|
A LITERARY
BLOG ABOUT BOOKS How they affect us. How they shape our lives.
Note: Postings
made when muses strike. Watch for blog alert notices via email, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook. "We read to know we are not alone." C.S. Lewis Copyright 2011-2018
Top
12 Reading Recommendations Please click a book image to purchase it on Amazon.
Novels, books, and musicals June has written and published: Click a book image to purchase it on www.amazon.com
"Meditations
for New Members is a beautifully written little book...a gem. The thoughts are striking and orginal--a
few are quite profound." --Fiona Hodgkin, author of The Tennis Player from Bermuda
Sponsored in part by Dani's Pantry Fine authentic Italian food. Cucina con Amore! https://amzn.to/2HdlA
B'Seti Pup Publishing Editorial
Services Proofreading, Editing, Rewites, Assistance with Self-publishing. "It's the write thing to do."
"I like what you've done with my
book. Makes me fall in love with it all over again." --Olajuwon Dare, author of Eleven Eleven
Contact
June at JuneJ@JuneJMcInerney.com on Facebook.com, or at www.BSetiPupPublising.com
Please support this Literary Blog by buying on Amazon. Thank you.
|
|
|
Tuesday, November 13, 2012
Hawaii Revisited
Thirty or so odd years ago, I spend two gloriously relaxing weeks in Hawai'i. We rented a condo on Oahu twenty
stories above Waikiki Beach--the view was stunningly amazing from its balcony, where doves joined us each morning for breakfast,
softly cooing as they perched on the railings. I spent long, luxurious hours on the powder-sand beach and, in the evenings,
sipped pineapple juice laced with gin listening to the gentle lilts of music unique to the Island Paradise.
During
my stay, I learned a bit about Hawai’ian history and culture, but I was, at the time, more interested in the touristy
attractions and obtaining an enviously rich, deep, dark tan. It wasn't until this summer, these many odd years later, in reading
Aloha, Mozart ** by Waimea Williams, that I learned there is so much more behind and beneath the beauty and lulling sea breezes.
Williams stunning novel is just about to be released this month, but I the opportunity to read an advanced review copy graciously
provided by the editors of AuthorsExposure.com. Here is my review:
What
if you had a great singing talent and, after years of hardship and grueling training, you had the opportunity to achieve international
fame and fortune? What if you had to compromise your integrity and moral conscience to become a star? Would you?
This is the dilemma of Maile Manoa, the heroine of a sweet historical novel set in the 1960s: Aloha, Mozart by Waimea Williams. An impoverished native-born Hawai’ian of mixed heritage, Maile is gifted with a full-range contralto
singing voice that is conducive to any musical genre. But when, in sixth grade, she hears a recording of Aida by Giuseppe Verdi, she realizes she was meant to sing opera—virtually unheard of in her home.
She sings for a living at weddings, church functions, on a radio show, and in a Honolulu hotel—secretly squirreling
away part of her earnings. When she is “discovered” by an international diva on tour, Maile studies under Madame
Renska in New York, then continues her training in Salzburg during a time of tense Austrian political unrest
and turmoil. There, Maile finds love and betrayal with a fellow student, corruption in diplomatic circles, and deeply rooted
Nazism underscoring the world of classical music. When she is offered a starring role by a world-renown conductor with a nefarious
past, she is forced to choose between her “me, me, me” diva’s desire for recognition and her own innate
moral convictions.
This was a really pleasurably eye-opening read, especially since I am partial to Mozart and
fascinated by opera. Williams, a native Hawai’ian, brings to her debut novel a first-hand knowledge of the history and
culture not only of her home, but that of Austria and Germany, where she sang opera for ten years. A talent, accomplished
writer, she graces her story with lilting phrases—“…caught in their own history like bugs in amber.”—
and stunning word chords that musically captivate the reader’s imagination. Reading Aloha,
Mozart is like listening to a symphony by Mozart, so lightly flowing and delicately intricate are the author’s
prose, plotlines, scene descriptions, protagonist development, and character interactions. However, the basic plot punches
more like an opera by Wagner.
However, while this is a sweetly sinuous read, it is not sugar-coated. The author
pulls no punches when relating the harsh realities of Hawai’ian native life; Soviet tanks at the Austrian border; the
staunch strictness of Salzburg police; and the corruption, betrayal, and stark cynicism underpinning what seems at face value
to be the glamorous world of classical music. She is straightforward and brutally frank about each of her characters, especially
Maile, whom I cheered for in the beginning, was concerned about in the middle, and almost angrily chided at the end. Well,
almost.
This medium-length, 275-page novel transports the reader across three continents and two oceans, immersing
one’s imagination in the myriad intricate nuances of two cultures that are bridged together through Maile’s great
talents and her sometimes misguided ambition.
Aloha, Mozart is great literary fiction; a book that should be well noted and added to everyone’s reading repertoire. ~~~~~~ **© Wiamea Williams 2012. 275-pgs, ppbk. Luminis Books, Carmel, IN.
12:21 pm est
|
|
June
J. McInerney, the host of this Literary Blog, is
an author, poet, and librettist. Her currently published works include a novel, a book of spiritual inspirations,
two
volumes of poetry, stories
for children (of all ages) and
a variety of children's musicals. Her titles include: Miss Elmira's Secret Treasure:
A Novel of Phoenixville during the Early 1900s Colonial Theatre: A Novel of Phoenixville
during the Roarin' 20s Phoenix Hose, Hook & Ladder: A Novel of Phoenixville during
World War I Columbia Hotel: A Novel of Phoenixville during the Early 1900s the Schuylkill Monster: A Novel of Phoenixville in 1978
The Prisoner's
Portrait: A Novel of Phoenxville during World War II
Forty-Thirty Rainbow in the Sky Meditations for New Members
Adventures
of Oreigh Ogglefont The Basset Chronicles. Cats of Nine Tales Spinach
Water: A Collection of Poems Exodus Ending: A
Collection of More Spiritual Poems
We Three Kings Beauty and the Beast Bethlehem Noah's
Rainbow Peter, Wolf, and Red Riding
Hood
Originally from the New York metropolitan area, June currently lives near Valley Forge Park in Pennsylvania with her constant and loving companions, FrankieBernard and Sebastian Cat. She
is currently working on her sixth novel.
|