Orfe

by Cynthia Voigt

In a story derived from ancient Greek myth, Enny recounts the story of her best friend, Orfe, a talented artist known for the beauty of her music; Orfe's romance with Yuri, a recovering drug addict; and Orfe's doomed struggle to save Yuri--and herself.

Genres: Young Adult, Fiction, Romance, Music, Fantasy, Realistic Fiction, Mythology

120 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1992

About the author

Cynthia Voigt is an American author of books for young adults dealing with various topics such as adventure, mystery, racism and child abuse.


Awards:
Angus and Sadie: the Sequoyah Book Award (given by readers in Oklahoma), 2008
The Katahdin Award, for lifetime achievement, 2003
The Anne V. Zarrow Award, for lifetime achievement, 2003
The Margaret Edwards Award, for a body of work, 1995
Jackaroo: Rattenfanger-Literatur Preis (ratcatcher prize, awarded by the town of Hamlin in Germany), 1990
Izzy, Willy-Nilly: the Young Reader Award (California), 1990
The Runner: Deutscher Jungenliteraturpreis (German young people's literature prize), 1988
Zilverengriffel (Silver Pen, a Dutch prize), 1988
Come a Stranger: the Judy Lopez Medal (given by readers in California), 1987
A Solitary Blue: a Newbery Honor Book, 1984
The Callender Papers: The Edgar (given by the Mystery Writers of America), 1984
Dicey's Song: the Newbery Medal, 1983

Reviews

[Ava · Rating 4 out of 5]

reading this was like listening to music

[Rachel Triska · Rating 1 out of 5]

Bizarre and disgusting. I don't know WHAT this book was trying to say- but it definitely did not get the message across. Yes it was beautifully written- but it also made me question the state of the author's mental health.

[Hena · Rating 5 out of 5]

Orfe is beautiful.

[SBC · Rating 1 out of 5]

Well, I hated this. For me, it was a horribly twisted look at life, accentuated by the way the story was fragmented, told out of order.

Enny, the storyteller, used to cry when the boys at school hassled her about news headlines. Later when she meets friend Orfe again, a musician, Orfe deliberately vomits on stage to a song about the same thing, called 'it makes me sick.' Then Orfe has this 'amazing' love with ex-addict Yuri, whom Enny loves, Orfe gets a band together, Orfe marries Yuri, and at their wedding dance the old street gang come and give him dope cake and he goes away and never comes back because life hurts too bad to be sober in and because he failed her once and is too scared to take a second chance in case he does it again. Orfe gets killed on stage but the band makes it big, Yuri lives off her money and Enny settles down and has a normal life.

I didn't like the attitudes of the people, their way of talking, and making too much of insignificant details like the golden ball in the princess and the frog and so on. Not to my taste.

[Adrienne · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read most of it while teaching lab. Well, mostly while students worked and had no questions. If someone had 2-3 hours free, this is a super easy book to read.

I read a few of Cynthia Voigt's novels when I was a teenager, specifically Izzy and some of the Tillerman Series. I know I would have absolutely loved this book when I was a teen. I probably just missed it at this did come out when I was in high school. I probably would not have gotten the Greek mythology references at that time, though. As an adult, I find Voigt's writing style mildly irritating and the angst can be a bit much. I don't know if today's teens will even love it the way I would have due to the difference in teen culture from 1992 and today. I don't think long-haired skinny guys are appealing anymore, although I could be wrong, not having a teenager (at the time I wrote this review in 2004) and not being one myself.

[Julie Nichol · Rating 1 out of 5]

What a depressing book. I suppose that I should have guessed that it would be depressing when I saw that it was based off of Orpheus, but wow. This was a real downer. I have never liked the original myth, and this was taking it from bad to worse.

[Liz Norwood · Rating 4 out of 5]

I feel as though if you don't know the tale of Orpheus and euridicie you will not understand that this book draws from that Greek tragedy. It's not ment to have a happy ending. I like the modern take on the tale it's a simple read.

[Bridget · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thanks for furthering my lifelong obsession with Greek mythology by making it extra sexy and dangerous.

