Cry to Heaven

This novel is everything I would expect from Anne Rice, and then some. It's filled with her elegant descriptions of time and place with commendable attention to historic detail, and the characters become familiar figures ingrained in one's mind as the story unravels. As with many of Rice's other novels, this novel features references and vivid descriptions of homosexuality. Something that I did not expect, and found a welcoming surprise, was Rice's use of genderbending throughout the novel. This is perhaps the most compelling reason that I would re-read this book (something I rarely do) and recommend this book. I cannot think of another novel that uses gender in such a beautiful way.

Melodramatic like an opera, this novel focuses on castrati, the men who were castrated as young boys in order to preserve their voices for the choirs and opera houses of Europe. Tonio is raised as a Venetian noble, but death in his family reveals that his brother is actually his father and his inheritance is in question. At his father's command, Tonio is kidnapped, castrated, and sent to study music in Naples, where he embarks on a long relationship and collaboration with Guido, a castrato master who composes music for Tonio to perform. Even as Tonio achieves success in music, he still carries the trauma of what his family did to him, which eventually leads him back to Venice. While I found the middle of this book hard to get through, show more the ending was satisfying and left one with some hope for Tonio and his future. show less

I've re-read this so many times the book is falling apart. Anne Rice is known for her paranormal series, but I loved this stand-alone, historical-fiction novel. Tonio struggles against impossible odds, wants things he can never have, and undergoes deeply moving psychological pain and emotional growth. Through his story, we get a fascinating exploration of the gender roles in 18th century Europe and the nature of masculinity. Also one of the best endings to any of the Anne Rice books I've read.

A hard sell to men, but I recommend it for anyone who enjoyed Rice's early work, and anyone who enjoys historical fiction (assuming you're aware of the usual sex/violence present in Rice's work).

Why did I finish this book? Force of habit, I suppose.

Let me tell you why I started it: because I had very much enjoyed Interview With the Vampire and because I like historical novels. I thought nothing could be as bad as The Vampire Lestat, which I didn't finish out of embarrassment for the author. Let me tell you, I was wrong. This is a bad book.

You'd think a reasonably historically accurate novel set in 18th century Italy, with lots of sex--repeat, lots of sex--would be exciting or at least interesting. It wasn't. It was boring. For one thing, it seriously challenged my suspension of disbelief; for another, it was full of the ruminations of a person whose mind ran over the same tracks again and again. Kind of a mental milk run, show more except the stops were Disgrace, Revenge, Love, Sex, Music, Disgrace, Revenge . . . .

When you're bored, you start to notice things. As, Anne Rice isn't a very good writer. Her prose is pretty flat. I think her success is due to the amped-up Byronic hero she relies on, plus the wish-fulfilling fantasies that she allows free rein, and which resonate with her readers. I started to wish for a vampire.

The other big belief bubble that she couldn't maintain was the matter of sex. Her castrati--and most of the characters were castrati--had lots and lots of sex of the more or less conventional sort. They had erections, they had orgasms. Whereas a man castrated after sexual maturity might have been able to perform, everything I know about male sexual function indicates a need for testosterone for physical development, interest, and performance.

You can tell I was bored because I wondered why no one contracted an STD.

Looking back on the other reviews, I can see I'm an outlier. Ignore me if the things I mentioned don't bother you. show less

I have read many of Anne Rice's vampire books. This is different. I loved the premise and the setting. It was in some ways beautiful and also sad. However, there were too many extremely graphic sex scenes for my taste.

Tonio Treschi, an 18th century boy in his early teens from a Venetian noble family with a beautiful singing voice, is castrated in a struggle for the family inheritance. He trains to become an opera singer and plots his revenge.

There was a time I loved Anne Rice's lush baroque prose but re-reading this book after 18 or 19 years I find it rather tiresome and kept wishing she'd just get on with the story.
There were definitely times I felt she was on the verge of revealing that some of her characters were actually vampires. Despite that, it's a fascinating look at the world of the castrati.

This book is addicting. The story in itself is amazing but there are times when it's a bit too detailed or something. Thought the whole book, something kept me reading. It wasn't anything spectacular but the amazing way of writing in this book just kept me hooked until the end. I can't really describe it but there is something that won't let you stop reading until you finish the book. I'm serious!