The Venice Adriana

Rating:
Summary: Brava Adriana
Review: THE VENICE ADRIANA, is a real literary page-turner. Set in 1962 Venice the book focuses on a young gay writer (Mark Trigger) sent to ghost write the autobiography of fiery opera diva Adriana Grafanas (a character closely modeled upon Maria Callas). Over the course of a year the book traces Mark's awakening sexual identity as well as his tumultuous relationship with Adriana. Over time he discovers the woman behind the legend, a woman obsessed with acceptance while facing the erosion of her talent, a woman whose life has become her greatest performance and whose truth is ultimately an operatic tragedy of mythical proportions.
As an ardent fan Mark is promptly swept up in Adriana's life and dramas, a world populated by a cast of profoundly fabulous and colorful characters - a sexy leading man, a jet setting princess, a gay Italian film director, gossips, critics, "omosensualis" galore, and many more. Even Venice itself is brought vividly to life, given characterization through precise description and a brilliant use of language that made me want to drop everything and learn Italian.
In addition to being a sexy lot of fun the book also explores the tangled skein of issues involving the artist -- the state of celebrity, self-invention and transformation, gay identity, determination verses destiny, redemption and acceptance, the elements of genius, the enduring nature of art by all too human creators, and much more. Operatic to say the least! This is a fascinating stew to consider with no easy answers, which seems to be the ultimate truth of great art and the ultimate deception of all who attempt to define it.


Rating:
Summary: some high points, but not enough
Review: For anyone with any taste for or curiosity about tempermental opera stars, this book will be a treat. It's also a fun read for those who wonder what might have happened to a young adult gay man becoming sexually active in the Europe of the early '60s. Mordden is obviously quite experienced with such arcane personalities as singers, actors, directors, opera fans, record company employees, and such. Seeing these people in action and hearing what they have to say is, indeed, entertaining.

However, I find Mordden to have inserted a lot of lurid plot elements to propel what would otherwise be an inherently contemplative story. One of the book's final scenes is gratingly ribald, and another is drenched in clumsy symbolism. Mordden's protagonist is not plausibly developed (except for his touching attachment to a somewhat younger Italian man), and for some reason his writing fails to convince me that he is all that intimately familiar with the story's Venetian setting. People interested in the subject matter will enjoy this book, and one can confidently recommend Mordden's authority on matters of the lively arts. But this reader was ultimately unimpressed with his talent for storytelling.

Rating:
Summary: An occasionally lurid view of opera singers and their fans.
Review: For anyone with any taste for or curiosity about tempermental opera stars, this book will be a treat. It's also a fun read for those who wonder what might have happened to a young adult gay man becoming sexually active in the Europe of the early '60s. Mordden is obviously quite experienced with such arcane personalities as singers, actors, directors, opera fans, record company employees, and such. Seeing these people in action and hearing what they have to say is, indeed, entertaining.

However, I find Mordden to have inserted a lot of lurid plot elements to propel what would otherwise be an inherently contemplative story. One of the book's final scenes is gratingly ribald, and another is drenched in clumsy symbolism. Mordden's protagonist is not plausibly developed (except for his touching attachment to a somewhat younger Italian man), and for some reason his writing fails to convince me that he is all that intimately familiar with the story's Venetian setting. People interested in the subject matter will enjoy this book, and one can confidently recommend Mordden's authority on matters of the lively arts. But this reader was ultimately unimpressed with his talent for storytelling.

Rating:
Summary: some high points, but not enough
Review: The author has some worthwhile ideas and he shows he can flesh them out creatively, but too often, he stoops to safe, formulaic writing (of course, that's probably what got him published). For example, anyone who has ever tried to track down a rare (bootleg) opera recording knows the games, the frustrations, and the usual disappointment that accompanies such folly. Mordden conveys this very accurately and engagingly in the book, but then he anchors this splendid story line to several others that are pure 'drugstore novel' in concept and delivery. Again and again, the work is most absorbing when the author seems least aware of the need to be tidy and follow the 'rules' of modern gay lit. The end result is that the most memorable characters and situations are the peripheral ones. I'd like to see him loosen up and try something more experimental.

Rating:
Summary: Misogyny passing itself off as liberal-minded art
Review: This work of "gay fiction" will make you think all gay men hate women and only think about sex. Mordden masks the basic emptiness of his story by tossing around Italian words and phrases from opera librettos. But the sad fact is that at the core, diva character is a typical camp queen shell of a caricature, a complaining shrew who sits around waiting for a man to call. This sums up a common gay idea of women. Mordden was probably basing her on a transvestite. Awful, unempathetic writing, full of cliches. And it does a huge disservice to the so-called gay community.