I don't know how accurate much of this is, bu...more
This was a fun book. I had no idea that Mozart had a sister. It was fun to read the fiction version, then do my own research to see how much was true and how much was speculation. I may be a geek...
I'm a big historical fiction fan, so really enjoyed this book. Loved the contrast between women's opportunities centuries ago versus today. A fun, different view of a famous character's family.
Not the most entertaining book I've ever read, but I did enjoy it. Two slightly racy scenes, the first is short and necessary for the plot, the second is easy to see coming and skip if necessary.
Interesting look at the other Mozart prodigy, whose great misfortune was being born female.
An interesting cast of historical characters. I really enjoyed it...a lovely summer read.
I enjoyed this book as well. I wonder how much was factual and how much was fiction
A strange guess at what Mozart's sister might have been like. A pretty good read though.
Wonderful with several surprises.
A quick read.
A quick read.
I really liked this book. It depicts a pretty unknown character, Nannerl Mozart, and makes her a strong willed woman with a wonderful gift, her music, which she tries both to express and to repress. More than a tale about music (which is anyhow present in the story) it's the story of a woman in 18th century trying to find her way through life and men's expectations.
It's historical fiction, it's not a biography, so not every single word may be real, but it seemed to me a pretty accurate rec...more
It's historical fiction, it's not a biography, so not every single word may be real, but it seemed to me a pretty accurate rec...more
Elizabeth
rated it
·
review of another edition
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
musicians, historical fiction, strong female lead
I thoroughly enjoyed this novel. This book deals with a much overlooked musician and explores her relationship with her brother and how this may have affected her music. The prose was well-written, the plot well thought out - overall a very well put together book. It has a little bit of everything - romance, drama, and most of all, music.
For a more comprehensive review - http://oboechica-books.blogspot.com/2010...
For a more comprehensive review - http://oboechica-books.blogspot.com/2010...
I picked this book up at the library because I'd never even heard of Mozart's sister. It's historical fiction and I normally love that genre. But I was disappointed this time. To be fair, this is the author's first book and it was originally written in Italian, so maybe some of it's charm was lost in translating. The book seemed to focus more on developing the fictional love stories and introducing scandal to an 18th century world than telling me about what Mozart's sister was really like. ...more
I didn't love it, but I do want to learn more about Mozart now and see what in this story is actually true. Nannerl gets the short end of the stick in being allowed to pursue her music once her brother comes along, but she is an annoying character. Some of the outrageous behavior seems a little ridiculous-not believable at all-which kind of takes away from the sympathy you feel for her. The parts related to composing music and the improv performances are interesting, the romance reminded me of...more
I really enjoyed this fictional account of Mozart's sister. She apparently was every bit as talented as Mozart, but because of the time period was not allowed to thrive as he did. She was the favorite until her baby brother came along and their father realized Mozart was a prodigy. The father instructed both children and did whatever he could to show them and perform concerts. Their family revolved around their musical genius and Mozart was allowed to do whatever he wanted because of his talent...more
This was one of those books I grabbed from the library because I had nothing to read. Finding out more about Mozart's sister was interesting, but I found this book dull and ended up skimming the last couple chapters just to get it over with. Any curiosity I had regarding what become of Nannerl was solved by Wikipedia.
I learned about halfway through that this book was originally published in Italy and then translated into English. This may account for the awkwardness of the writing ...more
I learned about halfway through that this book was originally published in Italy and then translated into English. This may account for the awkwardness of the writing ...more
This was a fun historical fiction read. I liked the perspective of what it might have been like to be Wolfgang's sister and how difficult it was to be a woman in that time. It was amazing all the things Nanearl sacrificed for her brother's sake. I enjoyed a lot of the tiny historic details. My favorite example: how often people bathed. (Or didn't!)
loved!! there is some language cause apparently the mom has a potty mouth, and a sex scene, but fun book. interesting. thought if she just got over being offended and forgave Mozart his life would have been different. she could have promoted his music and he might have lived longer cause he would have been in a better environment.
Knittysong
rated it
·
review of another edition
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
people who enjoy books about women, about music, historical fiction, family dynamics
Fascinating, absorbing, well written. Would have given 5 stars but read on another site that there are some questionable facts (such as incorrect birthdays, etc) so I wonder about the research. However, as a story it is very enlightening and quite believable. What a shame that Nannerl was never given her due as a musician.
As a child prodigy, Mozart often performed duets with his sister. What happened to her? Charbonnier offers a fictionalized life of Nannerl Mozart, based on the bare-bones facts of Nannerl's upbringing, loves, and marriage and seasoned with a colorful view of what it meant to be a woman in 18th-century Europe. As a character, she may not always have been likable, but one can still sympathize with her trials and reactions.
The only thing that really bothered me was the use of common slang and expressions. Nannerl's mother says "Holy shit!" on several occasions, and at one point Nannerl tells her brother to "get lost." It finally dawned on me that this might be a freak of the translation, rather than the author's intentions.
It's a fascinating story. Perhaps the translation from Italian lost a little effectiveness for me. Understanding the time frames a little better would have helped. A couple of scenes that are inappropriate, but easily skipped. I want to read more about Nannerl.
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"Charbonnier’s dialogue in this debut novel is lively, while her narrative voice is wonderfully droll at times, moving at others. Her characters, ranging from a baron who spouts bad poetry to the mercurial Mozart, are vivid..."
Historical Novel Society Reviews
"Combining an extraordinary capacity for psychological acuteness and a passion for music, in this excellent ...more
More about Rita Charbonnier...
Historical Novel Society Reviews
"Combining an extraordinary capacity for psychological acuteness and a passion for music, in this excellent ...more
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