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Mozart's Sister
by Rita Charbonnier

Publisher: Crown
Publication date: 10/09/2007.
Historical Fiction, 336 pp.

Number of reader reviews: 31
Readers' Consensus: 4.0
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First Impressions: Page 3 of 5
Rated 4 of 5 of 5 by Glenn (Las Vegas NV)

Great Read!
For anyone with an interest in music, history or just a touching story about family, desire, opportunities lost, opportunities gained. A wonderful book that expertly blends fact and fiction to provide a window into an historic family and to create characters that linger long after the final page is read.

Rated 4 of 5 of 5 by Peggy (Long Beach CA)

Mozart Sonata
Mozart's sister, Nannerl, was a very talented musician in her own right. If there had been no Mozart could this woman have taken his place?

The talent was there but females had one role in that time and it wasn't composing music, writing operas and such. All the advantages that Nannerl had before her brother's birth were lost the moment he showed his talent.

Charbonnier tempts us with love letters to start off and from there on this is a tale of passion, love, music, resentment, ambition and ego. Nannerl's love for her brother warred with her desire to have what he had.

She may have stepped back for her brother but I doubt she ever accepted fully the role she was cast in. Yet what a life it must have been and what dreams she had despite everything.

Written as fiction it incorporates real characters, real events and filling in between the lines of Nannerl's life to pose how it all might have been.

If you think you know Mozart's life, you haven't met his sister and heard her side of the story. This is a very bittersweet tale and well worth the read.

Rated 4 of 5 of 5 by Michelle (Wilton CT)

Fictionalized History
I was hooked on this story from the start. One of my favorite types of books are the ones that tell history in story format so you really enjoy learning about the past. This story was not a disappointment. I got a very good sense of Mozart's childhood and enjoyed learning a bit about his family life. His sister was a very stong character in her own right and the mix of fantasy & fiction kept me interested till the very end!

Rated 4 of 5 of 5 by Barbara (Kalamazoo MI)

Mozart's Sister
Once I got past being annoyed that Nannerl's talent was stifled so that she could support her brother, I enjoyed this book. The writing is engaging and this was an "easy" read in that the reader really wanted to continue! I love historical fiction and getting a different perspective on historical figures is fun.

Rated 4 of 5 of 5 by Trish (Hubbard OR)

Mozart's Sister
The sacrifices Nanearl makes to insure Mozart's career were devastating, but seeing Nanearl rise above and be happy was satisfying.

Rated 3 of 5 of 5 by Betsey (Austin TX)

Poetic with lush, musical imagery but at times too melodramtaic
The story of Nannerl Mozart, Wolfgang's sister, is told in a combination of epistolary and narrative form. It is an historical fiction of a woman with an independent mind and spirit attempting to fit in with the 18th century expectations of womanhood--the story of an anachronistic prodigy that must subvert her musical talent to those of her brother's. The epistolary parts are more lyrical, poetic, and nuanced. They were more immediately felt and fresh sounding than the overwrought narrative, which repeatedly advises us that Nannerl's chauvinistic father was very controlling and that she must sacrifice her musical ambition to promote and help fund Wolfgang's career. The tale is melodramatic, dearly earnest, with many exclamatory sentences and too much emotional repetitiveness. I would have preferred that the author flesh out more of the characters in Nannerl's life and give them more independent vitality than wield them as vehicles of Nannerl's plight. The story lacks emotional tension because emotions are overbaked. When the author does modulate her prose and gives more grace to her narrative (in Nannerl's letters), I feel more fully engaged in the story. Overall, it was moderately enjoyable, but the fervid doggedness feels intermittently stale and devotional.

Rated 3 of 5 of 5 by Susan (Rutledge MO)

Not for language aficianados
I had trouble getting over (what I took to be) translation issues. Much of the language felt stilted, and I often found myself stuck on a particular word or phrase, wondering what on earth the original might have been. This did not improve the already uneven flow of the narrative. I also found the plot too melodramatic, and several of the characters too unidimensional for my taste. In its favor, there were some descriptive passages and scenes that were really lovely, and I enjoyed learning more about the historical era of the book.

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