Customer Reviews

Magic flutes

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This was the first Eva Ibbotson book I read and it made me a fan for life. It's a completely captivating love story filled with colorful details about opera, art, and royalty. It's also VERY funny, and I found myself repeatedly laughing at the comic antics of the opera company. I was perplexed when I read the one negative review--if the buyer wanted a "realistic" story, why did she buy a book of romantic fantasy? Yes, the heroine Tessa is a very good girl indeed, but I didn't find her unbelievable because of that. Cinderella was a good girl too, but we cheered when she got her Prince Charming. Magic Flutes is a Cinderella story for grown ups, as sweet as a piece of cake and just as much fun to devour. (written by Sandra Kelley)

Ibbotson's writing is entrancing, and this is another un-put-down-able romance for teen girls. Thankfully there are none of the direct 'scenes' that appear in some of her other books for older readers, though a few mature-theme references prevent it being suitable for under 13s. As it is, we'd keep it for 15+.

Part of the reason it's so easy to 'lose your heart' in Ibbotson's stories is that her female characters are superb. How she can make an ordinary looking, hard-working, self-sacrificing and kind-hearted girl look absolutely irresistible! Especially when contrasted with a miserably self-seeking, comically vain, narrow-minded drama queen. Yet somehow both characters retain an air of naturalness that makes them not only believable but actually seem to resemble people you know. Usefulness, generous hard work and small acts of service appear like the most beautiful things you've ever come across.

Even better is that these are precisely the qualities that make the young heroine irresistible for the Rochester-like hero; far from appearing bland or 'too good', her character is full to the brim and overflowing, he is captivated. But of course there are many obstacles in the way, that's what makes the story.

A far cry from the shallow infatuation of Twilight, Ibbotson offers a similarly heart-engulfing romance founded on something truly beautiful.

Found on the docks at Newcastle-upon-Tyme, Guy is a foundling who spent his earliest years at the Foundling Home fighting any perceived insult or injustice. At the age of 6 he was adopted by the widow Martha Hodge, who saw his potential and loved him unconditionally. Guy worked hard to please Martha and turned his energy to his studies. After attending University in Vienna, Guy came home changed and determined to make millions. Now, in 1922, he has become a multi-millionaire and is rich enough to buy a castle. He decides to buy Pfaffenstein castle to woo back his lady love who rejected him years ago when he was poor. Tessa was born and bred the Princess of Pfaffenstein but is now a republican and working backstage at a Vienna opera company for free because she loves music so much. She encounters Guy backstage when he comes to hire the opera company for his engagement house party. She is struck by his kindness to her but knows he will go away and she'll never see him again. When the opera company is engaged to perform Mozart's Magic Flutes at Pfaffenstein, Tessa is torn between her duties to her station and her heart. Should she marry Maxi, a prince who lives in a damp and crumbling home or can she help patronize the arts? Will Guy actually marry the spoiled beauty he believes he loves? Those are the questions that kept me turning the pages long into the night. This is a typical Ibbotson romance novel with a doe-eyed virtuous heroine who tried her hardest to please everyone and an older man of the world. The book is filled with beautiful descriptions and historical details of pre- WWII Austria and a number of quirky characters. Though she does reuse the same formula and same elements of previous stories, this is a sweet, funny and charming romance novel for teens and adults.

Ibbotson has a marvelous understanding of music, art, medicine, history, and science. I constantly want to look things up in the encyclopedia to see if she has her information correct - and she does! This is a cinderella story with a multitude of moments that touch the heart.

Not worth $90, especially when it is about to be re-released under a different title in paper back. See The Reluctant Heiress

I discovered Ibbotson two years ago when I read her latest book, A Song For Summer. Magic Flutes is not her best book, but it definitely holds it's own. She mixes great characters, settings and opera to create a story that can be read over and over. The heroine, an impoverished princess, is enchanting. But I think my favorite characters are the opera crew. Who can help but love Boris and his yogurt culture he named the Mother. Ibbotson's books are hard to find, but well worth the search.

I hate to be the one dissenting voice but my problem with this novel is that the heroine is so very, very GOOD and all-accepting, it's unreal, even for a work of fiction. Every other character in the book is believeable as a "real" person, humanly flawed, yet the heroine is all shining goodness and light.

The heroine is born rich, a Princess of the royal Hapsburg court, no less, but, after undergoing a reversal of fortune, she's at the mercy of the real (post-WWI) world. The previously fabulously wealthy and royally-born heroine (who in reality would have suckled pride with her mother's milk) meekly allows people to treat her like a servant and talk down to her. When the Princess/heroine was letting herself be ordered around 24-7 by the members of the opera company; was living in poverty and never allowed a day off; was missing meals without complaint... the story seemed to have no point other than portraying how creepily self-deprecating a woman could let herself become. Blah. There's enough of that around in real life without its being celebrated in works of fiction.

OK, I'm being harsh. I know it's supposed to be the Cinderella story, but in the end the heroine was just plain annoying because she never, ever stood up for herself and had to be rescued. I guess I was not in the mood to be enchanted by an unbelieveable doormat of a heroine, even with a happy-ever-after tacked on.