Customer Reviews

The Story of the Trapp Family Singers

5 star:		(49)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book is a personal family history of the Trapp Family Singers. It begins with Maria's days in the convent, traces the migrations of the family during the War years, and finishes in their family home in Vermont.

Ever since seeing The Sound of Music for the first time, I have always been curious about what happened next- -did the entire family manage to safely climb the Alps to freedom? How did they pay for their journey to the US? And what connection do they have to the Trapp Family Lodge in Stowe, Vermont? Maria Trapp answers all of these questions in this book. While the musical version of their life did convey many of the main episodes, the storyline of the musical compressed these episodes so that they seemed to happen one after the other: Maria leaves the convent, teaches the children how to sing, marries their father, and they flee the country at the outbreak of the war, all within 2 hours. Phew! Like the musical, this book also starts with Maria's last day in the convent, but more than a year passed before she and the Baron were married, in 1927. They were married some 12 years and had 2 additional children along the way before leaving Austria. Yes, as unknowns, the family did win a song festival, but that was in 1936, and by the time they fled Austria, they were already quite well-known and had toured Europe as a family singing group. Indeed, one additional reason for leaving the country when they did was that they had been invited to sing at Hitler's birthday.

When driving past the Trapp Family Lodge in Stowe, I have always thought of it as a ritzy place, and assumed that the money to purchase it and develop it had come from the Baron's family fortune. In reading this book, I found that that was not the case at all. The Baron's fortune was lost before the family left Austria, and they arrived in the US on borrowed money. In their new American lives, they had to restart from the very bottom of the social ladder, digging themselves out of debt before they could even begin to think of buying new clothes or a home. For years they dressed in the same simple clothes they had arrived in, and they built their first house in Vermont from the foundation up with their bare hands. That is, the girls did, since the two boys had been drafted into the US army and were fighting in Europe at the time.

This book relates all of these details and many more, with a considerable sprinkling of humor. Maria comes across as a determined optimist, a young girl barely out of her teens who arrived on the doorstep of a house filled with grief and dissension. Through her personal character and upbringing, she created a family with strong bonds to each other that was able to withstand remarriage, loss of fortune, becoming refugees, and establishing a home and a livelihood in a distant foreign land. The two elements that were her constant guidance and source of inspiration were her faith and the music. This book is peppered with remarks that ring true even today: "The family that sings together, plays together, prays together, and usually stays together." "Our age has become so mechanical that this has also affected our recreation. People have gotten used to sitting down and watching a movie, a ball game, a television set. It may be good once in a while, but it certainly is not good all the time. Our own faculties, our imagination, our memory, the ability to do things with our mind and our hands- -they need to be exercised. If we become too passive, we get dissatisfied." The Sound of Music is a great story, but the story presented in this book is much better.

This is simply one the most uplifting books I have ever read! I adore the movie "The Sound of Music" but this book is even more amazing. The von Trapp family went from immense wealth to poverty in a very short time, but throughout their trials they never lost their faith that God would provide. I was also impressed that they were so easily able to recognize the evil around them (Hitler, etc.) for what it was. My favorite part of the book is when Georg gathers his family together and tells them, "Children, we have a choice now: do we want to keep the material goods we still have. . .our friends, and all the things we are fond of?--then we shall have to give up the spiritual goods: our faith and honor. We can't have both any more." The family chooses to relinquish their wealth and retain their honor. This is the best example I know of a family that stuck together through thick and thin.

My mother ran the gift shop at the Trapp Family summer camps in Stowe in the late '40s, and I spent my summers with her when I was three and four, the youngest child there. Agatha, the oldest daughter, appointed herself as my caretaker during those two summers, and I have many clear and wonderful memories of those times - Cor Unum, their home which later became the original Lodge, just completed; singing and dancing all day and evening, indoors and out; hiking Pico Peak singing; the family with their dirndls and braided crowns; and always, the figure of Maria, the Baroness, looming over all, larger than life, laughing and singing and leading the fun.

That said, this book was one of my earliest attempts to read a "big people's" book. I loved it - still do! - and the way it captured the characters of the people I knew. But I also recall my mother telling me that while the Baroness was a wonderful raconteur, her book, like all memoirs, was somewhat skewed and biased. She was not the holy innocent who had no idea that the Captain was in love with her and who meekly married him only because it was the will of God. She was an immensely strong-willed woman who knew exactly what was going on and also knew that she was entirely ill-suited to contemplative convent life. Which isn't to say that her account is untrue; light that passes through a prism is still light, although bent, and her account, while similarly bent, is still fundamentally true. There is some truth in all she says, but some of the details have been fluffed up a bit.

The family probably wouldn't have survived without her strength, will, and humor, and there is no doubt of her religiousity - she turned to charismatic Catholicism in her later years and was speaking in tongues. As is the case with all strong people, some people, including some in her family, had difficulties with her. And of course, the play and film bear very little resemblance to reality - the very fact that the family names weren't flossy enough for Hollywood tells you that the producers felt a need to tart up the story.

But I've always loved this book, and will continue to recommend it - forget the movie!

Though our whole family loves the movie "The Sound of Music," the book -- as usual -- is much better! It includes so much more detail and personal and historical facts to add to the story. The movie covered only the first HALF of this book -- and the second half is the best part! I've often wished they would make a "sequel" to "The Sound of Music" to show the wonderful "rest of the story!" This is a great "READ-ALOUD" book for families with even quite young children, an excellent "historical read" for older children, and fine entertainment and inspiration for young and old alike!

This is my all time favorite book! I have watched the movie a million times since I was two years old, portrayed Maria von Trapp in the musical play and read this book. I find it extremely engaging and entertaining. I found myself laughing out loud while reading and at other times on the brink of tears. I think it is an uplifting, encouraging story! I reccomend it to anyone!

The true, complete story of "The Sound of Music" is even richer and more riveting than the film. The book goes into much deeper historical detail about Hitler's persecution of believers in God. The book is an excellent primary source for teaching history. When teaching high school students about the Second World War, I always read my classes the sections in the book where Maria describes how the family's life in Austria was changed once the Nazis rose to power. I hope that the publishers will put this gem of a book back in print and back on the shelves of America's bookstores!

I read the 1949 edition of this book, and in doing so I got to share in Maria's heart, her mind, her faith, her family. I feel as if I know them all! Too bad the movie didn't come even close to being as real as this true story. I can't help but feel like America was fed a fluff story of little substance with "The Sound of Music", and too bad everyone knows the stars but not the real Trapps! May the remaining original Trapps be blessed and honored, wherever they may be living out their years.

Aside from so many more details than a movie could ever give, this book has other small treasures hidden in it. My favorite part of this book is Maria's humorous relaying of her difficulties with learning a new language- English. Her misuses and others people's misunderstandings had me laughing out loud.

Maria also gives details about their family traditions (how they celebrated birthdays and religious holidays, for example), many of which I hope to adopt for my family. Her faith and simple lifestyle inspire me. She has her priorities straight and knows what's really important in this life.

The book was a joy to read, one filled with hope, love, struggle and triumph through faith and hard work. The true value is in learning how different the Trapp family's life was from the Sound of Music and quite different indeed it was.

I was unaware of just how musically gifted the family really was, how much of a struggle their early years in America were and just how deep their faith in God was throughout their lives.

I would have given it 5 stars but the tale of the romance between the Captain and Maria and their escape from Austria were brief to non-existent . I would have liked to have heard more from Maria on those chapters of their life.

On the plus side, her writing is from the heart, and filled with wonder on her part on the goodness of people wherever she went.
The path of a family who succeeded by faith, hard work and personal responsibility was a real inspiration.

Pick up this book, read their true story, and be inspired.

...and while I have loved the movie "The Sound of Music" since I first saw it when I was 16 years old (24 years ago), I must say the book is a better story. My 19 year old daughter read this aloud to us a while ago and my 2 younger children (ages 9 and 3) LOVED it and begged to have more than one chapter each night. I love WWII history and so I loved this book for that reason too. We found it very interesting to learn so much about what it was like to be Catholic. It seems this family loved each other very much, and their faith was amazing too. One time they had a need and the family took turns for many days to pray around the clock, each up and praying for an hour I think it was. You could tell they LOVED God very much, and depended on HIM for all things. And He never failed them. Their life was not without trials and heartache. I recommend this book highly as a family read-aloud. You will not be disappointed.