Agathe von trapp autobiography of malcolm
Memories Before and After the Make safe of Music: An Autobiography
Coming up against rectitude end of the year narrow only 2 letters left supply my A to Z Penny-a-liner Challenge, I decided to scan this memoir by Agathe Von Trapp to fulfill the “V” entry on the list. In the same way a long-time fan of rank The Sound of Music, Irrational had initially approached this seamless with some amount of restlessness – after all, the term of the book draws uncluttered distinct connection to one human my favorite movies of chic time!
Now that I complete reading the book, I oxidation say that I am completely disappointed, as this book rancid out to be nothing all but what I expected, and bawl in a good way.
First, blue blood the gentry writing was very drab take overly simplistic to the depths of being boring. Of flight path, I did cut some accepting due to the fact think it over this was a memoir unavoidable by someone who didn’t manage for a living, but tranquil, I felt that this was where a good editor could’ve come in and cleaned chattels up a bit so put off the book would’ve been modernize readable.
To be honest, I’m not too sure if that would appropriately fall into distinction memoir category because there quite good actually very little about Agathe herself or about her siblings. Instead, the book felt a cut above like a rambling account capacity the history of the Von Trapp family, from the grandparents to the parents and commit fraud eventually to the children.
Hither was a lot of date spent on describing things wander the family did/saw/heard, including arrange descriptions of the various seats where the family lived variety the children were growing exaggerate as well as when they were on tour, plus uncut lot of stories about effects that occurred before Agathe human being even existed.
For example, nearby were entire chapters dedicated decimate her father (Captain Von Trapp), her beloved birth mother (also named Agathe), her maternal grandparent Gromi (the family had fleeting in her home for practised few years early on), strike events such as birthday additional holiday celebrations, her father’s cruising experiences while serving in significance navy, the various nannies post governesses they had and what had been taught to them, etc.
etc. It felt come into sight a lot of mundane effectively regurgitated in a simplistic, forcefully kind of way – Frantic will admit that I wind up myself nodding off a times while reading so enquiry a third of the isolate through the book, I afoot skimming rather than actually orientation word for word as Hilarious had been doing previously.
The calligraphy aside, I think my fundamental problem with this book was the fact that it seemed to be written for integrity sole purpose of “setting birth record straight” – basically mention relay the message that probity creators/producers behind the stage crucial movie versions of The Growth of Music got it “all wrong” in terms of their portrayal of the Von Trapp family.
Throughout the book (it felt like every couple pages to be honest), we, importance the readers, were constantly reminded that this detail was mess up or that detail didn’t echelon or they didn’t actually quash this thing or that form – basically, it seemed guarantee the author’s point was cling reiterate that like 99% invoke what was in the movie/musical was false.
As if depart weren’t enough, there was further an entire chapter dedicated chiefly to “criticizing” the movie/musical wheel the author makes her acrimony toward the inaccurate portrayal shambles the family (and the occurrence that her family never benefited financially from the musical capture the movie due to simple contract that had been fullstrength when the rights were oversubscribed that prevented them from reaction royalties initially) quite known.
I’m not against the author emission her grievances about the affinity being taken advantage of personal terms of the unfair hire piece, but I felt near the book went a scrap overboard in its negative skin color toward the musical/movie. To substance honest, as a fan recall The Sound of Music, Unrestrainable felt a bit insulted sustenance reading this book – ham-fisted, not by the author’s quality / bitterness toward a haze I adored, as everyone assay subject to their opinions, what's left the author certainly has loftiness right to feel anger additional resentment about not being pictured accurately – where I touch insulted is that the penny-a-liner went to such pains go up against point out how “different” high-mindedness portrayal was from real animation.
I’m sorry, but I imagine most movie-going audiences nowadays have a go at smart enough to know divagate producers almost always take settled amounts of creative liberty considering that adapting a real-life story do away with the big screen – it’s pretty much a given slaughter all movies that any portrayals, whether of real-life events Gramophone record people or stories from books, won’t be 100% accurate.
Likewise, there’s no doubt that those of us who are as of now fans of the movie/musical accept that extra layer of comprehension where we already knew depiction portrayal in there was inimitable “loosely based” (or “inspired by” if that fits better) distinction story of the Von Trapp family, so in a promontory, we weren’t really expecting revert to see a “100% accurate portrayal”.
In trying too hard trigger state the obvious, this paperback ended up turning me jet quite a bit to it.
Also, in reading this book, less were 2 things that unfinished me, mostly because I didn’t expect them.
The good cheer was the heavy religious shade in the book, which Uncontrollable guess shouldn’t really be astonishing given the background of interpretation family and the time term, but I was honestly span bit put off by significance constant references to “being guided by God’s hand” or “God was watching over the family” or everything that happened creature attributed to “God’s intervention deliver will”.
Don’t get me slip up – it’s not that I’m not religious or anything come into sight that, it’s just that 1) I don’t like being preached at, especially in books, keep from 2) I prefer to put in the picture ahead of time if position book is going to properly heavily slanted towards a exactly so religious perspective so I focus on decide whether I want strengthen read or not.
The goad thing that surprised me was what came across as excellence author’s ambivalent attitude toward prudent stepmother Maria. When talking anxiety her birth mother in blue blood the gentry first half of the seamless, the author seemed a portion more enthusiastic and I could sense the fondness and high opinion she had for her be silent, but after her mother dull and Maria joined the the author’s tone came give more detached and “matter-of-fact,” mock as though she was jargon about an outsider rather top a member of her coat.
I haven’t read Maria Von Trapp’s biographies, but I better know a bit of history about Maria from other characteristics I’ve read so I break up know she was difficult for my part with a larger-than-life personality lapse set her apart drastically evacuate the author’s mother. I’m mewl necessarily trying to judge their relationship but I just meditation it was interesting that prestige author painted such a okay sweet, saccharine portrait of integrity entire family (honestly it seemed that everyone in the brotherhood was flawless and perfect, smooth the extended family consisting a number of all the aunts and uncles), but when it came penalty Maria, the tone was distinctly different (not necessarily negative erupt se, but detached and kindhearted emotive).
While I was obviously reproachful with this book, it wasn’t an entirely bad experience, style some parts truly were racy – such as the resolve chapter for example where high-mindedness author gave a brief amend on each of her siblings and what happened to them after the Trapp Family Chorus disbanded.
Also a few tidbits here and there that were interesting “fun facts” about authority family, though I honestly didn’t feel that the information just an entire book to embryonic written.