[Abraham Alvarez · Rating 3 out of 5]

Orfe


I recently read Orfe by Cynthia Voigt. The main characters are Orfe and Yuri and Enny. As Orfe’s business manager, Enny sees Orfe and her band, three Graces, arrive at the brink of success and watches Orfe's dangerous obsession with Yuri. The Conflict is Yuri, with his black, tightly curled hair that hangs like the tendrils of grape vines. Yuri, with his dark eyes that look right into yours as if he doesn’t want to miss anything about you. Yuri, with problem that may be deeper and stronger than the love he and Orfe share. Orfe’s music has always been her salvation, but it may not be enough to save Yuri. And without Yuri, what will become of Orfe herself.

My favorite part of the book is when she said “ Sometimes I would cry and go crazy, and sometimes I would not chiry and go crazy. But every time I would try to club him a good one on the hands or head, ears or elbows, anywhere it would hurt.” I would recommend this book to others because this novel have fashioned with imagination and skill and it’s a love story and a powerful novel.

[Laura Beth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Re-read from a favorite author of my teenage years. Didn't have the same magic :( but I can see how I would have enjoyed it as a 15 year old!

[Jenni Noordhoek · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't think I would like Orfe as much as I did. It had gross moments. The characters weren't perfect. But they were real, raw characters who had love and hope and sorrow. And it felt very right to genderbend Orpheus & Eurydice set approximately in the 1970's with rock bands and drug houses.

It talked about music and Art, love and choice, beauty and horror - the role of the Artist and music that burns the soul.

While I still prefer the Eurydice-centric play (titled, naturally, Euridyce) by Sarah Ruhl as the best adaptation I've read of the myth, this book was pretty amazing.

(Also Neil Gaiman did an interesting job with Orpheus & Eurydice in Sandman, for the curious)

[Lynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is really a young adult novel, but it's one of the few books I can't bear to part with. The first time I started it (around the age of 13), I found it too unsettling, but something later brought me back. It's a modern-day recasting of the tragic Orpheus myth (with the genders of the 2 central characters reversed). Brief, angular, and somewhat disturbing, I still find this book hauntingly beautiful, for all its superficial ugliness. Love it or hate it--I doubt many people fall between these extremes--it's a book whose images stay in your mind.

[Sarah Sammis · Rating 4 out of 5]

The connection with the Orpheus myth and the story of Orfe seemed forced and made for an awkwardly told story. A much better interpretation is the Brazilian film Black Orpheus which has a much richer characterization. In the film I actually cared what happened to Orfeo but Orfe and Yuri are such poorly constructed, enigmatic characters that when they meet with their fated tragedies, I didn't care. I was just relieved that the book was over.

[Melinda · Rating 2 out of 5]

I came across this book and thought i would give it a read.

I wasn't a huge fan of this book. It felt too disjointed and I really didn't connect with the characters much. Most of focus was spent on Orfe, not much is on Enny, who narrates the story.

While it does dive into the nitty and gritty bites of those trying to reach stardom, during that time period, it doesn't quite dive too deeply into the drugs aspect (I felt Yuri's problem was only touched upon briefly and lightly).

[Josephine (biblioseph) · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don't remember a great deal of the middle of this book. But her ability to throw up on cue and the random end of this book have stuck with me. Mostly disatisfied with it, I have a weirdly nostalgic feeling for how sad it was.

[Payton · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very interesting book to be sure. It brings the classic myth of Orpheus into a new light, a new time, a new place; and it does so in a way that gives this story its own identity without ever letting go of its origins. Wonderfully fluid and thoughtful.

[Jenny]

I first read this book many years ago, and was curious to see if it still stood the test. It did. Powerfully so. A superbly-written, deeply moving take on the Orpheus and Eurydice myth. Highly recommended.

[Stacie · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is plainly the best book in this section... damn it ppl read this book!!

[Jess · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting, but I didn't like it as much as her other books, not even close in fact.

[Famousfae · Rating 3 out of 5]

Strange, disjointed but also somewhat touching. Has some foul language. Can be read in a few hours.

[rr]

I've read Orfe a number of times since its publication in the mid-1990s, and every time I do, I notice something new. It's one of my favorite renditions of ancient myth for a young audience.

[Jeanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I remember reading this as a teenager and loving it.
I see it's flaws now but it's still a beautiful, disturbing story that I'd recommend my teenage self to read.

[Lunaredhell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Il libro della mia infanzia. Ancora adesso mi prende da paura!