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crothe77's review against another edition
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This review was made possible via an ARC through NetGalley
Diva by Daisy Goodwin is a historical novel focusing on Greek-American Maria Callas, one of the most famous opera singers of the twentieth century, and her affair with Aristotle Onassis, the two most famous Greeks of their time. Most of the novel focuses on Maria’s relationship with Onassis, but also features her relationship with her mother and her husband as well as her singing career.
I’d never heard of Maria Callas before hearing about this book and was immediately pulled due to my own love of opera and the visceral prose that is emotive and makes occasional references to operatic stories. Bits of Maria’s insecurities regarding her weight, her relationship with her mother, and her voice are put on display in a respectful manner without glossing over how they impacted her personal life.
The novel does jump around in the timeline, mostly through flashbacks, but it feels natural to go back to certain moments in Maria’s life instead of going in sequential order from beginning to end. One thing I was pleasantly surprised by was the attention drawn to WWII and the Greek Civil War and the ways in which that impacted Greek people at the time and after the wars were over.
Content warning for depictions of parental neglect and a miscarriage
I would recommend this to readers looking for a fictional biography set in the fifties, readers looking for more information on Maria Callas, and fans of opera
Content Warnings
Moderate: Miscarriage
Minor: Abortion and Emotional abuse
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