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There are currently 31 member reviews
for Mozart's Sister
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Kathy (Hamilton MT)
I was hoping for greatness
I loved the IDEA of this book, and hoped it would reach the same heights of warmth, impact, and believability as Tracy Chevalier’s Girl With a Pearl Earring or Philippa Gregory’s The Other Boleyn Girl. Unfortunately, Charbonnier’s stiff, third-person prose kept me at too great a distance from the mind and heart of the enigmatic Nannerl. I think Charbonnier could have better connected with her readers by including a map of the story’s geography, for instance, and a foreword citing extant letters, family histories, palace documents, etc. as anchors upon which her tale was spun. For me, confidence that this narrative was soundly researched and factually based would have added a credible dimension to this sometimes disjointed and imperfect book. As an early reader, I couldn’t help wishing that one final pass by a brilliant editor could have tightened this novel for a more successful and sympathetic public run, and made it more fully satisfying. While Mozart’s Sister was very good in places, as outlined in other reviews -- ultimately for me, this telling fell short.
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Lenora (Altoona FL)
Review of Mozart's Sister
A book about a dysfunctional family, scandals, true love and music. Lots and lots of music. Sad that women have come so far and how little has changed.
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Liz (Morristown NJ)
Mozart's Sister
I was really looking forward to reading this book because I love historical fiction. I found this novel to be a bit boring. I prefered the first half of the book to the second. I was torn between pity and annoyance towards Nannerl when her father shunned her and set her aside to Wolfgang. It was hard for me to feel sorry for her when she was so bitter. I was glad that she renewed her passion for music at the end of the book. Overall, I probably would not have finished the book if I did not have to give a review.
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Cecilia (Burlington VT)
Mozart's Sister
I looked forward to reading what I thought would be a fascinating story of Nannerl Mozart's life but was disappointed in this rather sketchy, melodramatic book. It read like a romance novel with undeveloped characters and little depth. It does impart some broad general knowledge of the period but little is learned of the Mozart family's history, motivations, etc. However, the story will spark an interest in further reading and research on the topic.
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Kathy (Richmond VA)
it won me over!
Initially, I was a little bored by and with Mozart's Sister, but about 2/3 of the way through, it began to come alive for me. Although some aspects of the narrative wrapped up a little too conveniently, I found myself enjoying the last 1/3 of the book. I must say I might've given up on it, had I not committed to a review! Some of the characters could have been more fleshed out, and I found one or two scenarios/plot points to be overly contrived. A solid 3 for sure. I will be interested in reading other reviews when the book is released.
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Marcia (Batavia IL)
Lacked details & historical facts of the period
I was very excited to review this book as it deals with a subject that I am not familiar with. I felt that the first half of the book moved along very slowly, almost boring. At times it was confusing and hard to follow. The book seemed to lack the details and historical facts of the period. The characters seemed to be underdeveloped. However, the final third of the book did pick up and become more interesting and I finally learned more about Nannerl in her final years. On the whole, I found Mozart's Sister to be disappointing.
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Laura (Wheeling IL)
Mozat's sister
This historical fiction is of high interest as the subject is one that is not well known. Yet the writing does not allow the reader to feel the richness of that era of history. We see little of the history of the times, save for the music. And even that is sketchy. Mozart is depicted as a spoiled child/boy/man and his brilliance is masked in silly episodes. Yet I wanted to keep reading as the story line drew me in. At times, though, I felt that I was reading someone's thesis paper with a little action thrown in. I would recommend this book for a beach read but little else.
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