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emtees's review
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Cry to Heaven is the second of Anne Rice’s purely historical, no-fantasy-elements, books. I had already read Feast of All Saints, which surprised me by being fairly restrained and not feeling very much like Rice’s style. This one is… not that.
Cry to Heaven is about two Italian castrati, members of a unique class in European history, boys who were castrated as children so their voices would never change and they would remain sopranos into adulthood. Guido Maffeo is typical of the castrati: born to poverty and sold to a conservatory by his parents, he was castrated very young and raised entirely in a world of musicians, with his sole goal in life to someday be an opera singer. Tragically, though, Guido is one of the few castrati whose voice does change, leaving him stuck without the one thing that is supposed to make what happened to him worth it. He turns to composition in the hopes that it will give him the artistic immortality he craves. Meanwhile, Tonio Treschi is something very different: the son and heir of a Venetian patrician, Tonio is castrated by his brother in an attempt to steal his inheritance. Banished from Venice and the life he thought he would have, Tonio is torn between the desire for revenge and his own love of music, and the possibility of a new and very different life.
The amount of historical detail in this book, especially when it comes to the opera, is amazing, and creates a rich, sensual, almost overwhelming story. There are so many scenes of festivals, church services, theatrical performances, balls, etc. The intricacies of how the world of the opera worked are really fascinating. And Rice manages the trick of historical fiction in making the characters feel very real and relatable while also making them very much of their own times.
The character development is the real focus of this book, especially when it comes to Tonio’s character. Having been ripped out of one world and forced into another, Tonio is a character with a lot of conflict and angst, most of it around his gender, sexuality, and struggle to define what it is to be a “man.” Gender themes are huge in this book, and while they don’t really play out the way a modern reader might expect, they are well handled and interesting. Love is also a major theme, in all forms. Tonio and Guido both have multiple lovers, and the book in general seems to argue for a free, open, polyamorous but always loving and respectful view of sexuality that is very appealing, if occasionally works out a little too easily. There is a lot of sex, some of which is well written and some of which is… odd. It can occasionally become distracting from the story. The book is at all times extremely dramatic. These characters all have big feelings, about everything. The best parts come when those feelings are about music; Rice’s own love for this music comes through strongly.
Cry to Heaven is about two Italian castrati, members of a unique class in European history, boys who were castrated as children so their voices would never change and they would remain sopranos into adulthood. Guido Maffeo is typical of the castrati: born to poverty and sold to a conservatory by his parents, he was castrated very young and raised entirely in a world of musicians, with his sole goal in life to someday be an opera singer. Tragically, though, Guido is one of the few castrati whose voice does change, leaving him stuck without the one thing that is supposed to make what happened to him worth it. He turns to composition in the hopes that it will give him the artistic immortality he craves. Meanwhile, Tonio Treschi is something very different: the son and heir of a Venetian patrician, Tonio is castrated by his brother in an attempt to steal his inheritance. Banished from Venice and the life he thought he would have, Tonio is torn between the desire for revenge and his own love of music, and the possibility of a new and very different life.
The amount of historical detail in this book, especially when it comes to the opera, is amazing, and creates a rich, sensual, almost overwhelming story. There are so many scenes of festivals, church services, theatrical performances, balls, etc. The intricacies of how the world of the opera worked are really fascinating. And Rice manages the trick of historical fiction in making the characters feel very real and relatable while also making them very much of their own times.
The character development is the real focus of this book, especially when it comes to Tonio’s character. Having been ripped out of one world and forced into another, Tonio is a character with a lot of conflict and angst, most of it around his gender, sexuality, and struggle to define what it is to be a “man.” Gender themes are huge in this book, and while they don’t really play out the way a modern reader might expect, they are well handled and interesting. Love is also a major theme, in all forms. Tonio and Guido both have multiple lovers, and the book in general seems to argue for a free, open, polyamorous but always loving and respectful view of sexuality that is very appealing, if occasionally works out a little too easily. There is a lot of sex, some of which is well written and some of which is… odd. It can occasionally become distracting from the story. The book is at all times extremely dramatic. These characters all have big feelings, about everything. The best parts come when those feelings are about music; Rice’s own love for this music comes through strongly.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Child abuse, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Homophobia and Suicide attempt
The castration of children is a major storyline in the book, and one such scene happens on page and somewhat graphically. There are several (failed) suicide attempts by main characters. Main characters struggle with internalized homophobia. A major relationship is between an adult and a teenager, and this is portrayed as positive and healthy. A minor character is an serious alcoholic. There are some scenes of child abuse.