Customer Reviews

Una Vida: A Fable of Music and the Mind

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

 

 

This book was interesting from beginning to end- and brought New Orleans, mystery, alzheimer's and history to life. I highly recommend it. I plan on buying copies for friends who have relatives suffering from this disease.

As I write I am almost intimidated to do so because your writing is so beautiful. Una Vida makes clear your love of science and your special ability to capture the tenderness of life with gripping immediacy. Your "big brain and strong heart and deep soul" come through.

I grew up in the Five Spot.

Who are Jessica and Una Vida?

It is fascinating how the Haggar -Ishmael story makes its way around.

Allen Taylor
Director of the Laboratory for Nutrition and Vision Research,
Professor of Nutrition, Biochemistry, and Ophthalmology
USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging
Tufts University
Director of Scientific Training Encouraging Peace - Graduate Training Program International Nutrition Foundation Tufts University 150 Harrison Ave, Boston MA 02111 [...]

Touching story that for once shows New Orleans in a beautiful way. The portrayal of a woman with Alzheimer's who experiences music on a fully cognizant level nails the reality of the disease.

I just finished Una Vida last night while I was lying awake thinking about my dear Vincent and how he would love the story. What a great ending to a wonderful and intriguing story. Vincent loved Charlie Parker and the guys learning jazz back in the 1940s were trying to learn his style. It's great to know that Dr. Bazan is out there still trying to find the mystery of the brain disorders. He has created a wonderful and historical read-my favorite kind of book.

Anni Beach
Award-winning co-author of "Don't Throw Away Your Stick Till You Cross the River"

Una Vida is a masterpiece of plot development and the name of the lead character in this remarkable novel. Dr. Bazan introduces us to the interstices of the troubled mind of Una Vida (One Life) a wonderful early jazz singer from New Orleans who now has Alzheimer's disease. While she cannot always recognize those who care for her or love her, her recall of the early Jazz music and those who created it Una Vida: A Fable of Music and the Mindleads her to sing openly along the frequently walked byways of her home. As we meet the companions on her journey we are taken on a tour of that magnificent city, its early history, the remarkable story of the free blacks who lost their rights in the post-Civil War Jim Crow era and the impact of segregation of the development of Jazz. Occasional introductions of seemingly unrelated works of art drive you to search the Web for more background. And then, as we watch the impact of Una Vida on those who grow to love her or who have loved her for decades we are humanized to gain more understanding and a sense of participation in her journey and the journeys of those, similarly troubled, who surround us. I could not put it down and read it in one thrilling day.


David S. Papermaster, MD.
Solomon Professor of of Vision Research and Eye Diseases, Emeritus
University of Connecticut Health Center
Farmington CT 06030-3401