- Paperback: 10 pages
- Publisher: Vintage Books; 1st Vintage Books Ed edition (Aug 1993)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 067974181X
- ISBN-13: 978-0679741817
- Product Dimensions: 14 x 1.9 x 21.6 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 3,530,473 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Description
Product Description
A saga of a magnificent violin, Antonietta, named after a beautiful woman who was the inspiration of Antonio Stradivari's later years. As Hersey brings Mozart, Berlioz, and Stravinsky to life, he offers us a marvelous celebration of the changing character and eternal art and power of music.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
John Hersey shines in Antonietta. He shows us he is both a creative genius and a skilled writer. Each section is poetic as he leads us through the life of a violin. It seems odd that the most romantic book I have ever read turns out to be a book about a violin. This violin is the epitomy of love and adoration. It is unique and sexual, and capable of inspiring a love so powerful that its fingers reach outstretched towards the souls of various generations. Hersey starts with the tale of a widowed man intent on making violins as best as he possibly can. The saga begins when he sees a widowed woman he must marry. He begins on a new violin, and carves a Cupid on it, which marks it in the coming years. When he hears that he has been refused her hand in marriage, he is angered and his hand slips, flawing the violin. Later, he beckons her, showing her the violin he has made from her inspiration although it is still unfinished. The violin is capable of a sound unlike any other, and in the years to come it changes hands and players, each with their own story, each with their own passion. This novel is worth reading, and tells a tale that will deepen one's love for love as well as deepen one's love for music. It appeals to any age, because the story is so universal. I truly recommend it. It brings with it the conciseness of Hersey's Hiroshima along with the undeniable eloquence of Mozart's pieces.
0 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Hersey has written many outstanding works, from White Lotus to A Bell for Adano. This work, while still displaying his talent for putting words on a page that can engross and involve the reader, is, unfortunately, not one of his best.
The work is structured around the conceit of following the happenings of a single violin from its conception and construction by Stradivari through various owners right through to modern times. The first section, with its strong characterization of Stradivari himself and his two sons, and detailing the loving care with which the violin was put together, is perhaps the best, as it does seem to capture the magical feelings that a superb instrument in the hands of a master can invoke in all within hearing range.
But after this first section, Hersey seems to lose his way. Each section is composed in a different style of presentation, from a dialog of letters between Mozart and his acquaintances, a multiple point-of-view look at Stravinsky, to a screenplay about a modern Wall Street wheeler-dealer. Clearly this was meant to be a counter-point to the many voices that the violin itself can produce, but it doesn't totally work. Perhaps this due to the fact that the people being portrayed are simply not all that likeable - this is especially true of the last section, where we are really looking at a white-collar criminal whose understanding of music is minimal. In-between each major section is an `Intermezzo', where Hersey details some of the real historical facts about his characters, along with some made-up `facts' about this particular violin. These sections are interesting and do provide some continuity, and highlight for me anyway the fact that Hersey started as a journalist and this method of detailing a story is his strongest.
This book may have been the inspiration for the movie The Red Violin, but if so, it was for the basic conceit only, as all the details of the movie are different from those of this book. In some ways, the movie is better, for the simple reason that you get to hear a real superb violin in the hands of a master. While Hersey valiantly attempts to bring that aural experience to the pages of this book, it's really an impossible task.
Reviewed by Patrick Shepherd (hyperpat)
The work is structured around the conceit of following the happenings of a single violin from its conception and construction by Stradivari through various owners right through to modern times. The first section, with its strong characterization of Stradivari himself and his two sons, and detailing the loving care with which the violin was put together, is perhaps the best, as it does seem to capture the magical feelings that a superb instrument in the hands of a master can invoke in all within hearing range.
