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A review by ladythursday
Maestro! Maestro!: Good Times on the Way to Hell & a 1900 Spring Romance by Fred Calvert
funny
fast-paced
3.0
This is the story of a young composer called Anton Becker whose music is not understood nor appreciated. However there is someone who is interested in his work: Satan. He wants some decent music in hell and sends one of his demons to Earth to make a deal with Anton. While Anton is struggling to stay true to himself, create his own music and be with the love of his life, can he actually resist the temptation of hell’s offer?
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It is incredibly funny and easy to read. Written in a very straight-forward language, you breeze through the pages. There are also some lovely illustrations between each chapter that adds a great flavour to the story. The topic is compelling and the best part is it doesn’t take itself too seriously -especially with the way famous people are used in the story (Freud and Beethoven are the most present ones, to name a few). This is a funny book and it doesn’t try to be anything else. That said, I feel like the story fizzles out a bit. It has an alluring beginning and a satisfactory end, but it kinda drags through the middle. Yes the initial idea of the story is intriguing, but sometimes that is not enough. For one thing, I wasn’t rooting for the main character - if the main character was Anton. I found the demon sent to corrupt him way more interesting. Which brings me back to the synopsis, which promises two things: a tale about a deal with the devil and a feel-good romance. And yet, I didn’t find the romance part to be feel-good. The deal with the devil, the demon Villi, his past life and his motives were all so enjoyable to read about. The romance on the other hand, felt unremarkable.
All in all, I had a blast reading this story and would love to read more from this author and experience their humour again.
If you are in the mood for a laugh and a journey through the musical world of Vienna in the 1900’s, this is the book for you.
*ARC provided by Reedsy Discovery
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It is incredibly funny and easy to read. Written in a very straight-forward language, you breeze through the pages. There are also some lovely illustrations between each chapter that adds a great flavour to the story. The topic is compelling and the best part is it doesn’t take itself too seriously -especially with the way famous people are used in the story (Freud and Beethoven are the most present ones, to name a few). This is a funny book and it doesn’t try to be anything else. That said, I feel like the story fizzles out a bit. It has an alluring beginning and a satisfactory end, but it kinda drags through the middle. Yes the initial idea of the story is intriguing, but sometimes that is not enough. For one thing, I wasn’t rooting for the main character - if the main character was Anton. I found the demon sent to corrupt him way more interesting. Which brings me back to the synopsis, which promises two things: a tale about a deal with the devil and a feel-good romance. And yet, I didn’t find the romance part to be feel-good. The deal with the devil, the demon Villi, his past life and his motives were all so enjoyable to read about. The romance on the other hand, felt unremarkable.
All in all, I had a blast reading this story and would love to read more from this author and experience their humour again.
If you are in the mood for a laugh and a journey through the musical world of Vienna in the 1900’s, this is the book for you.
*ARC provided by Reedsy Discovery