Book Review
Feb. 21st, 2013 10:01 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kenjariCity of Dark Magic
by Magnus Flyte
This short, breezy novel is about Sarah Weston, a doctoral candidate in musicology who is hired, under somewhat mysterious circumstances, to spend a summer in Prague cataloging and organizing a collection of musical manuscripts at the Lobkowicz Palace. Once she is there, things become even more complicated and mysterious as Sarah gets involved with the current Lobkowicz prince, a drug that lets you see the past, and a grand mystery involving various artifacts. Repercussions of the Cold War, a series of dead bodies, and Beethoven come into play, too.
This novel is quite a mixed bag. On the one hand, the characterization is a little weak at times and there are some all too convenient coincidences and convergences. I'm also a little annoyed at the way Beethoven's Immortal Beloved is woven in. Look world, I'm sorry the real story is not romantic or fantastic or even titillating enough for you. I'm sorry that Antonie Brentano may not seem special enough to you to merit the deep love of Beethoven. But she did. I guess he saw something that history just can't convey to us. Let's all just accept that and move on. There are so many other things about Beethoven to explore, why get hung up on this? On the other hand, City of Dark Magic was undeniably fun and diverting. The story and some of the ideas are exciting and compelling, and while the characters are not necessarily all that complex or deeply drawn, the heroes are worth rooting for and the villains are properly villainous. The plot moves along nicely, particularly in the last half, and Prague is portrayed as a fascinating place, alternating between charming and enigmatic.
by Magnus Flyte
This short, breezy novel is about Sarah Weston, a doctoral candidate in musicology who is hired, under somewhat mysterious circumstances, to spend a summer in Prague cataloging and organizing a collection of musical manuscripts at the Lobkowicz Palace. Once she is there, things become even more complicated and mysterious as Sarah gets involved with the current Lobkowicz prince, a drug that lets you see the past, and a grand mystery involving various artifacts. Repercussions of the Cold War, a series of dead bodies, and Beethoven come into play, too.
This novel is quite a mixed bag. On the one hand, the characterization is a little weak at times and there are some all too convenient coincidences and convergences. I'm also a little annoyed at the way Beethoven's Immortal Beloved is woven in. Look world, I'm sorry the real story is not romantic or fantastic or even titillating enough for you. I'm sorry that Antonie Brentano may not seem special enough to you to merit the deep love of Beethoven. But she did. I guess he saw something that history just can't convey to us. Let's all just accept that and move on. There are so many other things about Beethoven to explore, why get hung up on this? On the other hand, City of Dark Magic was undeniably fun and diverting. The story and some of the ideas are exciting and compelling, and while the characters are not necessarily all that complex or deeply drawn, the heroes are worth rooting for and the villains are properly villainous. The plot moves along nicely, particularly in the last half, and Prague is portrayed as a fascinating place, alternating between charming and enigmatic.
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Date: 2013-02-21 03:53 pm (UTC)May I ask further? I don't know how the trope is usually handled (or that much about the history, to be honest).
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Date: 2013-02-23 02:13 am (UTC)"While still in bed my thoughts turn towards you my Immortal Beloved, now and then happy, then sad again, waiting whether fate might answer us - I can only live either wholly with you or not at all, yes I have resolved to stray about in the distance, until I can fly into your arms, and send my soul embraced by you into the realm of the Spirits - yes unfortunately it must be - you will compose yourself all the more since you know my faithfulness to you, never can another own my heart, never – never – O God why do I have to separate from someone whom I love so much..."
It's very compelling and scholars have long been trying to identify the woman to whom it's addressed. Although several theories have arisen, modern scholars seem to agree that it is likely either Antonie Brentano or Josephine Brunsvik, both of whom were upper class women who were married and had children. At this point, Josephine is more likely than Antonie, but I went with the latter in my post because she is the one mentioned in City of Dark Magic.
Despite the solid scholarship supporting either Antonie or Josephine, it seems people just can't stop coming up with other theories, usually more scandalous or exotic than the real theories. The film Immortal Beloved even goes so far as to posit a soap-opera style affair between Beethoven and his sister-in-law, implying that his nephew Karl was really his son. The theory in this book is even more ridiculous, although the scenario would have worked just fine if it had been left solely as an exploration of how Beethoven composed such glorious music while deaf.