But after this first section, Hersey seems to lose his way. Each section is composed in a different style of presentation, from a dialog of letters between Mozart and his acquaintances, a multiple point-of-view look at Stravinsky, to a screenplay about a modern Wall Street wheeler-dealer. Clearly this was meant to be a counter-point to the many voices that the violin itself can produce, but it doesn't totally work. Perhaps this due to the fact that the people being portrayed are simply not all that likeable - this is especially true of the last section, where we are really looking at a white-collar criminal whose understanding of music is minimal. In-between each major section is an `Intermezzo', where Hersey details some of the real historical facts about his characters, along with some made-up `facts' about this particular violin. These sections are interesting and do provide some continuity, and highlight for me anyway the fact that Hersey started as a journalist and this method of detailing a story is his strongest.
This book may have been the inspiration for the movie The Red Violin, but if so, it was for the basic conceit only, as all the details of the movie are different from those of this book. In some ways, the movie is better, for the simple reason that you get to hear a real superb violin in the hands of a master. While Hersey valiantly attempts to bring that aural experience to the pages of this book, it's really an impossible task.
Reviewed by Patrick Shepherd (hyperpat)
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
7 reviews
42 of 44 people found the following review helpful
TRULY DISAPPOINTING
5 April 2000
Format:Paperback
John Hersey was a wonderful author and so I really expected more from Antonietta. What began as a whimsical flight into fantasy quickly goes downhill after the first section. Unfortunately, it continued its downhill slide, with each succeeding section being a little less magical than the first. Antonio Stradivari, upon seeing the woman he instantly falls in love with and must marry, begins to create a special violin in her honor. As he works, the violin becomes infused with his emotions and thereafter, its music has the power to affect all who hear it. While Stradivari's section of the book is magic, Mozart's is less so, and Berlioz's even less. By the time we finish, Antonietta has definitely taken backstage to a string of boring, insipid and lucklustre characters with the truly deplorable Spenser Ham being, by far, the worst. And other than the first section involving Stradivari, I didn't find anything sexy or romantic about this book. I fully expected to be charmed by Antonietta and was truly disappointed instead. When one considers what a tremendous novelist Hersey was, this book becomes all the more sad. If you're looking for the first-rate reading of other Hersey novels, such as A Bell For Adano, Hiroshoma, The Wall and The White Lotus, you won't find it here.
19 of 19 people found the following review helpful
I found this book to be a major disappointment.
21 Nov 1998
Format:Paperback
I read "The Wall" a very long time ago, and recently discovered and read "White Lotus" and was absolutely bowled over by both. I was thrilled, after two such wonderful books to find "Antoinetta" and anticipated another masterpiece!
Unfortunately, I have to admit that a very rare thing happened for me....I couldn't make myself finish this book. I found the characters flat and unbelievable, the plot ridiculous and the whole thing a total bore! I grant you, this may not be a fair hearing (since I only finished about half the book) but since it isn't a very long novel, I didn't think that even if I had read to the end that there were enough pages left for the author to "redeem" the first boring half. Perhaps a glass of chardonnay, as another reviewer has suggested would have "mellowed" my feelings about this book, but I think not.
9 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Hersey is the ultimate reader's writer
19 Mar 1999
Format:Paperback
John Hersey shines in Antonietta. He shows us he is both a creative genius and a skilled writer. Each section is poetic as he leads us through the life of a violin. It seems odd that the most romantic book I have ever read turns out to be a book about a violin. This violin is the epitomy of love and adoration. It is unique and sexual, and capable of inspiring a love so powerful that its fingers reach outstretched towards the souls of various generations. Hersey starts with the tale of a widowed man intent on making violins as best as he possibly can. The saga begins when he sees a widowed woman he must marry. He begins on a new violin, and carves a Cupid on it, which marks it in the coming years. When he hears that he has been refused her hand in marriage, he is angered and his hand slips, flawing the violin. Later, he beckons her, showing her the violin he has made from her inspiration although it is still unfinished. The violin is capable of a sound unlike any other, and in the years to come it changes hands and players, each with their own story, each with their own passion. This novel is worth reading, and tells a tale that will deepen one's love for love as well as deepen one's love for music. It appeals to any age, because the story is so universal. I truly recommend it. It brings with it the conciseness of Hersey's Hiroshima along with the undeniable eloquence of Mozart's pieces.
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