Antonietta [Hardcover]

John Hersey (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 16, 1991

A saga of a magnificent violin, Antonietta, named after a beautiful woman who was the inspiration of Antonio Stradivari's later years. As Hersey brings Mozart, Berlioz, and Stravinsky to life, he offers us a marvelous celebration of the changing character and eternal art and power of music.


From the Trade Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Pulitzer Prize-winner Hersey's latest work (after Fling: and Other Stories) is a delightful tour de force--a picaresque novel tracing the peregrinations of a violin created in Cremona by Stradivari in 1699, dubbed the Antonietta in honor of the master luthier's second wife. Hersey divides the story into five "acts" that dramatize the violin's fortunes under various owners. He syncopates the narrative via four "intermezzi," which interject factual data linking the fictional portions, and ends with a bittersweet "finale." In each section the stylistic tone is appropriate to the music coaxed from the Strad by violinists of each century. First the prose cadences suggest the sensual passion of the middle-aged Stradivari, obsessed by the lusty Antonietta. Next, Mozart's frolicsome, irreverent, scatological voice is conveyed in letters that record his fascination with the instrument; the third selection captures the flamboyant personality and romantic music of Berlioz; the fourth is a fugue featuring the voices of Stravinsky, the writer C. F. Ramuz and violinist Federovsky. In the novel's last section, however, Hersey's own voice is most clearly heard, as he deplores the fate of culture in the modern world, where life "no longer imitates art, it imitates TV," and the Strad arouses in listeners cupidity and greed. (Here the musical references are to the "mathematical" compositions of Schoenberg, Hindemith, Alban Berg.) This novel satisfies on several levels; one need not know music to enjoy it, but the music lover will be doubly enchanted by a virtuoso performance. BOMC and QPB alternates.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

In the year 1699, Antonio Stradivari amazes his sons by announcing his intention to build a violin entirely by himself, with no assistance from them, his ne'er-do-well apprentices. The instrument will be of a radical new design, inspired by the old man's infatuation with a beautiful widow named Antonia; he will call it Antonietta. After his death, Antonietta's supernatural tone bewitches a succession of notable composers--Mozart, Berlioz, and Stravinsky--each at a crucial turning point in his career. Hersey follows the instrument as it passes from owner to owner, adapting his narrative style to the time and place. Some of the historical coincidences seem a bit contrived--Stradivari whistles Vivaldi tunes at work, for example, years before they were published. However, good music novels are about as rare as Strads, and this one will charm general readers as well as musicologists. Recommended. Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 1/91; BOMC alternate.
- Edward B. St. John, Loyola Law Sch. Lib., Los Angele s
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover
• Publisher: Knopf; 1st edition (April 16, 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0679401946
• ISBN-13: 978-0679401940
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.7 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,205,809 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

42 of 44 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars TRULY DISAPPOINTING, April 5, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Antonietta (Paperback)

John Hersey was a wonderful author and so I really expected more from Antonietta. What began as a whimsical flight into fantasy quickly goes downhill after the first section. Unfortunately, it continued its downhill slide, with each succeeding section being a little less magical than the first. Antonio Stradivari, upon seeing the woman he instantly falls in love with and must marry, begins to create a special violin in her honor. As he works, the violin becomes infused with his emotions and thereafter, its music has the power to affect all who hear it. While Stradivari's section of the book is magic, Mozart's is less so, and Berlioz's even less. By the time we finish, Antonietta has definitely taken backstage to a string of boring, insipid and lucklustre characters with the truly deplorable Spenser Ham being, by far, the worst. And other than the first section involving Stradivari, I didn't find anything sexy or romantic about this book. I fully expected to be charmed by Antonietta and was truly disappointed instead. When one considers what a tremendous novelist Hersey was, this book becomes all the more sad. If you're looking for the first-rate reading of other Hersey novels, such as A Bell For Adano, Hiroshoma, The Wall and The White Lotus, you won't find it here.

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars I found this book to be a major disappointment., November 21, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Antonietta (Paperback)

I read "The Wall" a very long time ago, and recently discovered and read "White Lotus" and was absolutely bowled over by both. I was thrilled, after two such wonderful books to find "Antoinetta" and anticipated another masterpiece!

Unfortunately, I have to admit that a very rare thing happened for me....I couldn't make myself finish this book. I found the characters flat and unbelievable, the plot ridiculous and the whole thing a total bore! I grant you, this may not be a fair hearing (since I only finished about half the book) but since it isn't a very long novel, I didn't think that even if I had read to the end that there were enough pages left for the author to "redeem" the first boring half. Perhaps a glass of chardonnay, as another reviewer has suggested would have "mellowed" my feelings about this book, but I think not.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hersey is the ultimate reader's writer, March 19, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Antonietta (Paperback)

John Hersey shines in Antonietta. He shows us he is both a creative genius and a skilled writer. Each section is poetic as he leads us through the life of a violin. It seems odd that the most romantic book I have ever read turns out to be a book about a violin. This violin is the epitomy of love and adoration. It is unique and sexual, and capable of inspiring a love so powerful that its fingers reach outstretched towards the souls of various generations. Hersey starts with the tale of a widowed man intent on making violins as best as he possibly can. The saga begins when he sees a widowed woman he must marry. He begins on a new violin, and carves a Cupid on it, which marks it in the coming years. When he hears that he has been refused her hand in marriage, he is angered and his hand slips, flawing the violin. Later, he beckons her, showing her the violin he has made from her inspiration although it is still unfinished. The violin is capable of a sound unlike any other, and in the years to come it changes hands and players, each with their own story, each with their own passion. This novel is worth reading, and tells a tale that will deepen one's love for love as well as deepen one's love for music. It appeals to any age, because the story is so universal. I truly recommend it. It brings with it the conciseness of Hersey's Hiroshima along with the undeniable eloquence of Mozart's pieces.