Tagged: autobiography
I Never Walked Alone by Shirley Verrett
(Cover picture courtesy of AfriClassical.)
An inspiring self-portrait of a world-renowned African American vocal artist.
This is a fascinating account of a gifted woman’s coming of age and rise to success at a time when black classical musicians faced barriers at every turn. Shirley Verrett possessed a talent and ambition so dazzling she could not be denied and she became one of the most celebrated artists of her time. I Never Walked Alone draws the reader into the world of this graceful, fiery artist, dramatically telling the story of her childhood and her brilliant international career.The book is filled with behind-the-scenes tales of this diva’s great performances, roles, and collaborations, offering insight into her stormy personal relationships as well as her private struggles and critical decisions. Featuring forewords and afterwords by such figures as Luciano Pavarotti, Placido Domingo, Zubhin Mehta, and Claudio Abbado, this richly detailed book paints a vivid picture of a magnificent survivor and an indelible artist known around the world as the black Maria Callas.
Shirley Verrett (Ann Arbor, MI, and New York, NY) is currently Professor of Voice at the University of Michigan School of Music.
Christopher Brooks is a biographer and award-winning musicologist.
Okay, in all fairness this was written by both Shirley Verrett and Christopher Brooks. But I like to keep my titles relatively simple, so there.
The autobiographies of celebrities and other public figures tend to be vapid and self-aggrandizing, but Shirley Verrett’s autobiography is none of that. She freely speaks of the incidents she had with other singers where she was at fault, reflects on her rocky relationships with others at times and speaks frankly about her vocal problems in the 70s. Maybe it was just excellent editors, but Ms. Verrett strikes me as a very humble woman in her writing. She doesn’t brag and admits her ego problems when she was young; truly she sounds like she was a down-to-Earth person.
I Never Walked Alone is not just a collection of amusing incidents, but a full chronicle of her childhood and career. Ms. Verrett speaks for at least a paragraph on almost all of the productions she was in and it really gives you a great picture of such a talented woman. With an introduction by both Luciano Pavarotti and Plácido Domingo, this autobiography really is a treasure.
I don’t often read celebrity autobiographies, but I’m so glad I got my hands on one of my hero’s. Even if you don’t know much about opera, I Never Walked Alone is a fascinating read and paints a picture of the turbulent times of the civil rights movement in America.
I give this book 5/5 stars.
Look What Just Arrived! (#8)
It’s been a while since I’ve done one of these posts, but I’m still getting new books, so here are my latest books:
- Scarlet by Marissa Meyer
- 11/22/63 by Stephen King
- I Never Walked Alone by Shirley Verrett
- There Comes a Prophet by David Litwack
- Genome by Gary Alan Henson
- Arlo and Jake Enlist by Gary Alan Henson
I loved Cinder by Marissa Meyer so much that obviously I had to get Scarlet as soon as I could. I haven’t started it yet because of previous commitments (read: getting through my In Progress page), but it’s one I’m eager to start. 11/22/63 by Stephen King is a book I got ripped off at the airport for, but I suppose it was worth it. I’m nearly on page 300 and so far, so good.
I Never Walked Alone by Shirley Verrett is sentimentally and financially the most valuable book I own. Shirley Verrett was an incredibly talented woman in the opera scene who faced ridiculous amounts of discrimination in the 70s and 80s. She also is the best Tosca I’ve ever seen, which is saying a lot because Tosca is my second favourite opera. But the incredible thing about the copy I own is that it is signed with a personalized message to a man named Hal. I bought her autobiography used because it was $40 new, so I never, ever expected to get an autograph from my hero. Yet there it is, clear as day: signed and dated. There’s something incredible about holding something your hero once held that I just can’t explain.
There Comes a Prophet by David Litwack is a book I received from the author himself and so far, so good. It actually looks like a different take on fantasy, so there’s lots of promise. Both Genome and Arlo and Jake Enlist by Gary Henson are short, but look promising and I can’t wait to read them. I also received these from the author himself.
Do you guys have any books you’re really excited about? Discover any new authors? What do you consider to be your most valuable book (in terms of financial or sentimental value)?
Claudius the God by Robert Graves
(Cover picture courtesy of 10Thirty.)
Claudius has survived the murderous intrigues of his predecessors to become, reluctantly, Emperor of Rome. Here he recounts his surprisingly successful reign: how he cultivates the loyalty of the army and the common people to repair the damage caused by Caligula; his relations with the Jewish King Herod Agrippa; and his invasion of Britain. But the growing paranoia of absolute power and the infidelity of his promiscuous young wife, Messalina, mean that his good fortunate will not last for ever. In this second part of his fictionalized autobiography Claudius—wry, rueful, always inquisitive—brings to life some of the most scandalous and violent times in history.
To be perfectly honest, until I finished I, Claudius I had no idea there actually was a sequel. The first book has definitely overshadowed its own sequel, which does tend to happen to classic books. I was lucky to even find a copy in the bookstore, which I took despite absolutely hating the cover. Whoever designed it goes by the maxim ‘sex sells’, you can be sure of that. But I digress.
In some ways I enjoyed Claudius the God more than I, Claudius. One thing I really did like was that poor Claudius finally does get to be the good emperor we all know he would be. In fiction I can be a sucker for tragedy, so the inevitably of his death upped the tension for me and since Robert Graves wrote this as a memoir, we have Claudius dropping little hints about his fate. This is especially true when he talks of how much he was in love with Messalina and didn’t discover her betrayals until much, much later. Thus the subtitle “and his wife Messalina” in some editions of the book.
At the same time, I wasn’t as emotionally invested in Claudius the God as I was in the first book. Perhaps it was Claudius’ eventual change from idealist who wants to restore the Republic to cynical Emperor who does not fight fate when it comes to Nero taking the throne after him. Of course Graves had to stick to history, but I would have liked to see Claudius care a little more about what would happen after he died. His friendship with Herod Agrippa was interesting and certainly played a huge part in the story, but I also felt it got more page time than it should have. The backstory on Herod was absolutely necessary, but it did slow the action to a crawl for the first part of the book.
I had a hard time getting through parts like the Herod backstory, but Robert Graves more than made up for it in the sheer attention to detail. We learn so much about Roman life and get a sense of how the Romans really viewed the world around them, including their conquered territories and provinces. The interactions between the different power players of the day (Vitellius, Messalina, Narcissus, Agrippinilla and many more) were pretty much the best part of the book. And you can’t help but love poor Claudius, despite his flaws.
I give this book 4/5 stars.