Speech of Angels [Hardcover]

Sharon Maas (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 2, 2003

Another wonderful, exotic saga from the author of Of Marriageable Age and Peacocks Dancing. Jyothi is growing up on the streets of Bombay when she is rescued by an affluent Western couple, their contribution to the starving of India. But she soon finds adapting to the orderly, middle-class English way of life, to school, and to rules and regulations hard. She feels a misfit. But then, by chance, it is discovered that she has a rare musical talent. Words might never be easy but music flows from her. The delicate girl, with her extraordinary looks and her unique talent , takes the world by storm. And the rootless Indian waif, Jyothi, becomes the international superstar, Jade. But she - and her family - discover the burdens of fame too, and Jyothi becomes torn between the urge to re-find her original roots and wanting to become that western girl, with that lifestyle, those men, those values. And running through her mind is the vision of a high, light room, looking out over green hills, a man's clear, candid gaze with the memory of a music of enchantment. The Speech of Angels, set in India, Germany and Britain, is a moving, emotional story of a remarkable girl, her loves and life, which looks at not only at the price of fame, particularly for a child-star, but at the pleasures and pitfalls of adapting across cultures and continents. Sharon Maas, whose writing is compared by many to Isabelle Allende's, has written her most magical book to date.

Editorial Reviews

Review

'A wonderful, panoramic storyteller with such vivid pictures she completely captivates me. A terrific writer.' Barbara Erskine 'From the first, I was hooked with this enchanting book...unputdownable.' Audrey Howard 'Her characters will stay with you forever.' Katie Fforde

Sharon Maas has earned rapturous praise for her earlier novels, from reviewers who pay tribute to her lyrical, haunting prose and her ability to weave a magical story which leaves her readers charmed and enchanted. The Speech of Angels will only confirm this reputation, as she takes us on a journey from the slums of India to the affluent suburbs of a German town and on to the Kent countryside. Monika and Jack Keller are desperate for a child. A chance meeting in a Bombay street, where Jack gives an impromptu guitar concert, brings them face to face with Jyothi, impoverished, virtually homeless and mistreated by her stepfather. Already sensing that this little girl is somehow different, Jack and Monika seize the opportunity to adopt her when her mother is tragically killed. Oblivious to the warnings of the Indian authorities, they take Jyothi back to Germany, to a new life of wealth and comfort. But Jyothi is deeply unhappy. She has no friends, her school life is torture because she has learning problems and the regulation of her new lifestyle confuses and upsets her. She retreats more and more into herself, until Jack, remembering how she responded to his music, buys her a violin. From that day on, Jyothi has a new purpose in life. She plays like an angel, and despite her inability to read music, she plays with a rare beauty which captivates the imagination of the world. She becomes famous virtually overnight. Then her life is turned upside down by a family tragedy and she goes to England with Jack. Bereaved yet again, Jyothi struggles to cope, but her music again is the source of her salvation. But she is no longer a child prodigy, but a growing woman and her music is not the only passion in her life. Despite her success in the concert halls of the world, Jyothi cannot find happiness with the one man she loves. Only when she sees him for who he is can she really start playing sincerely, playing from the heart, rather than playing for other people. This is a vast, multi-layered novel, examining both the personal story of a child prodigy and the demands of fame, but also the complex issue of cross-cultural adoption and whether it is ever right to uproot a child from the place of his or her birth and transplant them into another culture. But above all, this is Jyothi's story, the story of how she grows to maturity at great personal cost, but eventually learns to be true to herself and to her music. (Kirkus UK)

About the Author

Sharon Maas was born in Guyana, educated in England, lived in India and Germany and now lives in Sussex. She is married with two children.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 448 pages
• Publisher: Harper Collins; First edition (June 2, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 000712385X
• ISBN-13: 978-0007123858
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.5 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,616,108 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Sharon Maas was born in Georgetown, Guyana in 1951.

She was educated in Guyana and England. After leaving school she worked as a trainee reporter with the Guyana Graphic in Georgetown, Guyana. She later wrote feature articles for the Sunday Chronicle as a staff journalist.

She spent 1971 and 1972 travelling around Brazil, Peru, Ecuador and Colombia. Her travel articles were published in the Chronicle newspaper. In 1973 she travelled overland to India via England, Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan. After two years in India she moved to Germany. She now divides her time between England and Germany with her husband and two children.

Her latest book is Sons of Gods -- the Mahabharata Retold, a new version of the magnificent Indian epic, written under the pen name Aruna Sharan. She worked on it for almost 40 years.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Dazzling heights and plunging depths, January 29, 2006

By 

Amanda Richards (Georgetown, Guyana) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Speech of Angels (Paperback)

This is a story of the dazzling heights and plunging depths of human emotion.

From the colorful, chaotic slums of Bombay's streets, to the monochromatic, efficient orderliness of Germany, from the untamed beauty of an English garden to the wildly remote Himalayas and fashion capitals of the world, Sharon Maas weaves an intriguing tale, which will hold you spellbound until the very last word.

Each character comes vividly to life with that special vibrancy found only when the author has a special relationship with the subject matter, perhaps from personal experience, and certainly from careful research and character development.

Plucked from the squalor of street life in Bombay, Jyothi faces a new life in an unfamiliar place, in which she can relate to nothing except the calming influence of music. Using her natural gift for classical music as a shield, she must overcome the tragedy of her past, and somehow fit into her new life, which often seems to swallow her entirely, her own shortcomings restricting her like iron bands.

Encouraged by her new mother, she experiences her first rush of power as she begins performing violin solos in public, and a new Jyothi begins to emerge, not entirely to her own liking.

Tragic circumstances lead to another upheaval in her life, and she is again forced to start again, in another unfamiliar place, with her only constants being her adopted father and her violin. Here however, she finds a new person to play for, and she experiences for the first time, unrequited love.

A visit to India brings back old memories, and a chance meeting rekindles a fire within her, which unfortunately is extinguished when the trip has to be cut short.

As time goes by, Jyothi becomes a famous violinist, performing around the world, and changes her name to Jade, developing a separate persona as a sophisticated professional woman who knows how to deal with whatever Fate throws her way. And boy, does Fate ever throw curveballs!

Swinging wildly between elation and depression, she retraces her roots and discovers what she had unknowingly been looking for her entire life.

This is a simple, but colorful story that approaches epic proportions on emotion, by the talented author of "Of Marriageable Age" and "Peacocks Dancing".

Amanda Richards