Scan barcode
A review by clintonchanges
Beethoven's Hair: An Extraordinary Historical Odyssey and a Scientific Mystery Solved by Russell Martin
1.0
I love classical music, I love Beethoven, and I love reading. I hated this book.
First, the existential issue: as other reviewers have noted, there’s not enough material here for a full length book. Martin himself seems to know this, why else the endless repetitions and forays into areas unrelated to the book’s subject? The core narrative of the book is worth telling, but an editor might have suggested not just trimming the length of this book but its reworking into a magazine article or an appearance in a scholarly journal.
Just one other complaint worth mentioning: why does the author insist on the awkward use of the pluperfect tense in his historical narrative? It’s maddening. The constant use of HAD HAD HAD for no reason whatsoever is enough to make you quit reading entirely, and I assume many readers did.
Save yourself the trouble and read Lockwood’s “The Music and the Life”, my favorite Beethoven biography. Do better next time Mr. Martin!
First, the existential issue: as other reviewers have noted, there’s not enough material here for a full length book. Martin himself seems to know this, why else the endless repetitions and forays into areas unrelated to the book’s subject? The core narrative of the book is worth telling, but an editor might have suggested not just trimming the length of this book but its reworking into a magazine article or an appearance in a scholarly journal.
Just one other complaint worth mentioning: why does the author insist on the awkward use of the pluperfect tense in his historical narrative? It’s maddening. The constant use of HAD HAD HAD for no reason whatsoever is enough to make you quit reading entirely, and I assume many readers did.
Save yourself the trouble and read Lockwood’s “The Music and the Life”, my favorite Beethoven biography. Do better next time Mr. Martin!