"I fell in love with him when I heard him sing." That's what Andrea Bocelli's wife, Enrica, later said of the night they met. It appears that millions of people all over the world are saying the same thing.
Andrea Bocelli: A Celebration, by Antonia Felix, tells in captivating words and stunning photographs, of Bocelli's life-from his youth in idyllic Tuscany, through his roundabout route to phenomenal international success and popularity in both opera and pop music, to his hopes and ambitions for the future.
Andrea is the product of a loving and supportive family and community; to all appearances, he is carrying this thread into the next generation, as we see him now a devoted family man. For most, these two-successful career and happy family-would be evidence enough of a life well lived. But this man does much more. He trains and rides horses, skis, cycles, plays four musical instruments, speaks and sings in several languages, donates his time to charitable causes, and is academically trained as a lawyer.
The editorial review says, "(t)he tone throughout is...that of a glowing admiration for (the) subject" and that Ms. Felix "passes blithely over negative press accounts and the substance of their criticisms." Fair enough. Yet, why would one write a 215-page book about a living individual if one were not already an unapologetic admirer of her subject? For that matter, why else would anyone read such a book? This reader pleads guilty.
Edi Bocelli, Andrea's mother, tells with admirable stoicism how she supported him through his loss of sight-gradual at first, then sudden and final. She wanted him to be "a man, not a handicapped person." For those of us who never would have seen Andrea as handicapped, but simply accepted his blindness as part of the incredible package that this man is, it might prove saddening to read about the difficulties he endured as a child because of his eye problems. Yet, this, too, is undoubtedly part of the package; part of what makes Andrea who and what he is.
Andrea Bocelli is an example and an inspiration for all of us-those who sing, and those who don't; those who see, and those who don't; those who are fans, and those-if such a person still exists in civilized society-who aren't.
Another reader-reviewer has written that the book contains "very little information that has not already appeared in liner notes, journal/newspaper articles and been published on several websites." Perhaps not. But then, none of those will look as nice on your coffee table as Andrea Bocelli: A Celebration. I recommend it.