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The Wonder Singer
enlarge	Author: George Rabasa Publisher: Unbridled Books Category: Book List Price: ~~$15.95~~ Buy New: $0.95 as of 3/13/2010 03:35 PST details You Save: $15.00 (94%) New (24) Used (10) from $0.95 Seller: critic_l Media: Paperback Edition: Trade Paperback Pages: 336 Number Of Items: 1 Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.9 Dimensions (in): 8.8 x 5.8 x 1 ISBN: 1932961690 Dewey Decimal Number: 813 EAN: 9781932961690 ASIN: 1932961690 Publication Date: May 5, 2009 Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days


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Editorial Reviews: Product Description The Wonder Singer is an operatic literary caper about one young writer's manic ambition. The ghostwriter's best chance at fame almost disappears when his Diva dies suddenly in her bath. His solution is to steal the tapes, liberate the Diva's aging husband, and write the autobiography on the run.

Customer Reviews: Showing reviews 1-5 of 15 1 2 3 Next » Wondrous Wonder Singer November 1, 2009 Claudia N. Davidsen (Ruskin, FL) George Rabasa's The Wonder Singer was reviewed in Opera News (November 2009, p. 73). Seemed interesting, so I came to Amazon (Natch!) for more direction. (Great service, Amazon! And huge "thanks" to volunteer reviewers!) Opera News reviewer, Joanne Sydney Lessner, observed that the reader may find in Merce Casals, "...a bit of Callas here, a drop of Caballe there...". Maria and Montserrat may indeed be muses who inspire Rabasa with gorgeous results in Merce. (Yes, and there are those initials.) George Rabasa reportedly listened extensively to Montserrat Caballe's recordings, though not obsessively as his fictional author, Lockwood, listened to Merce's music and recorded conversation. One may imagine that Caballe's voice in its prime inspired the descriptions of Casal's at the same point. Rabasa credits his parents' recollections of the last Spanish Civil War in helping him build the story of Merce. He brings these to bear in a gritty, realistic milieu into which he places Casals as a young woman in Barcelona. (Life, in fact, was very tough in Barcelona. Caballe was a small child during that time. She and her family, like many others, almost starved. At a particularly violent time, the Caballes, with little Montserrat in tow, fled Barcelona on foot. As they went up into the mountains, one branch of the family took a different route. Those family members were shot down by Franco's forces.) There are significant and inspired parallels with Maria Callas's life. Examples: * The early exploitation cum nurturing by Merce's father and Pep Saval = Maria's mother. * War time in Spain = war time in Greece. * The Prince = Onassis. * The ill-considered, comeback concert tour with Nolan Keefe = Callas with di Stefano. * The weight loss and concurrent deterioration of the voice is an obvious link between Callas and Casals. (Callas fans, don't jump on this. I said "concurrent". No "cause/effect" intended.) All that said, readers will be surprised to find themselves appreciative, but not overly preoccupied with the real-life M. C. Divas in the character of Merce Casals. Rabasa's story, while drawing inspiration from them, is not derivative. It is so much richer than that. A skillful writer and storyteller, Rabasa moves with facility through time and space, from first to third person. The characters are as fully-drawn as they need to be, given Lockwood's point of view. Rabasa tells you just enough, but not too much. He provides what the characters want us to know, with just a hint that there is more. The last page reached, Rabasa finishes his part of the story without a great big "The End". It calls for reflection. Example: I began to wonder about one character's gender. MUST READ THIS FUNNY, CAPTIVATING STORY!! July 27, 2009 Josie Jean (Maplewood, MN USA) 1 out of 1 found this review helpful George Rabasha has truly created a beautifully-written, engaging novel that is rich with emotion. It tells the story of legendary opera singer Merce Casals and author Mark Lockwood, who has been hired to ghostwrite her autobiography. As the great diva divulges her achievements and adversities, during 500 hours of taped interviews, Mark develops a heartfelt affection for her. Following her sudden death, her agent wants a 'famous author' to write her memoir. Obsessed with his project, Mark refuses to give his tapes and notes to the replacement author. His deep desire is to produce the authoritative memoir...to re-create the story Merce shared with him, in her own words. Therefore, Mark joins up with her nurse, her number-one fan and her husband, to lovingly write Merce's story as a way to celebrate her life. Mr. Rabasha brilliantly alternated the chapters between