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3.38 AVERAGE
3.38 AVERAGE
I do not know how I stumbled on this book! I can't remember if it was recommended to me or if I found it by chance through my library ebook program. It was the perfect tale at the perfect time, I needed some escapism fiction and this book based loosely on Beethoven's dedication of his sonata to someone he loved created a great starting place for a great story.
Not as interesting as one would hope. I love Beethoven’s music, historical fiction and a bit of occasional light romance within a good plot so this was a surprising fail. Beethoven was made into a very unlikeable character. He throws things against the walls, is “ugly” and often talks about his digestive ailments. He does not come across as a sexy tortured artist, is just kind of gross and unlikeable. I couldn’t feel any tension between Giulietta and him.
Alternate title could be "A Woman Obsessed with Beethoven Lives Through A Series of Unfortunate Events."
I'm not super sure what the point of this book is? It's the heavily fictionalized story of actual living person Countess Julie Guicciardi, a figure we have next to no info about. And while normally that's all good and well this just feels...voyeuristic.
A girl (she's still a girl at that point) encounters young Beethoven and falls inexplicably in love. You could say it's the music, and I excused it for that for a lot of this book, but she just... is really into how cruel and gross he is?
And he's not in it that much? For the most part it's Julie being miserable doing other things in other places with Beethoven on her mind. On the few occasions she was near him all I could think was "you know he's awful. You've openly admitted it. Why are we here?"
There's also a lot of historical/political info dumping disguised as flavor text. Necessary, if you aren't an expert in that part of history (I am not) but it's jarring to go from the first person narrative about a very shocking personal trauma to several long paragraphs about Napoleon's sister's position as almost kinda royalty and the geography.
I dunno. It felt like I was gloating over someone's misfortunes and the only reason it was ok to do so was because she a part of high society and also knew Beethoven.
I'm not super sure what the point of this book is? It's the heavily fictionalized story of actual living person Countess Julie Guicciardi, a figure we have next to no info about. And while normally that's all good and well this just feels...voyeuristic.
A girl (she's still a girl at that point) encounters young Beethoven and falls inexplicably in love. You could say it's the music, and I excused it for that for a lot of this book, but she just... is really into how cruel and gross he is?
And he's not in it that much? For the most part it's Julie being miserable doing other things in other places with Beethoven on her mind. On the few occasions she was near him all I could think was "you know he's awful. You've openly admitted it. Why are we here?"
There's also a lot of historical/political info dumping disguised as flavor text. Necessary, if you aren't an expert in that part of history (I am not) but it's jarring to go from the first person narrative about a very shocking personal trauma to several long paragraphs about Napoleon's sister's position as almost kinda royalty and the geography.
I dunno. It felt like I was gloating over someone's misfortunes and the only reason it was ok to do so was because she a part of high society and also knew Beethoven.
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
dark
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Unfortunately I did not like this book. It is well written and fast-paced, and I cannot really say I was bored at some point. However, my main issue was that I found the characters had no development and I could not understand why a musician such as Beethoven could have been inspired by such a dull woman as Julieta, and vice versa, how could she loved for more than two decades a man that showed her no real love. Put in another way, I did not find the characters relatable nor believable and hence, I was disappointed by a promising love story that was simply not there. The Woman in Moonlight is the story of a beautiful countess which inspired Beethoven to write his Moonlight Sonata. While the story is fictional, I think there was a lot of material the author could have used to make this story more passionate, more alive. Julie meets Beethoven when she’s barely 18 years old, and falls head over heels with the musician. He also falls in love with her but circumstances –economical mainly, will separate them. Beethoven will hate her and mistreat her for 15 years when they happen to meet by chance. Julie marries another man but she still thinks of Beethoven. And that is basically the plot. I must say I disliked Julie a lot –she seemed capricious, spoiled, and I hated the distain she showed to other women, those who love Beethoven too. In this, I found her personality contradictory because, while she claimed to be truly devoted to a man, I could not help but feel she was condescending to other people and women. For example, while she saw her cousin Josephine lead a very tragic life, she always held a grudge against her because Beethoven was always attracted to her. Likewise, we are led to believe she always hated her mother, who was not a good wife and did not agree with her love for Beethoven, and yet, many years later, in her deathbed, Julie mourns her passing. I mean, ok, she is your mother but you spent more than a decade away from her and fighting and out of nowhere you change your mind? This does not seem logical.
