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Elegy For a Soprano by Kay Nolte Smith
When famed diva Vardis Wolf is poisoned, four of her closest friends make bizarre confessions, and Dinah Mitchell starts on an investigation of her mother's death--and life
- GenresFiction
Hardcover
First published August 12, 1985
21 people want to read
About the author
Kay Nolte Smith
35 books15 followersKay Nolte Smith (July 4, 1932 – September 25, 1993) was an American writer. She was for a time friendly with the philosopher-novelist Ayn Rand, who was her leading literary and philosophical influence.
Smith was born in Eveleth, Minnesota and grew up in Baraboo, Wisconsin. Smith launched her literary career after her separation from the Ayn Rand circle. Her first novel was the mystery story The Watcher. Smith's Catching Fire is set in the world of the New York theater, with an anti-trade union political stance. Mindspell centres on the conflict between science versus religion, with Nolte Smith stating this fiction was written "to challenge strongly the belief in the occult".[4] Her novel Elegy for a Soprano is a roman a clef inspired by Rand, Nathaniel Branden, and the circle around them. Elegy for a Soprano also portrays the life of Jewish Holocaust survivors from Czechoslovakia and Norway. Two of her novels — Elegy for a Soprano and A Tale of the Wind — were nominated for Prometheus Awards in 1986 and 1992, respectively.
She published seven novels before her death from cancer at age 61.
(Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kay_Nol..., accessed May 25, 2012)
Smith was born in Eveleth, Minnesota and grew up in Baraboo, Wisconsin. Smith launched her literary career after her separation from the Ayn Rand circle. Her first novel was the mystery story The Watcher. Smith's Catching Fire is set in the world of the New York theater, with an anti-trade union political stance. Mindspell centres on the conflict between science versus religion, with Nolte Smith stating this fiction was written "to challenge strongly the belief in the occult".[4] Her novel Elegy for a Soprano is a roman a clef inspired by Rand, Nathaniel Branden, and the circle around them. Elegy for a Soprano also portrays the life of Jewish Holocaust survivors from Czechoslovakia and Norway. Two of her novels — Elegy for a Soprano and A Tale of the Wind — were nominated for Prometheus Awards in 1986 and 1992, respectively.
She published seven novels before her death from cancer at age 61.
(Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kay_Nol..., accessed May 25, 2012)
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
September 15, 2015
Very powerful, intriguing and well written.
The author has a very enjoyable and descriptive style of writing. She draws characters that are quite unique and engaging. I had a tough time putting this book down and finished it in just over a week, which is pretty fast for me.
Some examples of descriptive text that I found pretty compelling: p. 245: "Hannah began to make choking, retching sounds, as if she were being pulled inside out through her throat." Graphic enough for you?
p. 249 "and the silence, as heavy and putrid as the blanket shoved in your mouth."
I was not particularly interested in the description of the story from the jacket cover, but once I got into the actual book, I was totally hooked. After 50-60 pages, I had started taking notes on specific descriptions of a particular author I am greatly familiar with, who seemed to be the main object of portrayal, notwithstanding the the different professions of the two.
The values of the main positive and negative characters are very strong, important and key to the story.
The WWII historical references and how most of the characters are drawn because of what happened in WWII were another aspect of the story that drew me in and kept me.
Another great book by Kay Nolte Smith!
The author has a very enjoyable and descriptive style of writing. She draws characters that are quite unique and engaging. I had a tough time putting this book down and finished it in just over a week, which is pretty fast for me.
Some examples of descriptive text that I found pretty compelling: p. 245: "Hannah began to make choking, retching sounds, as if she were being pulled inside out through her throat." Graphic enough for you?
p. 249 "and the silence, as heavy and putrid as the blanket shoved in your mouth."
I was not particularly interested in the description of the story from the jacket cover, but once I got into the actual book, I was totally hooked. After 50-60 pages, I had started taking notes on specific descriptions of a particular author I am greatly familiar with, who seemed to be the main object of portrayal, notwithstanding the the different professions of the two.
The values of the main positive and negative characters are very strong, important and key to the story.
The WWII historical references and how most of the characters are drawn because of what happened in WWII were another aspect of the story that drew me in and kept me.
Another great book by Kay Nolte Smith!
July 26, 2011
This book really speaks to me, because I think it asks questions that are so close to the author's own experience. The novel is a mystery involving Vardis Wolf, an opera singer whose career, repertoire and voice is closely modeled on that of Maria Callas. As a fan of Callas and opera the glimpses of that world in the book itself holds some fascination--but there's another ghost in between the lines of this book--Ayn Rand.
Kay Nolte Smith was once part of the inner circle hovering about Ayn Rand. This was a woman whose values and artistry she deeply admired, and if you know much about Rand's beliefs, you can see her continuing influence in the writing and themes and worldview of the book. But Rand was also someone it was destructive to get close to, someone who espoused liberty and individualism who nevertheless carried on something close to a cult from which ranks Smith found herself expelled from. It's impossible for me not to see the parallels in this novel, in which Smith examines artistry and genius and admiration and the contradictions and complexities and dynamics in such a figure and her followers.
It's also a solid mystery in a classic whodunit sense. Well-written, in a less baroque style that her later books. Years later I still remember a powerful image in the book, of a baby thrown in the garbage with eggshells in her hair. And it does something in the end I quite admire in terms of being honest about consequences to her characters.
Kay Nolte Smith was once part of the inner circle hovering about Ayn Rand. This was a woman whose values and artistry she deeply admired, and if you know much about Rand's beliefs, you can see her continuing influence in the writing and themes and worldview of the book. But Rand was also someone it was destructive to get close to, someone who espoused liberty and individualism who nevertheless carried on something close to a cult from which ranks Smith found herself expelled from. It's impossible for me not to see the parallels in this novel, in which Smith examines artistry and genius and admiration and the contradictions and complexities and dynamics in such a figure and her followers.
It's also a solid mystery in a classic whodunit sense. Well-written, in a less baroque style that her later books. Years later I still remember a powerful image in the book, of a baby thrown in the garbage with eggshells in her hair. And it does something in the end I quite admire in terms of being honest about consequences to her characters.
March 12, 2023
One of the better mysteries I've read in a long time. Deals with questions of morality and loyalty and what we owe to those who have saved us. Would be a good choice for a book club discussion.
June 19, 2025
This book is my first novel by Smith. It is a touching story of the horrors of war and promises kept, even to the detriment of those involved.
May 31, 2016
This novel is difficult for me to evaluate. It is an impeccably-written work of romantic realism, which is something this culture desperately needed (and needs even more, now). Kay Nolte Smith wrote stylishly, with a knack for the descriptive phrase, simile, and metaphor. She plotted brilliantly. Readers would devour this novel if only they would discover it. However, the idea that an opera singer (as opposed to a more creative artist or a thinker) would inspire the kind of intellectual and spiritual devotion that Smith's fictitious creation does is a bit far-fetched. The theme is a bit understated and difficult to fully understand, and is tinctured with epistemological and moral agnosticism. Finally, the publication of this novel three years after the death of the woman who obviously inspired it is a bit suspect (even if it is coincidence and Smith would have published it while the woman was alive). I'd give it three-and-a-half stars if I could. Reading and thinking about this novel and its themes has been a unique experience. I thank the inestimable and inimitable Steven Schub for giving it to me.
to-assess
May 25, 2012http://ffrf.org/day/view/07/04/#smith (Red flag: previously had been a long time libertarian https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kay_Nol...)
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews