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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Derring-do in eighteenth-century Vienna, December 18, 2008
This review is from: The Musician's Daughter (Hardcover)
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This novel is set in Vienna between 1765 and 1790. The protagonist is a teen-aged girl whose father plays viola for Joseph Haydn's orchestra at the court of the Esterhazys. Her father turns up murdered, and she decides to investigate.
Sense of place and time is important in a work of historical fiction, and I wasn't entirely happy with that here. The author has researched Vienna, and seems to have been there. However, she didn't really convey the sense of knowing the city as someone who lives there. The same is true of the time period - - the author knows the historical events of the time but does not put enough period detail into the story to make it convincing. I don't think most American teens would notice the difference, though.
The protagonist/narrator (Theresa) is a well-drawn character, and she tells her story well. The book moves quickly and it would be an easy read for both teens and adults. As you'd expect in a book marketed at teens, Theresa chafes at the restrictions of the society around her. Her true love is music, which her father understood but her mother never can, setting up ongoing mother-daughter tension.
In the second half of the book, Theresa's questioning into her father's death becomes more like an action-adventure story in which Theresa becomes a coconspirator with her father's partners. The action moves from Gypsy camps to the emperor's work office, and it went too far for my willing suspension of disbelief. I suspect the teens in my house would accept the story, though.
In short, this is a story that both teens and adults could enjoy. Its foibles are evident to this grown-up but they may not be as evident to teens. Because the protagonist is a girl, it may be a hard sell for teen-aged boys though they'd probably like the action if they gave it a try.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Flat characters took away from fun plot, March 13, 2009
This review is from: The Musician's Daughter (Hardcover)
This could have been a fabulous book. It's the story of the daughter of a violinist in Prince Esterhazy of Austria's symphony in the eighteenth century. Like her father, Theresa loves music above all things so when her father dies under odd circumstances she goes on a hunt to find out who killed him and stole his beloved violin. Her search leads her to the greatest musicians of her time, the wickedest political counselors, and the truth behind her father's connection to a band of gypsies.
Sounds good right? And there is a lot of action and turmoil to the story. However, I never felt enthralled by it. Theresa, while surrounded by problems and difficulties, never came alive to me. She never had much of a personality, and this was true of almost every character in the book. The gypsy leader, Theresa's evil uncle, the brilliant composer Franz Joseph Haydn - none of them were all that interesting. And because of it the book felt flat.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Enchanting and adventurous, February 14, 2009
This review is from: The Musician's Daughter (Hardcover)
Theresa Maria lives a modest yet comfortable life with her younger brother, mother, and her father, who is a violinist in the orchestra of Prince Nicholas Esterhazy of Vienna. When her father is murdered on Christmas Eve, his body found at a gypsy camp outside of Vienna and his priceless violin missing, not only is Theresa devastated, but desperate for answers. Why would someone murder her kind father, a simple musician? In her pursuit for answers and in looking after her family, Theresa discovers some startling secrets, revealed to her by her godfather, the maestro of the orchestra, and her father's fellow violinist, Zoltan, that will lead her on a path to justice and danger.
The Musician's Daughter is a lively and suspenseful read that will take readers to the glittering life of 18th century Vienna, but also offers a look at the darker aspects of the time. Dunlap offers a very authentic and accurate look at the times and social aspects, as Theresa struggles to find way to feed her family, and worries about her pregnant mother and how her family will cope with the loss of her father. But there are political elements in the story as well, as Dunlap reveals a government that is not always fair and is prone to corruption.
Though a little slow at first, The Musician's Daughter soon picks up, becoming a fast paced and action-packed race to stop many injustices and to keep Theresa's family safe from harm. At times it may be a little hard to keep certain minor characters straight and to keep up with the whereabouts of everyone, but the excitement and danger will keep a tight rein on readers. Dunlap has created a shining, adventurous novel with an admirable and plucky heroine that is sure to entertain.
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