Another issue that bothered me –and perhaps the one that bothered me the most- was the love story. Why? Because there was none to be honest. While artists usually have muses from whom they draw inspiration, we never truly see what made Julie so special to Beethoven. To be fair, they were together barely a year, maybe, but I never felt there was a true exchange of words, thoughts, and feelings among them. A novel like this one could have benefited a lot from the exchange of letters, for example, or more meaningful encounters and conversations. But outside their classes, where dialogue was honestly very minimal and common, there was nothing. There was not even a hint of physical passion! So while I understand at some point this woman could have inspired a great composition, what I do not understand is why she hanged on to that relationship. She even rejects a man that truly loved her, in her idealization of a man who did not. And not only that –everything in her life was always under the shadow of the rejection of the musician and therefore, everything seemed pointless. For example, while living in Naples she is recruited as a spy. Did she find any useful information on that time? No. Did she meet and build a meaningful relationship with any interesting historical character there? No. There were so many interesting figures that appeared on the pages of this book, but Julie was so self-centered that it seemed none were interesting enough to her, outside she and Beethoven.
A positive aspect I found on the book was that it indeed had some beautiful writing, and I wished the author could have used this to make a more passionate, interesting story with unforgettable characters:
Another issue that bothered me –and perhaps the one that bothered me the most- was the love story. Why? Because there was none to be honest. While artists usually have muses from whom they draw inspiration, we never truly see what made Julie so special to Beethoven. To be fair, they were together barely a year, maybe, but I never felt there was a true exchange of words, thoughts, and feelings among them. A novel like this one could have benefited a lot from the exchange of letters, for example, or more meaningful encounters and conversations. But outside their classes, where dialogue was honestly very minimal and common, there was nothing. There was not even a hint of physical passion! So while I understand at some point this woman could have inspired a great composition, what I do not understand is why she hanged on to that relationship. She even rejects a man that truly loved her, in her idealization of a man who did not. And not only that –everything in her life was always under the shadow of the rejection of the musician and therefore, everything seemed pointless. For example, while living in Naples she is recruited as a spy. Did she find any useful information on that time? No. Did she meet and build a meaningful relationship with any interesting historical character there? No. There were so many interesting figures that appeared on the pages of this book, but Julie was so self-centered that it seemed none were interesting enough to her, outside she and Beethoven.
A positive aspect I found on the book was that it indeed had some beautiful writing, and I wished the author could have used this to make a more passionate, interesting story with unforgettable characters:
“Beethoven was and would always be the magical tiles in the cloister, the Mediterranean on a stormy day, mourning in the moonlight, morning in the dark.".
Unfortunately, this book failed to convey that.
challenging
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I found this book to be quite boring. It was mostly just a recitation of who was marrying who, who was having an affair with who, and occasionally, who was appearing at an event. It felt like reading a historical society column. There seemed to be very little actual story to it. The majority of people featured actually existed and it felt in rather bad taste to designate some as being involved with another when there was no historical proof of it. The main concern was the rape scene which was unnecessary and again, when writing about actual people, referring to one several times as having raped another has rather questionable morality.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Miscarriage
Moderate: Chronic illness, Rape
This was okay. The premise was interesting, delving into the background of the woman to whom Beethoven dedicated what would become known as the Moonlight Sonata. However, a lot more "telling" than "showing" was going on, and some actions seemed anachronistic.
challenging
informative
tense
slow-paced
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
emotional
sad
medium-paced
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book is about the woman to whom Beethoven dedicated the Moonlight Sonata. It is well-written and well-researched, but the characters spend the book going in circles, trapped in their own miserable circumstances, making mistakes again and again. There aren't many nice moments to lighten up the struggle. However, I liked the premise of the book, and the writing, and even the characters, so I didn't mind the heavy plot too much.
There is a disturbing, but not graphic, rape scene in the book.
There is a disturbing, but not graphic, rape scene in the book.