Review: Diva

Diva by Daisy Goodwin
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

Like the other readers, I was looking forward to reading this book. I love what I call semi-fiction (not a biography, but with enough truth to sustain it). But this book really rubbed me the wrong way. I know nothing about Maria Callas since I was a toddler when she was at her peak. I didn't even know anything about her time with Aristotle. However, I did know that he married Jackie Kennedy.

Half of the way through this book, I just knew that I was going to have to force myself to finish it. The characters are unlikeable, and I do mean all of them, even Maria. What a diva she was. But I suspect not so unlike any of the female musicians nowadays. Wow, Elsa Maxwell, what a pip! It seems as if she was sabotaging Maria from the start. Nowadays, we do know that she had a major thing for Maria, so who knows? Maybe Elsa really was sabotaging her.

The more I read this book, the more disgusted I got with all the characters. However, I must keep reminding myself that this (Maria') generation is totally different from this one and even the Boomer generation. I was disgusted at how easily Maria could give up on her career for a party or a man.

You already know how the book is going to end because of the beginning of the book. However, it's interesting to see Onassis try to keep his affairs from Maria, and Maria does have to deal with him just a few months after his marriage.

If you don't know anything about opera before you read this book, you sure will be an expert once you finish it. I was fairly bored and annoyed throughout this novel, but I did manage to finish it.

*ARC was supplied by the publisher St. Martin's Press, the author, and NetGalley.

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SYNOPSIS:"The story of the scandalous love affair between the most celebrated opera singer of all time and one of the richest men in the world

In the glittering and ruthlessly competitive world of opera, Maria Callas was known simply as la divina: the divine one. With her glorious voice, instinctive flair for the dramatic, and striking beauty, she was the toast of the grandest opera houses in the world. But her fame was hard won: Raised in Nazi-occupied Greece by a mother who mercilessly exploited her golden voice, she learned early in life to protect herself from those who would use her for their own ends.

When she met the fabulously rich Greek shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis, for the first time in her life, she believed she’d found someone who saw the woman within the legendary soprano. She fell desperately in love. He introduced her to a life of unbelievable luxury, showering her with jewels and sojourns in the most fashionable international watering holes with celebrities like Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, and the Duke and Duchess of Windsor.

And then suddenly, it was over. The international press announced that Aristotle Onassis would marry the most famous woman in the world, former First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy, leaving Maria to pick up the pieces.

In this remarkable novel, Daisy Goodwin brings to life a woman whose extraordinary talent, unremitting drive, and natural chic made her a legend. But it was only in confronting the heartbreak of losing the man she loved that Maria Callas found her true voice and went on to triumph."