Cry to Heaven

One of my all time favorites Anne Rice has written!

I never cared much for Anne Rice's vampire novels, and only recently discovered her witches books. So when someone recommended this book to me, I didn't think I would get it. Then I found it again on a listmania list, and decided to check it out, and then ordered it. Castrati have long held my fascination, and I have often wondered what they sounded like, how their lives were. This book feels so natural, so well researched, that I feel like I have been allowed a step back in time, and a visit to one of the great Castrati. And yes, the main character is bisexual, and yes, there is sexuality in this book, but if you let that keep you from reading this book, you miss out on so much more. It is so well written, and the main character grabs hold of your heart and does not let it go at the end of the book. So, for any other non-Anne Rice lovers like me: go read this book. It is so wonderful, and I am veryhappy I gave it a chance.

I am glad that I read this book because it reminded me that Anne Rice is not just a great writer of the supernatural and gothic, she is simply a great writer, period. There is nothing of the supernatural here, yet it is perhaps the most horrifying, at least for a male, of any of her books. As a measure of the effect of this book upon me, I kept reading it even after I realised what the main theme was (I had no idea when I started reading.) Not only that, but music is probably the biggest gap in my education- and yet, she not only made me appreciate it, but I actually felt like an insider in that world.For the first time in ages, I actually felt myself totally caught up in the atmosphere of a book. Yet, it is by no means "pure atmosphere", for there are deep and eternal lessons to be learned here about betrayal, death, worse than death, and.... rebirth and transcendance. If I ever find myself in Venice one day, it will be because of the lasting effect that this novel had on me....

ok no seems to read anne rice's non vampire books but they should i loved this book it was written and research very well. It had everything betrayal sex twisted people sin and it also had a awesome ending. this book in short is about a boy betrayed by his brother castrated and sent to become an opera singer. sorry i can't put more detail in to it but i gotta go. email me if you really want to discuss this book.

Set against the poetically, lushly described background of 18th century Italy, this is the tale of the castrati, men who were castrated before puberty so that they would not lose their angelic singing voices with the breaking (deepening) of the male voice which occurs at puberty. I knew nothing about this subject before reading this novel but felt that I had totally submersed myself in their world by book's end. Tonio, the protagonist, takes us there and we fully experience both his pain as a half man and his joy as an otherworldly, privileged singer. One must remember though how cruel life in general was to the majority of people in this era and country. Thus, although a terrible wrong has been done to Tonio and fellow castrati, they also experience the highs of life that would have never been open to them being among the masses of unprivileged people. They also have sex lives and rather robust ones at that, which caught me somewhat by surprise given that they've been castrated. I did see a movie which reminds me of this novel, called "Farinelli." It is the story of such a singer who really existed back then. The movie was very good but this novel is outstanding. Personally, I liked Rice better as an author in these earlier works of hers, when she took her time to really craft exceptional work. In more recent times, she produces her novels at warp speed. There's been a real loss of craftsmanship in that mass production mode that did not occur in this earlier work.

In my opinion, Cry to Heaven is definitely Anne Rice's finest book. Beautifully written in the lush, gorgeous prose for which Rice is famous, Cry to Heaven is rich in detail and presents a fascinating look at the lives of Italy's 18th century castrati. The protagonist, Tonio is extremely well-drawn and memorable. His struggles to come to terms with both his life as a whole and his sexuality in particular are nothing less then soul-wrenching. I found the erotic scenes, criticized by some reviewers, to be beautifully written and central to the book's premise. I did think, though, that the character of Christina, a central figure in Tonio's struggles, could have been more fully drawn and introduced earlier. It seemed to me as though Rice, herself, was not completely acquainted with Christina and I think the book suffers slightly because of this. Cry to Heaven, which contains no witches, vampires or other preternatural beings, is well-plotted and well-paced, something which cannot be said for all of Rice's books. She controls this story masterfully and resists the urge to people the novel with extraneous characters, ultimately ending the story on a haunting but richly rewarding note. With Cry to Heaven, I can pay Anne Rice the highest compliment--this is the novel I wish I had written and I can say that about no other book.