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by Pierre la Mure (Gönül Suveren)

"Moulin Rouge"da ressamlarla tanışmıştık. Pierre La Mure bu romanda da bizi Chopin, Mendelson, Listz, Bach gibi meşhur müzisyenlerle tanıştırıyor...
-İç Kapaktan-

Genres: Fiction, Romance, Classics

447 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 1932

About the author

Pierre La Mure (15 June 1899, Nice, Alpes-Maritimes - 1976, California) was a French author. He wrote the 1950 novel Moulin Rouge about the life of the French artist Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec. This book was the basis of the classic 1952 movie of the same name. La Mure also wrote the book Beyond Desire about the life of Cécile and Felix Mendelssohn and the biographical novel "Claire de Lune" on the life and struggles of French composer Claude Debussy, published in 1962.

Bibliography:

* John D. Rockefeller (1937)
* Gongs in the Night, Reaching the Tribes of French Indo-China (1943)
* Moulin Rouge; a novel based on the life of Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (American edition 1950)
* Beyond Desire: A Novel Based on the Life of Felix and Cécile Mendelssohn (1955), ISBN 0871402068
* Clair de lune,: A novel about Claude Debussy (1962)
* The private life of Mona Lisa (1975), ISBN 0316513008

Reviews

[Sophia T · Rating 4 out of 5]

Berührende (nicht ganz auf historischen Fakten beruhende) Lebensgeschichte von Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy und insbesondere seiner Liebe und seinem Kampf für die Anerkennung von Johann Sebastian Bach. Für Musikinteressierte sehr spannend!

[Dustincecil · Rating 4 out of 5]

my 2nd fav. of S.A. so far after Winesburg OH.

a nice coming of age/coming to enlightenment story from a few points of view.

recommend to anyone whose ever been dazzled in a textile mill.

pretty racy sex stuff too.

[Alonzo Church · Rating 3 out of 5]

If this were just about a fictional composer back in the day, reviving the work of another composer, and said fictional character's trials and tribulations, I would rate this book higher. It is a good beach kind of read -- very fluid prose, nothing in the plotting that causes one to shout wtf-- a decent amount of characterization and an attempt to get into the head of a musical genius living a bourgeois life. (Well, he does have the fling with a hot blooded opera singer, but this guy is the ultimate anti-Bohemian).

Instead, though, this purports to be a fictional novel about Felix Mendelssohn, and his obsession to bring the works of JS Bach to life before the headaches that plague him finally kill him. Now I don't know whether there is an official rule book for biographical novels, but I do expect them to get the majority of the ascertainable facts right. This one does not -- Mendelssohn did his restoration work on Bach at the beginning of his career, not the end. And this basic historical inaccuracy makes it impossible to accept the rest of the fiction being dispensed. I mean, it gives some comfort to read that "Mendelssohn", like many a 50s middle class man, has a wife that does not understand him, and is forced to seek love from a gorgeous scandalous opera singer, but, it is profoundly annoying that the big, big drama of the book's final act is just a set of cliches disgorged from the imagination of the author. One suspects that the memory of Frau Mendelssohn is being sadly abused, as she is cast as a timid hausfrau, who afflicts the mental well being of our composer with a mission with her desire to avoid trouble and be socially accepted.

[Labookica · Rating 5 out of 5]

Taman kad sam pomislila da mi se najbolje La Mirovo djelo vec desilo, AVAJ! La Mir ima tu neku pripovjedacku notu koja tako podsjeca na klasike engleske knjizevnosti, tako da uspijeva da uljuljka i zaintrigira citaoca. Plejada velikih imena od kojih mi srce zaigra svaki put pocevsi od Sopena, preko Baha, Sumana do Mendelsona. Imena koja su od klasicne muzike napravile ono sto ona danas jeste: Uzvisen i nedodirljiv odraz ljudske stvaralacke moci. (Nadam se da se Vivaldi megdje gore ne mrsti, jer ne bi skodilo da smo negdje i na njega naisli). Prica o tome kako su umjetnost i divljenje odnijeli pobjedu nad antisemitizmom, nasiljem i malogradjanstinom. Koliko covjek moze da bude veliki u svom pokajanju onda kada je on iskreno do najdubljih temelja i koliko necije ludilo moze da odnese zrtava sa sobom jer nisu u pitanju boginje i nije tako lako uocljivo. I ta neshvatljiva cinjenica da covjek moze da voli dvije zene razlicitim vrstama ljubavi koje pokrecu razliciti motivi i uz koju ostati jer samo jedna ljubav hrani, miluje i podrzava i ide rame uz rame kroz sve oluje i ratove dok god se oni odigravaju vani, a ne u nama. Sve u svemu: L'art pour l'art.

[Marija · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this was a true story, and I am hugely disappointed by how little this book has to do with Mendelssohn's life. I am giving it four stars because it is well-written, but it is so annoying to know that the author falsified history.

[Nil · Rating 5 out of 5]

I learned a lot about this musician and I loved it ♥️
Maybe it was a bit poor written but the wholesome was fabulous

[Rosemary · Rating 2 out of 5]

This historical fiction was on the life of Felix Mendolsson. I am a huge fan of his music, especially his violin concerto (which happens to be my favorite violin concerto) and his choral piece, "A Star Shall Rise Up Out Of Jacob," from Christus, his unfinished oratorio.

The known facts do not match up with this book. I also was hoping to learn at what ages he wrote some of my favs of his and what life situations led to each piece, and whether a work was commissioned or inspired. I also really had hoped to learn more of the other composers he knew well, such as Chopin, Liszt, etc. This book, unfortunatly reads more like a romance novel and I prefer documented information.

[Cindy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fictionalized biography of Felix Mendelssohn (composer of that staple "Wedding Music" from his A Midsummer's Night Dream suite and the tune to the Xmas staple Hark the Herald Angel Sings) and his "discovery" of Bach's St. Matthew Passion. Writing itself rather mundane. Meandering start, though final third picked up. Decent tribute to music and JSB, but definitely historical FICTION - the timeline of the events in the story certainly don't hold up well at all to the known events of Mendelssohn's life.

[Sleepless G · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this as a child and I have let 2 other special people read it. I actually have 2 very old bound copies. When I first read it, I remember it being so strong. I mean love for a woman and for music so strong it transforms you. I have always wanted to feel what was portrayed in this book. I am waiting for a special time in my life to read it once again to see if it still has a profound affect on me. I am advocating my acquaintances to request it on the Kindle, then I think I will read it once again.

[Tom Gass]

Anderson has kind of been forgotten. He writes in a simple style that belies the fact he is telling good stories. Can't believe this book is out of print. My only copy is in pieces. I like the way he tells how his characters think. It gave me a better idea of what it was like to live in a rural place before the turn of the century. You find out what they did before they had cars. You find out what the roads were like. What you felt like to be a part of a small town.

[Tijana]

Alnari. Pierre La Mure