Maurine F. Dahlberg
Autor von Play to the Angel
Werke von Maurine F. Dahlberg
Getagged
Wissenswertes
- Geburtstag
- 1951-04-07
- Geschlecht
- female
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- Werke
- 6
- Mitglieder
- 338
- Beliebtheit
- #70,454
- Bewertung
- 4.0
- Rezensionen
- 8
- ISBNs
- 11
- Sprachen
- 1
I would have rated this book 4.5 stars if not for two mild things that detracted from my enjoyment--concerns orminor content. As is, it's a solid 4 stars for me.
Reading this book gives me a fabulous outline of the events of the Anschluss of Austria in 1938-39, well providing a compelling story to allow the reader to connect with history. The back. Such a good job showing what life was like in Vienna before and after the Nazi conquest, in a way that makes me feel like I am experiencing it alone with the characters, with all my senses.
Greta is a wonderful protagonist. She shines brightly and makes the book as good as it is. I love her gentleness, determination, and spunk, even as I relate to her insecurity. I adore her love of music, and it saturates every aspect of her being, in such a beautiful, real, and natural way. Her artistic view of the world influences her music, and her music influences the way she goes about life and sees the world.
I love Greta's mentor, as well, and her memories of her brother. And her mother was such a lifelike and well-developed character, as were all the others. The relationships of the book were fascinating and realistic, especially the one at the center of the book--Greta's relationship with her mother.
Greta has such a vivid voice in her first-person narration--the author is one who perfectly captures the unique protagonist, with a distinct voice for each one. Greta has a beautiful, musical way of seeing and describing the world. The word pictures and writing style were gorgeous and delicate, crisp and clear, penetrating and powerful. I swear I physically felt a painful pit in my stomach during Greta's most anxious moment before the recital she dreamed of for so long--the writing was so vivid yet understated. Maybe it reminded me of my own nervousness before so many musical performances! Throughout the book, Greta's thoughts and feelings felt real, natural, and easy to connect with. The author did a fabulous job of portraying her deep grief in a powerful yet understated way, which I really appreciated.
I really appreciated the accurate, sensitive, and enlightening portrayal of one characters severe illness and lifelong disability--as well as the protagonist's thoughts and feelings.
There were two minor instances of content or concerns that detracted slightly from my enjoyment of the book. Nothing too serious, but I could have done without them.
The first was that in one paragraph, Greta realizes that she might have a crush on her professor and piano teacher, an older man several decides her senior--though she specified that it was not the kind of crush the other girls seem to have when giggling about boys. I don't blame her for feeling admiration and affection toward her mentor, but a crush crosses the line of what I'm comfortable with. That bit of weirdness made me uncomfortable for much of the book, even though it was only explicitly stated on one page. However, there is absolutely no weirdness coming from the professor's end, and it was only Greta who saw the relationship in that way--so it was only a little uncomfortable for me. But still, it felt wrong and weird to me, in a bad way. And it detracted from my enjoyment.
The second of my concerns was something that didn't bother me for myself, but which would keep me from giving this book to a middle-school-aged boy, and even some teenagers.
This is the second book I have read by this author, after Escape to West Berlin, and both are wonderful. I plan to read more books by the author if I can find them.
I highly recommend Play to the Angel to anyone who enjoys World War II or quality juvenile fiction historical novels.… (mehr)