Merce's life story and Mark's manic process of documenting it, drawing me deeper into this captivating story. Also, he did a magnificent job crafting these charming, unique characters. Merce's history, especially her Spanish Civil War memories were extremely fascinating. Through it all, she demonstrated courage and a strength that is admirable and inspiring. I absolutely LOVED this amazing page-turner, and I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS BOOK!! Don't get distracted by the plot July 16, 2009 Susan Tunis (San Francisco, CA) 3 out of 3 found this review helpful Mark Lockwood is a hack. He's a writer without pretension, happy to make a living. But now he's somehow landed the writing job of all time--ghostwriter of the autobiography of legendary opera diva Merce Casals. Suddenly he has a real investment in his work. The story of Senora Casals life and career is a major thread throughout the novel. As she relays the triumphs and tragedies of her life, Mark develops a genuine affection for the sometimes difficult lady. And, bored in his marriage, he holds an affection of a different sort for her attractive nurse, Perla. All is going well with the project until La Casals up and dies on them. Suddenly, her biography is a hot property. Lockwood's manager wants to reassign the book to a more high profile biographer, and he wants Lockwood to surrender the recordings he and Casals made together. It is at this point that the novel veers off into what might be considered farcical territory, with an oversized drag queen added to the troupe of biographers on the run. The story is interesting on multiple levels--first, simply for the grand operatic background. And George Rabasa has created a memorable tribe of characters that stick with the reader for some time. However, it was here that Rabasa and I ran into trouble. I continually got caught up in the action of The Wonder Singer, and time and time again it became obvious to me that the author was writing a novel about character, not plot. He hammered it home: character, not plot. And if you read the novel with that in mind, you'll be satisfied. Silly thing that I am, I kept getting distracted by the plot, which led to a somewhat unsatisfying conclusion. Diva Drama July 12, 2009 Julie Peterson (Central PA) I am a big fan of the books that Unbridled publishes. I seem to like every one that I've read, and they are all special in their own right. So when I picked up THE WONDER SINGER by George Rabasa, I figured that I was going to be in for a treat. I was right -- I thoroughly enjoyed this novel and I especially enjoyed the characters. But I have to say that THE WONDER SINGER wasn't exactly what I was expecting. As I re-read the book's description, I think it does explain the story very well; however, I'm pretty sure that the cover through me. I have an older ARC copy of this novel and the cover is different (it's actually the hardcover version.) Like all Unbridled books, the cover is absolutely gorgeous; but is definitely less whimsical than the one they chose for the paperback publication. When I began reading this book, I thought is was going to be much more serious than it actually was. I was pleasantly surprised to find that this book was a great deal of fun to read. It did have some serious parts, but the majority of this book was fast-paced, action-filled, and very funny. In fact, the cover letter refers to it as a "literary caper," and I just think that captures this story perfectly. There were a lot of things that I liked about THE WONDER SINGER. The first thing that comes to my mind is the story itself - or should I say stories? I loved learning about Merce's life which was a great read in itself, but I also liked the story about Lockwood. He was kind of a loser in both his professional and personal life; and the actions surrounding his attempts to write his book, hide the tapes from the other (more famous) writer, and figure out his personal relationships were extremely entertaining. And while I thought this book was very funny; I also appreciated the "historical" aspects -- when Merce was young and growing up in Spain during the Spanish Civil War. Mr. Rabasa did a wonderful job of incorporating the history of this war with Merce's life. Another thing that comes to my mind was the author's writing style -- I just loved it! I appreciated how he was able to tell not only Merce's life story, but also Lockwood's story about trying to get his book written. And, I was just amazed by how easily the book went back and forth between Merce's chapters (which were written in first person Merce's voice) and the antics of Lockwood and his friends (which were written in third person.) As the chapters alternated between the two stories, I was impressed with how the story's pace changed too -- Lockwood's chapters were almost happening at a frantic pace while Merce's were much less chaotic and actually gave the reader some things to think about. And I'd be remiss if I didn't mention how terrific the characters were in this book. I thought Mr. Rabasa did a great job of developing them, and I especially appreciated the character of Merce. As a former opera star, she was definitely larger than life; however, the author did a great job of making her seem real to me. I loved the parts of this story where Merce was talking about her life in her own words; and I very much enjoyed that the reader was able to see not only the highlights of her life, but the troubles and struggles she experienced. I wasn't familiar with Mr. Rabasa prior to THE WONDER SINGER, but I was happy to see that he has written some other novels as well as an award-winning collection of short stories. If you'd like to learn more about Mr. Rabasa, Minnesota Public Radio conducted a great interview with him; and you can also check out his website. Another thing you might find interesting is an iTunes play list which features some songs mentioned in the novel. HE WONDER SINGER Presents Many Colorful Threads June 29, 2009 Bookreporter.com (New York, New York) 1 out of 1 found this review helpful Mark Lockwood is a hack, a writer-for-hire whose bread and butter so far has been a series of How to Talk To Your Teen About... books. So when he takes on ghostwriting the autobiography of aging opera diva Mercè Casals, he finds himself entranced by her free spirit and her stories. It doesn't hurt that "La Casals" employs an attractive, no-nonsense day nurse named Perla, who tolerates his flirting in between caring for her charge and sneaking out for smoke breaks. He spends his days in the Señora's apartment, learning to appreciate opera and recording 500 hours of interviews, somewhat at the expense of his marriage to Claire, which was already suffering. But one morning, Perla urgently calls him into Casals's bathroom. "In the dim light, in the steamy warm air, in the scent of the orchids and the ferns and the snaking tendrils of ivy and clematis and jasmine, Lockwood hears himself think: My diva is dead." Soon his agent, Hollywood Hank, is hounding Lockwood for the tapes. Now that Casals has died, he wants to replace Lockwood with a different hack --- a famous one. And when he spies Alonzo Baylor at the funeral, his worst suspicions are confirmed: "Baylor makes literature look easy, as one terse sentence inevitably builds on another. He has time to write books and to pal around with film stars, prizefighters, beach bunnies, and ex-convicts." Lockwood, somewhat to his own surprise, digs in his heels. He jealously guards the tapes and plunges into finishing The Wonder Singer, a book that will not only beat Baylor to the punch, but also do justice to the story of the eccentric diva that has opened up his own life. George Rabasa's novel is the story of Lockwood's struggle with this book, interspersed with chapters of the actual book he is writing, in Casals's own (we presume edited) words. Beginning with an early abandonment by her father, a tutelage of "the voice" under a father figure, teenage adventures in the Barcelona of the Spanish Civil War, her life unfolds with stories of the men and opera roles she has known throughout a long and colorful career. Case in point. She is married to tenor Nolan Keefe, but a certain prince is wooing her. His amorous gift? Two peacocks let loose on stage. Casals relates the tale in one of her chapters: "The magnificent birds strutted in as I was rising from a languid curtsy." (Illustrating one problem of the ghostwriter: can we imagine someone describing her own curtsy as languid?) Back in the hotel room with her husband, the birds trash the room when the couple begins to get "intimate." THE WONDER SINGER presents many colorful threads that are never resolved. How does the completed book do in the wide world? Does it beat out Baylor's version? Do Claire and Lockwood reconcile? How is Lockwood changed by persevering with The Wonder Singer? Certainly this book contains all the exotic images and lurid stories that one might expect from a novel about an opera diva. As it zigzagged back and forth between chapters of The Wonder Singer and details of Lockwood writing the autobiography (pizza boxes piling up and overflowing ashtrays, odd alliances, Claire leaving), I couldn't help wishing for a tidy bow in at least a couple of the loose ends. But perhaps the unanswered questions lend staying power to the vivid scenes of this book, like a few tantalizing secrets keep a great singer's reputation alive long after she leaves the stage. --- Reviewed by Eileen Zimmerman Nicol Showing reviews 1-5 of 15 1 2 3 Next »

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